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Teena Marie
Teena Marie
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No white artist has sang R&B more convincingly than Teena Marie, whose big, robust vocals are so black-sounding that when she was starting out, some listeners wondered if she was a light-skinned African-American. Not to be confused with Brazilian jazz singer Tânia Maria, Marie grew up in west Los Angeles in a neighborhood that was nicknamed "Venice Harlem" because of its heavy black population. The singer/songwriter/producer was in her early twenties when, around 1977, she landed a job at Motown Records. It was at Motown that she met her mentor and paramour-to-be, Rick James, who ended up doing all of the writing and producing for her debut album of 1979, Wild and Peaceful. That LP, which boasted her hit duet with James, "I'm Just a Sucker for Your Love," didn't show Marie's picture -- so many programmers at black radio just assumed she was black. When her second album, Lady T, came out, much of the R&B world was shocked to see how fair-skinned she was. But to many of the black R&B fans who were eating her music up, it really didn't matter -- the bottom line was she was a first-rate soul singer whose love of black culture ran deep.

By her third album, 1980's gold Irons in the Fire, Marie was doing most of her own writing and producing. That album boasted the major hit "I Need Your Lovin'," and Marie went gold again with her next album, It Must Be Magic (which included the major hit "Square Biz"). It Must Be Magic turned out to be her last album for Motown, which she had a nasty legal battle with. Marie got out of her contract with Motown, and the case ended up with the courts passing what is known as "The Teena Marie Law" -- which states that a label cannot keep an artist under contract without putting out an album by him or her.

Switching to Epic in 1983, Marie recorded her fifth album, Robbery, and had a hit with "Fix It." In 1984, Marie recorded her sixth album, Starchild, and had her biggest pop hit ever with "Lovergirl." Though Marie had often soared to the top of the R&B charts, "Lovergirl" marked the first time she'd done so well in the pop market. Ironically, Marie was a white singer who had enjoyed little exposure outside the R&B market prior to "Lovegirl."

Three more Epic albums followed: 1986's Emerald City, 1988's Naked to the World (which contained her smash hit "Ooh La La La"), and 1990's Ivory. Unfortunately, Marie's popularity had faded considerably by the late '80s, and Epic dropped her. In 1994, the singer released Passion Play on her own Sarat label. Ten years later, she signed to Cash Money and released La Doña, featuring assistance from Gerald LeVert, Rick James, and MC Lyte. Sapphire followed two years later. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music GuideMore

Official Profile

Teena Marie
No white artist has sang R&B more convincingly than Teena Marie, whose big, robust vocals are so...
Songs: 5, Videos: 1, Playlists: 1, Blog Posts: 11, Polls: 0, Battles: 1

Most Popular Music Videos (4)

A Rose By Any Other Name
(Duration: 4:23)
Jul 15th, 1:39am
Lovergirl
(Duration: 4:51)
May 1st, 6:21am
Robbery
(Duration: 4:19)
Jun 19th, 11:47pm
Here's Looking At You
(Duration: 4:42)
Jun 20th, 12:56am
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Fan Comments

Oct 12th, 10:49pm
Dear Miss Teena. I love The Pork & Cheese community. You are lovely.
Oct 12th, 5:51am
Teena Marie is the freakin BEST!!!! Love her Forever!!! *mwuah*
Aug 4th, 11:12pm
Love You,Love You,nobody can ever sing like You.Gloria
May 19th, 3:49am
I have loved her music for as long as I can remember. She is most definitely one of the best. Her lyrics and voice are untouchable. This a true talent and I hope she never stops making music.
Apr 8th, 12:15pm
Lady T, (Your Majesty),
Sorry I missed your Birthday Ms. Piscean Holocaust. You made the late 70's and 80's more VIVID and EXPRESSION-FULL, with your distinct illustrations of emotion. You are TRULY a Queen of SOUL.
Respect and Love.
AD
ADHIAMBO
Apr 2nd, 10:45pm
Hi Friend;
...I am sending this message to all our friends. It is important that we create venues to visit each other's pages and really get connected to what each other has to offer. I know we all takt the time to design our pages, and add friends inhopes they'd visit and become true friends. please join me in the following message sent to everyone. So far, our DJ brothers are sending in their playlist challenges for the battle of the DJ's. I'd like to invite more of my friends to assist me in voting for the winner of this battle. However, I must remain objective since this idea is posted on my page. Will you vote for our featured DJ's? It would be greatly appreciated.
Hello My Firend;



Just checkin' in... Let's get real for a moment. I have created a page to help connect our friends. It is a positive motivating force to help us to visit each other, to participate in our pages, and to tour each others pages on a consistent basis. Yes, it's ok to have cute photos on our pages, but on my page, it has to be active. It is a place to try new adventures, new ideas, etc. This year I'm featuring the frinds who have accepted my friendship, and those whom I've accepted/ However, we must do more than just post a picture and our graphics on someone else's page. I am sending this message to all my friends to visit me and vote on the featured DJ's in our community who have poated great music, as they compete for the votes. If you want to be a featured guest with your favorite playlist on this page, comment me, I'll give you a challenge!Your cooperation would be greatly appreciated.
Mar 6th, 3:31am
Happy b-day to u lovely lady....
Mar 5th, 9:34pm
Happy Birthday Miss Teena Marie!!!! I can't wait to hear new music from you!