Teena Marie

Biography

Mary Christine Brockert (March 5, 1956 – December 26, 2010), known professionally as Teena Marie, was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before taking the stage name Teena Marie and later acquired the nickname Lady T, given to her by her collaborator and friend Rick James.
She was known for her distinctive and soulful soprano vocals, which caused many listeners to believe she was black. Her success in R&B and soul music, and loyalty to these genres earned her the title Ivory Queen of Soul. She played rhythm guitar, keyboards, and congas. Teena Marie was a four-time Grammy Award nominee, winning posthumously in 2023 for Best R&B Song for co-writing "Cuff It".

Early life

Mary Christine Brockert was born on March 5, 1956, in Santa Monica, California, the daughter of construction worker Thomas Leslie Brockert and home renovator Mary Anne. She spent her early childhood in Mission Hills, California. She said that her ethnic heritage was Belgian, Portuguese, Italian, Irish, and Native American. In 2005, while visiting Louisiana, she discovered that her paternal ancestors once lived in New Orleans. She took to singing naturally, performing Harry Belafonte's "Banana Boat Song" by age 2.
When she was eight years old, her parents began sending Tina on auditions which, among other things, netted her an acting role on The Beverly Hillbillies, in season 3 episode “Dr. Jed Clampett,” credited as Tina Marie Brockert. She later taught herself the guitar, bass, and congas. She formed a semi-professional R&B band with her younger brother Anthony and their cousin.
In the early 1970s, after the family moved to Venice, California, Brockert spent her adolescent years in the historically black Venice enclave of Oakwood, nicknamed "Venice Harlem". There, she acquired a strong spiritual influence from neighborhood matriarch Berthalynn Jackson, a black woman who became her godmother.
While attending Venice High School, Brockert joined the Summer Dance Production and was the female lead in the school's production of The Music Man. She also fronted a local Venice rock band "Truvair" in 1974–1975. The band's members were her high school classmates. Following graduation, Brockert juggled auditioning for record companies while studying English literature at Santa Monica College.

1976–1982: Gordy era

In 1976, Brockert, as the lead singer of a band she had assembled, which included long-time friend Mickey Boyce, gained an introduction to Motown Records staff producer Hal Davis, best known for his work with Brenda Holloway and the Jackson 5. It led to an audition for a film about orphans that was being developed by Motown. The project was shelved, but label boss Berry Gordy, impressed with her singing but having no need for a musical group, decided to sign her as a solo act.
Tina recorded unreleased material with a number of different producers over the next few years, before being spotted by labelmate Rick James, who was immediately impressed with her sound. Some of Tina's earlier, unreleased material has been made available on the compilation album First Class Love: Rare Tee×First Class Love: Rare Tee1 January 2011 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1First Class Love6:282More Love4:373Wasn’t I Good to You3:584Love Just Wouldn’t Be Right3:195You Got Away5:146Oh Love5:267White Soul4:218Can You Do It4:009Why Can’t I Get Next to You3:5710Co‐pilot to Pilot4:2411Hey Boy3:2912Don’t Turn Your Back on Me4:43. At the time, James, already established as a successful recording artist, was on tap to produce for Diana Ross but changed his mind and decided to work with Brockert, instead.
The result was her debut album release, Wild and Peaceful×Wild and Peaceful23 March 1979 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracksA1I’m a Sucker for Love5:56A2Turnin’ Me On6:09A3Don’t Look Back7:34B1Dé jà vu (I’ve Been Here Before)7:41B2I’m Gonna Have My Cake (And Eat It Too)5:33B3I Can’t Love Anymore7:11. The album was, at one point, due to be credited to "Teena Tryson", but ultimately was put out under "Teena Marie", the name by which she was known throughout her remaining career. It scored Teena Marie her first top-ten R&B hit "I'm a Sucker for Your Love" (#8 R&B Singles Chart), a duet with James.
Neither the album nor its packaging had her picture on it, and many radio programmers assumed she was black during the earliest months of her career. This myth was disproved when she performed her debut hit with James on Soul Train in 1979, becoming the show's first white female guest. She appeared on the show eight more times, more than any other white act.
In 1980, her album Lady T×Lady T1980 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1Behind the Groove6:14A2Now That I Have You5:43A3Lonely Desire4:40A4Aladdin's Lamp4:38B1You're All the Boogie I Need5:40B2Can It Be Love4:20B3Young Girl in Love3:56B4Why Did I Fall in Love With You4:54B5Too Many Colors (Tee's interlude)3:11, featured her portrait on the cover. It is noted for having production from Richard Rudolph, the widower of R&B singer Minnie Riperton. Teena Marie had asked Berry Gordy to contact Rudolph and secure his input, as Rick James was unavailable, and she felt unprepared to be sole producer of her own material. Rudolph had intended for "Now That I Have You", a song he penned, for his wife Minnie Riperton, but offered it to Teena Marie for Lady T. Rudolph co-composed the single "Behind the Groove×Behind The Groove1980 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksABehind the Groove3:58BYou're All the Boogie I Need5:40", which reached number 21 on the R&B singles chart and No. 6 on the U.K. singles chart in 1980. The song was included on the soundtrack of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on the Fever 105 radio station.
In 1980, Teena Marie released the LP Irons in the Fire×Irons in the Fire1980 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1I Need Your Lovin'7:33A2Young Love5:31A3First Class Love5:08A4Irons in the Fire3:35B1Chains7:14B2You Make Love Like Springtime5:01B3Tune in Tomorrow6:26B4You Make Love Like Springtime (reprise)3:25, for which she handled most of the writing and production herself, an achievement considered rare at the time for a female artist. The single "I Need Your Lovin'×I Need Your Lovin'1980 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAI Need Your Lovin'3:36BIrons in the Fire3:36" (#37 Pop, No. 9 R&B Singles) brought Teena Marie her first top 40 hit. It peaked at No. 28 in the UK chart.
In 1981, Teena Marie appeared on James' album Street Songs, with the duet "Fire and Desire". In an interview, Teena Marie said she had a fever at the time yet managed to record her vocals in one take. After the session, she was driven to a hospital. The two performed the single at the 2004 BET Awards, which was their last TV appearance with one another, as James died later that year.
In 1981, Teena Marie continued her success with Motown, with the release of It Must Be Magic (#2 R&B Albums Chart), her first gold record, which included her then biggest hit on R&B, "Square Biz×Square Biz1981 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksASquare Biz6:40BSquare Biz (instrumental)6:39" (#3 R&B Singles). Other notable tracks include "Portuguese Love×Portuguese Love1981 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAPortuguese Love3:20BThe Ballad of Cradle Rob and Me3:40", featuring a brief, uncredited cameo by James, No. 54 R&B Singles, and the title track "It Must Be Magic×It Must Be Magic22 May 1981 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1It Must Be Magic6:09A2Revolution4:38A3Where's California5:26A43654:20A5Opus III (Does Anybody Care)1:29B1Square Biz6:25B2The Ballard of Cradle Rob and Me3:40B3Portuguese Love7:52B4Yes Indeed4:58" (#30 R&B Singles).
In 1982, Teena Marie got into a heated legal battle with Motown Records over her contract and disagreements about releasing her new material. The lawsuit resulted in "The Brockert Initiative", which made it illegal for a record company to keep an artist under contract without releasing new material for that artist. In such instances, artists are able to sign and release with another label instead of being held back by an unsupportive one. Teena Marie commented on the law in a Los Angeles Times article, saying "It wasn't something I set out to do. I just wanted to get away from Motown and have a good life. But it helped a lot of people, like Luther Vandross and the Mary Jane Girls, and a lot of different artists, to be able to get out of their contracts." She left Motown as the label's most successful white solo act.

1983–1990: Epic era

Contacted by Epic Records in the fall of 1982, after expressing dismay over her Motown contract, Teena Marie signed a worldwide deal with the Columbia Records subsidiary, that also allowed her to establish her own publishing company, Midnight Magnet. Epic released the concept album Robbery×Robbery18 September 1983 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1Robbery5:45A2Playboy5:30A3Shadow Boxing7:02A4Midnight Magnet5:32B1Fix It4:57B2Ask Your Momma5:34B3Dear Lover5:19B4Stop the World4:14B5Cassanova Brown6:00, which featured the hit "Fix It" (#21 R&B), as well as "Shadow Boxing" and "Casanova Brown". Casanova Brown was one of many tracks Teena Marie wrote over the years about her real-life romance with one-time mentor Rick James.
In 1984, Teena Marie released her biggest-selling album Starchild×Starchild9 November 1984 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Lovergirl4:542Help Youngblood Get to the Freaky Party5:443Out on a Limb6:374Alibi5:235Jammin'5:526Starchild5:367We've Got to Stop (Meeting Like This)5:078My Dear Mr. Gaye5:289Light1:18. It yielded "Lovergirl×Lovergirl1984 · Single · RemixSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksALovergirl (special 12″ dance mix)5:53BLovergirl (instrumental)6:10", her biggest hit, which peaked at No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in March 1985 and at No. 9 on the R&B chart. "Lovergirl" was included in the 2002 Jennifer Lopez movie Maid in Manhattan. The label also released the moderate R&B hit "Out on a Limb", which peaked at No. 56 on the R&B chart but didn't break the Hot 100. "14k" was featured on the soundtrack of the 1985 film The Goonies, but the song was not a hit.
In 1986, Teena Marie released a rock music-influenced concept album titled Emerald City×Emerald City4 June 1986 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Emerald City4:112Once Is Not Enough5:473Lips to Find You5:114You So Heavy5:085Shangri-La5:046Batacuda Suite5:067Love Me Down Easy5:258Sunny Skies7:14. She recorded the rock-influenced track "Lead Me On×Lead Me On1986 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksALead Me On3:45BLead Me On (instrumental)3:45", co-produced by Giorgio Moroder, for the soundtrack of the 1986 box-office hit film Top Gun.
In 1988, she returned to R&B and funk, releasing the critically acclaimed album Naked to the World×Naked to the World16 March 1988 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Trick Bag5:312Call Me (I Got Yo Number)5:383Ooo La La La5:204Crocodile Tears6:215Opus III: The Second Movement1:126Surrealistic Pillow5:437The Once and Future Dream7:438Work It5:509The Ball4:4110Naked to the World6:20. That album contained the hit "Ooo La La La×Ooo La La La1988 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracksAOoo La La La (extended mix)5:59B1Ooo La La La (Slightly Shorter version)5:15B2Sing One to Your Love (a.k.a. instrumental version of "Ooo La La La")5:30", which reached # 1 on the Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.
In the fall of 1990, Teena Marie released Ivory. It had two R&B hits: "Here's Looking at You×Here's Looking at You1990 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracksA1Here's Looking at You (12" club)7:15A2Here's Looking at You (12" Underground)6:40A3Here's Looking at You (dub)2:34B1Here's Looking at You (LP version)6:10B2Here's Looking at You (club radio)5:41B3Here's Looking at You (instrumental)5:35" (#11 R&B) and "If I Were a Bell×If I Were a Bell31 October 1990 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksA1If I Were a BellB2If I Were a Bell (edit)" (#8 R&B).

1991–2002: Hiatus and Passion Play and Black Rain

In the 1990s, Teena Marie's classic R&B, soul, and funk records were either sampled by hip-hop artists or covered by R&B divas. Teena Marie is regarded as somewhat of a pioneer in helping to bring hip-hop to the mainstream, by becoming one of the first artists of her time to rap one of her singles—the aforementioned "Square Biz×Square Biz1981 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksASquare Biz6:40BSquare Biz (instrumental)6:39". In the hip-hop portion of that song, she mentions some of her inspirations: Sarah Vaughan, Johann Sebastian Bach, Shakespeare, Maya Angelou, and Nikki Giovanni. In 1996, the Fugees paid tribute to her by interpolating the chorus of her 1988 hit "Ooo, La, La, La", into its own "Fu-Gee-La".
In the fall of 1994, Teena Marie released Passion Play on her independent label, Sarai Records.
On March 30, 1995, Teena Marie appeared and performed in an episode of New York Undercover as an old friend of one of the characters.
Subsequently, Teena Marie devoted most of her time to raising her daughter Alia Rose, who has since adopted the stage name "Rose Le Beau" and is pursuing her own singing career. In the late 1990s, she began working on a new album, titled Black Rain. She was unable to secure a major label deal for the album and did not want to put it out on her own Sarai label, in light of the modest sales of Passion Play. However, a version pressed for promotional purposes was widely bootlegged among fans. This contained the tracks, "The Mackin' Game", "I'll Take the Pressure", "Baby, I'm Your Fiend", "My Body's Hungry", "Ecstasy", "I'm on Fire", "Watcha Got 4 Me", "Black Rain", "1999", "Butterflies", "Spanish Harlem", "Blackberry Playa", "The Perfect Feeling", and "Rainbow Outro".

2003–2010: La Doña to Congo Square

After a ten-year hiatus from the music industry, Teena Marie returned to her musical career by signing with the Classics sub-label of the successful hip-hop label, Cash Money Records. She released the album La Doña×La Doña11 May 2004 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks1La Doña (intro)2:162I'm Still in Love4:173Honey Call4:214Baby I'm Your Fiend4:575My Body's Hungry5:336A Rose by Any Other Name5:277Off the Chain4:388Makavelli Never Lied5:069Revelations 3:8 Introduction0:3110Recycle Hate to Love4:5311The Mackin' Game5:3412I Love Him Too5:2813I Got You4:2214Hit Me Where I Live5:0515High Yellow Girl4:5916Black Rain4:2717I'm on Fire5:33 in 2004, and follow up Sapphire×Sapphire9 May 2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1God Has Created2:112Cruise Control5:093Baby, Whose Is It?5:054Make It Hot4:325Ooo Wee3:566Sleeping With the Enemy5:087A.P.B.4:518Love Is a Gangsta5:189Ladies' Choice4:5410Somebody Just Like You5:3711You Blow Me Away6:1712Simmer Down5:1813Romantica5:4214The Way You Love Me5:0315Ecstasy4:4216Resilient (Sapphire)3:42 in 2006. La Doña became a gold-certified success, and the highest-charting album of her career, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart, on the basis of the Al Green-sampled "I'm Still in Love" (#23 R&B, No. 70 Pop) and "A Rose by Any Other Name×A Rose by Any Other Name2004 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracksA1A Rose by Any Other Name (radio edit)4:24A2A Rose by Any Other Name (album version)5:27B1A Rose by Any Other Name (radio edit)4:24B2A Rose by Any Other Name (album version)5:27", a duet with Gerald Levert.
The Sapphire album peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard 200 chart, yielding yet another "R&B" Top-40 hit, "Ooh Wee×Ooh Wee2006 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Ooh Wee (Special radio edit)3:532Ooh Wee (radio edit)3:53" (#32). Sapphire reunited Teena with Smokey Robinson, one of her musical idols, on "God Has Created" and "Cruise Control". Teena Marie parted ways with Cash Money records after the release of Sapphire.
On September 19, 2008, Teena Marie performed in concert at B.B. King's Blues Club in New York City. She took this time to play a couple of finished tracks from her upcoming album Congo Square×Congo Square9 June 2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1The Pressure5:322Can't Last A Day5:063Baby I Love You4:584Ear Candy 1014:485Lover's Lane5:086Marry Me5:327You Baby4:168Milk N' Honey5:279What U Got 4 Me4:4310Rovleta's Jass0:3211Congo Square4:5712Harlem Blues5:1813Black Cool2:0014Ms. Coretta5:2015Soldier Boy4:2616The Rose N' Thorn5:30 and received a positive response from the audience. Congo Square was released on June 9, 2009, on Stax/Concord Records. Teena Marie has described the album as "personal and spiritual", and indicated that it was more jazz-influenced than most of her previous work.
In March 2009, "Can't Last a Day", a duet with Faith Evans, leaked to the Internet. Teena Marie says of Evans: "It was after I had recorded the song ("Can't Last a Day") I got the idea to put Faith on it. I've always loved Faith and her vocal style. She reminds me of me. Her correlation with Biggie – having a career with him and without him – reminds me of me and Rick. I feel like she's a younger me. Of the younger ladies, she's the one I love most."
In January 2010, regarding the early-life inspirations for Congo Square, Teena Marie told Blues & Soul magazine editor Lee Tyler: "I wanted to do songs that reflected the things that I loved when I was growing up. Every single song on the record is dedicated to someone, or some musical giant that I loved. 'The Pressure' is dedicated to Rick James; 'Can't Last a Day' is dedicated to the Gamble & Huff sound – the Philly International sound'. Then 'Baby I Love You' and 'Ear Candy' are dedicated to Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield – with memories of riding down Crenshaw in LA in jeeps and bumping to music on the 808 i.e. Roland TR-808 drum machine. While 'Miss Coretta' is, of course, dedicated to Mrs. Coretta Scott King, the late wife of Martin Luther King."
Sales-wise, the album proved another success, reaching the Top 20 on Billboard's Top 200, and giving Teena Marie yet another Top 10 R&B chart entry. In 2010, Teena Marie continued to be a headliner on the Las Vegas Strip, appearing regularly at the Las Vegas Hilton and other venues until just before her death.
At the time of her death, Teena Marie had been in the process of completing her album Beautiful×Beautiful15 January 2012 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Luv Letter4:372Sweet Tooth5:363Rare Breed4:374Love Starved4:445Definition Of Down4:496Maria Bonita5:157Beautiful (For Alia)5:448The Long Play6:309Carte Blanche5:1810Give Me Your Love4:5611Wild Horses5:1812The Perfect Feeling5:4813OOO Baby Baby4:43. It was finished posthumously by her daughter Alia Rose and released on January 15, 2013.

Personal life

Teena Marie gave birth to a daughter, Alia Rose, on December 25, 1991, whom she had with a man named Peter Butcher. Alia Rose would grow up following in her mother's footsteps, often dueting with Marie during live shows and being featured on some of Marie's songs on her last four albums (La Doña×La Doña11 May 2004 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks1La Doña (intro)2:162I'm Still in Love4:173Honey Call4:214Baby I'm Your Fiend4:575My Body's Hungry5:336A Rose by Any Other Name5:277Off the Chain4:388Makavelli Never Lied5:069Revelations 3:8 Introduction0:3110Recycle Hate to Love4:5311The Mackin' Game5:3412I Love Him Too5:2813I Got You4:2214Hit Me Where I Live5:0515High Yellow Girl4:5916Black Rain4:2717I'm on Fire5:33 to Beautiful×Beautiful15 January 2012 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Luv Letter4:372Sweet Tooth5:363Rare Breed4:374Love Starved4:445Definition Of Down4:496Maria Bonita5:157Beautiful (For Alia)5:448The Long Play6:309Carte Blanche5:1810Give Me Your Love4:5611Wild Horses5:1812The Perfect Feeling5:4813OOO Baby Baby4:43). Alia went under the name Rose LeBeau in the late 2000s. Since 2015 she has released songs under her original name.
Teena Marie lived in various neighborhoods and cities throughout greater Los Angeles, including Santa Monica, Inglewood, Pasadena, and Marina Del Rey.
Teena Marie was godmother to American actress and comedian Maya Rudolph, daughter of singer-songwriter Minnie Riperton, as well as Marvin Gaye's daughter Nona Gaye. She also cared for Rick James's son Rick, Jr. and family friend Jeremiah O'Neal. Lenny Kravitz posted a video in which he said that Teena Marie had taken him into her home and helped him when he was struggling early in his career.

Death

In 2004, while Teena Marie was sleeping in a hotel room, a large picture frame fell and struck her on the head. The blow caused a serious concussion that resulted in momentary seizures for the rest of her life.
On the afternoon of December 26, 2010, Teena Marie was found dead by her daughter, Alia Rose, in her Pasadena home. On December 30, 2010, an autopsy was performed by the coroner of Los Angeles County, who found no signs of apparent trauma or a discernible cause of death, and concluded she had died from natural causes. She had suffered a grand mal seizure a month before.
A memorial service for Teena Marie was held at Forest Lawn Cemetery on January 10, 2011. Among those in attendance were Stevie Wonder, Deniece Williams, Smokey Robinson, Queen Latifah, LisaRaye, Sinbad, Tichina Arnold, Shanice, and Berry Gordy.