Teena Marie
(born Mary Christine Brockert
on March 5, 1956) is an American Grammy Award-nominated singer–songwriter–producer. Marie, nicknamed Lady T, is a protegée of late funk legend Rick James, and is notable as one of the few successful white performers of R&B. She sings R&B with strong, robust vocals and plays rhythm guitar, keyboards and congas. She also has written, produced, sung and arranged virtually all of her songs since her 1980 release Irons in the Fire
. She has quoted this as being her favorite album. She has a daughter named Alia Rose who, as of 2009, sings under the name Rose Le Beau. [1] [2]
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TEENA MARIE TICKETS
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Early Life
Marie was born in
Santa Monica,
California. She is of Belgian, Portuguese, Irish, Italian, and Native American ancestry.
[3] Marie grew up in
Oakwood, a neighborhood in West Los Angeles. As a child, she had an acting role on
The Beverly Hillbillies
, credited as Tina Marie Brockert. She also sang at the wedding of actor
Jerry Lewis's son when she was 10 years old.
Marie worked briefly at
Pup 'n' Taco in the mid 1970s while attending
Venice High School, where she joined the Summer Dance Production, and also had a role in the school's production of
The Music Man
.
1979–1981: Motown era
Marie signed with Motown Records in 1976, having gained an introduction to staff producer Hal Davis (best known for his work with the Jackson 5) and then auditioned, with her then band, for label boss Berry Gordy. She recorded unreleased material with a number of different producers, including Kerner and Wise, but was then spotted by Rick James, who effectively became her mentor. (Some of the earlier unreleased material has since been made available on compilation albums.) Her debut album release,
Wild and Peaceful
, was originally conceived as a project to be produced by James for Diana Ross, but James preferred to work with Marie. The album was at one point due to be credited to "Tina Tryson", but ultimately was put out under Marie's now-established stage name. It scored Marie her first top-ten R&B hit, "I'm Just a Sucker for Your Love" (#8 Black Singles Chart)
[4], which was a duet with James. Neither the album sleeve nor other packaging showed a picture of Marie, apparently on the theory that black audiences might be reluctant to buy an album by a white artist. In fact, many radio programmers wrongly assumed Marie was
African American during the earliest months of her career.
[5] This myth was dispelled when, in 1980, her sophomore album,
Lady T
, sported a picture of her on the cover.
Marie's second album is noted for having production from Richard Rudolph (husband of R&B singer
Minnie Riperton who passed a year earlier). Marie had asked Berry Gordy to contact Rudolph and secure his input as Rick James was unavailable and she did not feel quite ready yet to be sole producer of her own material. Rudolph intended for the song he penned, "Now That I Have You", to be sung by his wife, but was later given to Marie.
[6]. Rudolph also co-composed the single "Behind The Groove", which reached number 21 on the black singles chart.
[4]. The song was also included on the soundtrack of
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on the Fever 105 station.
[8]. Another notable track, "Too Many Colors," featured Rudolph and Riperton's then 7-year-old daughter,
Maya Rudolph, who became Teena Marie's god-daughter.
Also in 1980, Marie released her third LP,
Irons in The Fire
, in which she handled all writing and production herself, including the horn and rhythm arrangements of her band and all backing vocals
[9]. The single "I Need Your Lovin'" (#37 Pop, #9 Black Singles) brought Teena her first
top 40 hit. That same year, Teena Marie appeared on James' hugely successful album
Street Songs
with the steamy duet "Fire and Desire." The two would perform the single at the 2004
BET Awards, which would be the two's last TV appearance with one another as Rick James passed later that year
[10].
Marie continued her success with Motown in 1981 with the release of
It Must Be Magic
(#2 Black Albums Chart), her first gold record, which included her then biggest hit on R&B, "
Square Biz" (#3 Black Singles). Other notable tracks include "Portuguese Love" (featuring a brief, uncredited cameo by James, #54 Black Singles), the title track "It Must be Magic" (#30 Black Singles), and album only track "Yes Indeed" which Marie cites as a personal favorite.
In 1982, Marie got into a heated legal battle with Motown records over her contract and disagreements on releasing her new material.
[11] The shuffle resulted in "The Brockert Initiative", which makes it illegal for a record company to keep an artist under contract without releasing new material for that artist. The artist would then be able to sign and release with another label instead of being held back by an unsupportive one. Teena Marie commented on the law in an LA 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"
[12].
1983-1991: Epic Records
After leaving Motown in 1982, Marie signed with
Epic Records in 1983 and released the concept album
Robbery
, which featured the hit "Fix It" (#21 R&B), as well as "Shadow Boxing" and "Casanova Brown." The latter was one of a number of tracks Marie would write over the years about her real-life romance with one-time mentor Rick James. The relationship had ended by that point, but the two would continue a sometimes tempestuous friendship until James's death. In 1984, Marie released her biggest-selling album,
Starchild
. It yielded the singles "Lovergirl" and "Out on a Limb," the former of which became Marie's highest-peaking single to date on the US
pop charts, peaking at #4, while peaking at #9 on the
R&B charts. "Out on a Limb" was not as successful as "Lovergirl" on the R&B Charts, however, peaking only at #56. Also in 1985, "14k" (R&B #87) was featured on the soundtrack of the film
Goonies
.
In 1986, Marie released a rock-music-influenced
concept album titled
Emerald City
. It was controversial with her established fan base and not as successful as its predecessors. She also recorded another rock-influenced track, "Lead Me On", co-produced by Georgio Moroder, for the soundtrack of the
box office hit film
Top Gun that year. In 1988, however, she returned to her
R&B and
funk roots releasing the critically-acclaimed album
Naked to the World
. That album contained the hit "
Ooo La La La," which reached the top of
Billboard's
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, and remains her only #1 single on that chart to date.
Marie released
Ivory
in the fall of 1990. Despite the success of the first two singles, "Here's Looking at You" (#11 R&B) and "If I Were a Bell" (#8 R&B), Epic Records was not totally pleased with sales of the album, so Marie and her label mutually agreed to go their separate ways.
Mid 90s Hiatus: Passion Play
and Black Rain
During the 1990s, Marie's classic R&B, soul and funk records were either sampled by hip-hop artists or covered by R&B divas. Marie herself is regarded as something of a pioneer in helping to bring hip-hop to the mainstream by becoming one of the first and only artists of her time to rap one of her singles—the aforementioned "Square Biz." In the hip-hop portion of that song, she mentions some of her inspirations: Sarah Vaughn, Johann Sebastian Bach, Shakespeare, Maya Angelou, and Nikki Giovanni, "just to name a few," as she said. In 1996, the Fugees paid tribute to her by interpolating the chorus of her 1988 hit "Ooo, La, La, La" on its own "Fu-Gee-La," which was a huge hit.
In the fall of 1994, Marie released
Passion Play
on her own independent label, Sarai. Lacking the backing of a major label, this album sold less well than her earlier work, but was well received by fans.
Subsequently Marie devoted most of her time to raising her daughter Alia Rose
[13] (who has since adopted the name Rose Le Beau and is pursuing her own singing career). During the late 1990s, she made appearances (as herself) on the TV sitcoms
The Steve Harvey Show
and
The Parkers
. She also began work on a new album, entitled
Black Rain
. She was unable to secure a major label deal for this, 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 amongst 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". Some of these tracks have resurfaced on the later albums
La Dona
,
Sapphire
and
Congo Square
, in some cases (e.g. "The Mackin Game") in significantly reworked versions. Although there have been rumours of other tracks recorded during the
Black Rain
sessions, including one called "Underneath the Covers" and another (allegedly a duet with Rick James) entitled "Pretty Tony", these would appear to be apocryphal.
2004-2006: La Doña
and Sapphire
After a 14-year sabbatical from the national spotlight, Marie returned to her musical career by signing with the Classics sub-label of the successful hip-hop label
Cash Money Records, and she released her comeback album,
La Doña
, in 2004, and follow up
Sapphire
, in 2006.
La Doña
became a gold-certified success (and the highest-charting album of her career, peaking at #6 on the
Billboard 200 chart) on the basis of the
Al Green-sampled "I'm Still In Love" (#23 R&B, #70 Pop) and a duet with the late
Gerald Levert, "A Rose by Any Other Name." Marie was nominated for a 2005
Grammy Award for Best R&B Female Vocal Performance for "Still in Love." Marie quickly followed this success with the release of
Sapphire
in 2006. While sales were not as great this time around (the album peaked at #24 on the Pop Chart), the release did give Marie yet another R&B Top-40 hit, "Ooh Wee" (#32); it also reunited her (on "God Has Created" and "Cruise Control") with Smokey Robinson, the early Motown mentor whose style she had emulated on early hits such as "Young Love." Marie parted ways with Ca$h Money records after the release of
Sapphire
.
2009-present: Congo Square
On September 19, 2008, Teena performed in concert at BB King's restaurant in NYC. Marie took this time to play a couple of finished tracks from her upcoming album,
Congo Square
, and she received a positive response from the crowd.
Congo Square
was released on June 9, 2009 on the
Stax Records/Concord Music label. She has described the album as "personal and spiritual" and indicated that it is more jazz-influenced than most of her previous work.
Can't Last a Day
, a duet with Faith Evans, leaked to the internet in March 2009. 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 (
Rick James). I feel like she’s a younger me. Of the younger ladies, she’s the one I love most.”
[14] 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.
Discography
Albums
Studio Albums
Year
| Album
| Chart Positions [15]
| U.S. Certifications [16]
| Record Label
|
U.S.
| U.S. R&B
|
1979
| Wild and Peaceful
| 94
| 18
| —
| Gordy (Motown)
|
1980
| Lady T
| 45
| 18
| —
|
Irons in the Fire
| 38
| 9
| —
|
1981
| It Must Be Magic
| 23
| 2
| Gold
|
1983
| Robbery
| 119
| 13
| —
| Epic
|
1984
| Starchild
| 31
| 9
| Gold
|
1986
| Emerald City
| 81
| 20
| —
|
1988
| Naked to the World
| 65
| 15
| —
|
1990
| Ivory
| 132
| 27
| —
|
1994
| Passion Play
| —
| —
| —
| Sarai
|
2004
| La Doña
| 6
| 3
| Gold
| Cash Money
|
2006
| Sapphire
| 24
| 3
| —
|
2009
| Congo Square
| 20
| 4
| —
| Stax
|
"—" denotes the album failed to chart, was not released, or was not certified
|
Compilation Albums
Year
| Album
| Chart Positions
| Record Label
|
U.S.
| U.S. R&B
|
1985
| Greatest Hits
(Motown)
| —
| —
| Motown
|
1991
| Greatest Hits
(Epic)
| —
| —
| Epic
|
1994
| I Need Your Lovin': The Best of Teena Marie
| —
| —
| Motown
|
1996
| Motown Milestones: The Best of Teena Marie
| —
| —
|
1997
| Lovergirl: The Teena Marie Story
| —
| —
| Epic
|
2000
| Ultimate Collection
| —
| —
| Hip-O
|
2001
| 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Teena Marie
| —
| —
| Universal
|
"—" denotes the album failed to chart, was not released, or was not certified
|
Singles
Year
| Single
| Chart Positions [15] [18] [19]
|
U.S. Hot 100
| U.S. R&B
| U.S. Dance
| UK
|
1979
| "I'm a Sucker for Your Love" (featuring Rick James)
| —
| 8
| —
| 43
|
"Don't Look Back"
| —
| 91
| —
| —
|
1980
| "Behind the Groove"
| —
| 21
| 4
| 6
|
"You're All the Boogie I Need"
| —
| —
| —
|
"Can It Be Love"
| —
| 57
| —
| —
|
"I Need Your Lovin'"
| 37
| 9
| 2
| 28
|
"Chains"
| —
| —
| —
|
1981
| "Young Love"
| —
| 41
| —
| —
|
"Square Biz"
| 50
| 3
| 12
| —
|
"It Must Be Magic"
| —
| 30
| —
|
1982
| "Portuguese Love"
| —
| 54
| —
| —
|
1983
| "Fix It"
| —
| 21
| 41
| —
|
"Midnight Magnet"
| —
| 36
| —
| —
|
1984
| "Dear Lover"
| —
| 77
| —
| —
|
"Lovergirl"
| 4
| 9
| 6
| 76
|
1985
| "Jammin’"
| 81
| 45
| —
| —
|
"Out on a Limb"
| —
| 56
| —
| —
|
"14k"
| —
| 87
| —
| —
|
1986
| "Lips to Find You"
| —
| 28
| —
| —
|
"Love Me Down Easy"
| —
| 76
| —
| —
|
1988
| "Ooo La La La"
| 85
| 1
| —
| 74
|
"Work It"
| —
| 10
| —
| —
|
1990
| "Here's Looking at You"
| —
| 11
| —
| —
|
"If I Were a Bell"
| —
| 8
| —
| —
|
"Since Day One"
| —
| —
| —
| 69
|
1991
| "Just Us Two"
| —
| 42
| —
| —
|
2004
| "Still in Love"
| 70
| 23
| —
| —
|
2005
| "A Rose by Any Other Name" (featuring Gerald Levert)
| 97
| 53
| —
| —
|
2006
| "Ooh Wee"
| —
| 32
| —
| —
|
2009
| "Can't Last a Day" (featuring Faith Evans)
| —
| 41
| —
| —
|
"—" denotes the single failed to chart or was not released
|
[20]
Covers, samples, and collaborations
- Jadakiss used “I Need Your Lovin'” on his single "Right By My Side" featuring Ne-Yo in 2009.
- On Ludacris's 2004 release Red Light District
, the emcee samples Marie's song "Portuguese Love" on his song "Child Of The Night."
- R&B/Pop singer Tynisha Keli covered the song "Portuguese Love" for a performance at the House Of Blues
- In 1996, the Fugees interpolated Marie's "Ooo La La La" on its song "Fu-Gee-La"
- "Behind the Groove" has been sampled on album tracks by Coko from SWV ("I Ain't Feelin' You") and R&B supergroup LSG (Levert-Sweat-Gill). ("You Got Me")
- "Square Biz" was sampled on the tracks "Firm Biz" by hip-hop supergroup the Firm , "Crip Hop" by Snoop Dogg, and "Love U So" by Mase.
- Ne-Yo sampled "Now That I Have You" on the track he produced for R&B singer Megan Rochell, titled "Floating."
- "Young Love" was sampled in "Still be There" by Romeo and "Time" by Syleena Johnson.
- Missy Elliott interpolates lyrics from "Square Biz" in Ciara's song "1, 2 Step."
- In 1992, British pop act Curiosity (formerly Curiosity Killed the Cat) released three different versions on one CD single of "I Need Your Lovin'." The executive producer for the project was Simon Cowell. It failed to chart.
- Lisa Lisa covered "I Need Your Lovin’" on her 1996 album "Past, Present & Future".
- The Cover Girls covered "I Need Your Lovin’" on their 1996 album "Satisfy".
- Sheena Easton covered "I Need Your Lovin’" on her 2000 album "Fabulous".
- Michelle Tavares covered "I Need Your Lovin'" on her 2005 album "Just Michelle".
- Mystery P covered "Out On A Limb" as a single in 2006 and appears on "European Freestyle Tunes 2" compilation.
- Marie dueted with Rick James on his songs "Fire and Desire" from his 1981 album "Street Songs" (to which she also contributed backing vocals on several tracks) and "Happy" from his 1982 album "Throwin' Down".
- Marie was the guest vocalist on Ozone's single "Gigolette", which she also co-wrote and produced, from their 1981 album "Send It".
- Marie contributed the track "14K" to the soundtrack album of the 1985 movie "The Goonies".
- Marie was the guest vocalist on Q T Hush's song "Soul Mates" from their 1985 album "Q T Hush", on which she also served as co-producer and contributed backing vocals.
- Marie was one of the featured vocalists on the 1986 King Dream Chorus & Crew ensemble single "King Holiday".
- Marie contributed the track "Lead Me On" to the soundtrack album of the 1986 movie "Top Gun".
- Marie contributed the track "Bad Boy" to the soundtrack album of the 1989 movie "Tap".
- Marie contributed backing vocals to the track "Surrender" on Grady Harrell's 1989 album "Come Play With Me".
- Marie was a guest vocalist on Bernadette Cooper's tracks "Drama According to Bernadette Cooper" and "Epilogue: Movie Produce Her" from her 1990 album "Drama According to Bernadette Cooper".
- Marie was the guest vocalist on Cheba's 1991 single "Business Doin' Pleasure".
- Marie was the guest vocalist on L. A. Nash's song "Ain't a Damn Thing Changed" from his 1995 album "L. A. Nash".
- Marie was the guest vocalist on YoYo's song "Body Work" from her 1996 album "Total Control".
- Marie was the guest vocalist on Pamela Williams' songs "The Secret Garden" and "Latin Lullaby" from her 1996 album "Saxtress".
- Marie was the guest vocalist on Gooch's song "When It's Late" from his 1997 album "A Lot On It".
- Marie was a guest vocalist on Club DJ Danny Tenaglia's song "Baby, Do You Feel Me?", which she also co-wrote, from his 1998 album "Tourism".
- Marie contributed the track "Wishing on a Star" to the 1998 soundtrack album "New York Undercover: A Night at Natalie's" from the TV series "New York Undercover".
- Marie was the guest vocalist on Domino's song "Cum On Over" from his 1999 album "Remember Me".
- Marie was the guest vocalist on Eve's song "Life Is So Hard," from her 2001 album Scorpion
.
- Marie was the guest vocalist on Afu-Ra's song "Open" from his 2002 album "Life Force Radio".
- Marie was the guest vocalist on Pamela Williams' song "I Am Love" from her 2002 album "Evolution".
- Marie contributed the track "Shorty Down" to the soundtrack album of the 2002 movie "Undisputed".
- Marie was the guest vocalist on George Duke's song "Sudan" from his 2008 album "Dukey Treats".
Trivia
- She is the godmother of Minnie Riperton's daughter, actress/comedienne Maya Rudolph.
- "Square Biz" was reworked and used as the theme song for the last two seasons of the Tom Bergeron-hosted version of Hollywood Squares
.
- Stevie Ray Vaughan appears on the album Emerald City
.
References
- PicturePerfectAgency.com
- WireImage.com – The Largest Entertainment Photo & Video Archive
- At Home with Teena Marie and Daughter, Alia Rose
- http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:hifrxqe5ldfe~T51
- http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:hifrxqe5ldfe~T1
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnie_Riperton#Posthumous_recordings
- http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:hifrxqe5ldfe~T51
- http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00006SM8W/$%7B0%7D
- http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:hifrxqe5ldfe~T4
- http://www.vibe.com/news/online_exclusives/2004/06/2004_bet_awards_wrap/
- http://www.michaelbaisden.com/features/bside/teena-marie
- http://articles.latimes.com/2004/dec/29/entertainment/et-teena29
- http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=teena+marie+Alia+Rose
- http://blog.singersroom.com/celebs/index.php/2009/03/24/faith-evans-gets-soulful-with-teena-marie/
- Teena Marie Chart History
- Teena Marie U.S. Certifications
- Teena Marie Chart History
- Teena Marie Chart History
- Teena Marie UK Chart History
- http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/chart_display.jsp?JSESSIONID=vl1zKM3VNJDkpCQCLlpyvpRr5vFdCc1x3