Teena Marie was nothing if not a fighter. On her first release, her picture wasn’t on the cover of her album because her bosses at Motown believed that black audiences wouldn’t buy a record from a white singer. However, three years and one collaboration with Rick James later, and Teena Marie was a household name. The continued to produce hits through most of the 80’s on what was then called Billboard’s Black Music chart, and had a career resurgence within the last few years after a pair of well-received albums. The comeback for Marie Christine Brockert, AKA Teena Marie, AKA Lady T, has ended. Teena Marie died sometime late Christmas night or early Sunday morning after suffering from seizures.
Teena Marie’s body was discovered by her daughter, Alia Rose AKA singer Rose Le Beau, on Sunday Morning, the day after Christmas. Marie was an unlikely R&B star given her connection to funk musicians like Rick James; still, R&B is what she loved and appreciated, due to her background with the music. A trailblazing white star in a black musical style, Marie was also one of the earliest singers to cut a rap-style song on a record.
“That’s what I grew up on,” said Teena Marie in a 1985 interview. “I listened to black radio and black musicians. That’s what spoke to me and when I started making my own music, that’s what came out. I’ve always felt my music came from a lot of places, including classical composers. As for R&B, it’s been around so long at this point that it’s America’s music. It’s the world’s music.”
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