with heaven. A voice like no other, and striking beauty. I latched on to
her, & her music at an early age when I learned she was from around my
way & good friends with a Aunt of mine. Born in Santa Monica with close
ties in Venice Ca. My favorite songs performed by her were "Square Biz"
& her powerful duet with Rick James "Fire & Desire" another favorite
artist of mine.
Here's the story as Reported by RollingStone.com:
R&B singer Teena Marie, best known for her 1980s hits "Lovergirl," "Ooo
La La La" and "Lead Me On," died in her sleep last night of unknown
causes in her Los Angeles home. She was 54. Marie's debut LP, 1979's
Wild and Peaceful, was written with her mentor Rick James, who dueted
with Marie on her breakthrough single "I'm A Sucker For Your Love."
Motown, who rarely signed white artists, didn't put her photo on the
cover — leading to a longstanding belief that Marie was actually
black. Mary Christine Brockert was born in Santa Monica and began
performing at a very young age, appearing as a tap dancer an episode of
the Beverly Hillbillies when she was only eight years old. Marie was
signed to Motown by Berry Gordy when she was 19, though no music was
released for nearly three years while they figured out what kind of
material to give her. "One day [Rick James] was walking down the hall
and I was sitting in Stevie Wonder's office," Marie recalled in a 2009
interview. "I would always be in there playing his piano and singing.
Rick popped his head in there and we started having a conversation and
after that we just became really close friends." James contributed much
to Marie's disco-infused debut album, though they rarely worked together
in the ensuing years.
