Teena Marie dies aged 54
Written by admin on December 27, 2010 – 11:49 am -| Soul singer Teena Marie died yesterday at her home in Pasadena, California aged 54. She was born Mary Christine Brockert in Santa Monica, California on March 5, 1956.
Teena Marie signed with Motown in 1976 and made four albums for the label from 1979 to 1981. She was mentored by funk legend Rick James, with whom she would have a long professional and personal relationship. |
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Teena’s biggest success with Motown came with her platinum-selling fourth album “It Must Be Magic” in 1981. Her biggest single with the label was “I Need Your Lovin'” in 1981.
In 1982, Teena sued Motown and this led to a law which prevents labels from holding an artist without releasing any of their music. She then signed to Epic and released five albums from 1983 to 1990, the most successful of which was “Starchild” in 1984. This album also produced her biggest ever single, “Lovergirl”, which reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
Teena Marie – “Lovergirl”
Teena left Epic in 1990 after disappointing sales for the album “Ivory.” Sales were also disappointing for her 1994 album “Passion Play”, which was released on her independent label, Sarai Records. She spent the next decade guesting on albums and making the occasional television appearance, but was largely out of the spotlight.
In 2004, Teena made a musical comeback with the album “La Doña”, which went Gold and reached number six on the Billboard album chart – her highest ever placing. Teena followed this up with “Sapphire” in 2006 and “Congo Square” in 2009, both of which hit the top 30.
Teena had also become a Las Vegas headliner in recent years, appearing regularly at the Las Vegas Hilton.
Tags: Teena Marie
Posted in Motown, Obituaries, Soul |
