Teena Marie, RIP

This was very sad news, RIP

 

Some of these things are well-known, some not:

http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/28/top-10-little-known-facts-about-teena-marie/?hpt=T2


Top 10 little known facts about Teena Marie
While the world awaits word as to the cause of death for R & B singer Teena Marie, we look back at some things about the “Ivory Queen of Soul’s” life you might not have known:

1) She has a connection to “Saturday Night Live” – The singer was godmother to former “SNL” cast member Maya Rudolph who is the daughter of the late legendary singer Minnie Ripperton and music producer Richard Rudolph. Richard Rudolph produced Marie’s second album, “Lady T.”

2) She was a free spirit early on – Marie admitted during a TV One episode of the show “Unsung” that she got into a little bit of trouble while a student at Venice High School in Los Angeles, California. During a production of the musical “Carousel,” she was booted out for smoking marijuana, the singer said.


3) Fans weren’t the only ones surprised by her ethnicity – Early in her career, Motown opted not to send out press photographs so as not to prejudice fans and radio stations with the fact that Marie was white. But one of her childhood friends, singer Mickey Boyce-Ellis, reportedly said she didn’t realize her best friend was white until one day Marie’s mother came to school to pick her up.

4) She and Rick James weren’t just musical partners – The pair shared a tumultuous love affair which Marie said resulted in a two week long engagement. The "Super Freak" singer produced her early work and they famously dueted on the passionate single “Fire and Desire.” They broke up in 1981 but reconciled musically in 2004 for a tour and a performance on the BET Awards which earned a standing ovation. James died two months later.

5) She was a rap pioneer – Marie was one of the first musical artists to incorporate rhyme into an R & B song. In 1981, she rapped on her single “Square Biz” off the album “It Must Be Magic.”

6) She crossed racial boundaries – The singer was embraced by the Black community, as has been evidenced by the outpouring of grief and tributes since her death. In 2004, she was signed to a sub-label of the successful Cash Money Records, home of rap superstar Lil Wayne. She later moved on to the Stax Records.

In his Atlantic essay “The Indomitable Blackness of Teena Marie,” writer Ta-Nehisi Coates says "I'm sure some of the old-heads here, can come up with a corollary, but I'm having trouble thinking of a white artist whose relationship to black music mirrored Teena Marie's. More specifically, I can't think of a white artist who was more beloved by such a large swath of black people than Teena Marie."

7) She influenced law – After leaving Motown Records in the 1980s, the label sued her and she responded in a countersuit which resulted in the “Brockert Initiative” which was named for the singer whose real name was Mary Christine Brockert. The initiative clarified a California law which made it impossible for record labels to keep a performer under contract without paying them royalties.

8) She remained a part of the Motown family – Despite the legal troubles, Marie and Berry Gordy remained close and she often referred to him as her father. The Motown founder has said he is devastated by her death.

9) She’s not the only singer in the family – Marie was often joined these past few years on stage by her daughter Alia Rose who performs under the name Rose Le Beau. The pair were extremely close (Marie had refered to her daughter's Christmas birth as her greatest gift) and it was her daughter who reportedly discovered Marie’s body. "The thing that I am most proud of is my child,” Marie told TV One. “That I was able to do these things that I did, but I was able to still be a good mother."

10) She loved Sarah Vaughn to the end – Not only did Marie pay homage to the great jazz singer in interviews and song (in “Square Biz” Marie raps about her) but one of her last tweets the day before her death quotes Vaughn: “May you never grow old, and may I never die.”

 

Also, I just read that her first gig was at age 8 on the Beverly Hillbillies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucbrcwCQZYc

 

Our local news last night had her as "Tina Marie".

 

BTW, here are some of the lyrics to "Square Biz":

 

I heard Vanilla Choc all y'all which I like much better than Vanilla Child. It's all good, she's still Vanilla Choc to me! Touche' Now what bass was she playing in the video.....?

 

The other thing about "It Must Be Magic" is that she is also paying homage to Motown's past and more directly to Smokey Robinson. In the intro to the song you hear Melvin Franklin quote a line from The Marvelettes song "My Baby Must Be A Magician".

The original vinyl release of "It Must Be Magic" IIRC was mastered by Bernie Grundman. I don't have either of the CD releases but the best of comp that came out in 1994 is actually mastered very well, and the tracks from that album sound great. Bill Inglot and Dan Hersch mastered that compilation.

 

Her obituary in the local paper today contained some information I did not know:

On the track "You So Heavy" from the Emerald City album, Stevie Ray Vaughan plays the guitar solos (most prominent in the latter half of the song):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xffZkfwaO0k

Interesting pairing on this track

 

Unless your speakers aren't right. it's always been clear that she's saying "child". Maybe it's the Black dialect you don't get.

 

And, of interest to this crowd: the second track on "It Must be Magic" "Revolution" was about John Lennon's murder.

 

Yes, SRV did a fine job playing guitar on that song. Great tone.

The Emerald City album is a really good album, in my opinion, even though it doesn't seem to get mentioned as often as some of her earlier (and more popular) work. I especially love Side 1 which features "Lips 2 Find U", the funky "Emerald City" (with Bootsy Collins) and the scorching, guitar-driven "You So Heavy".

I have this album on vinyl and CD, and a 12" single of "Lips 2 Find U".

 

wow... young!

I have been looking for the Japan for US Starchild. Have not found it, I wonder if it even exists.

 

The old CBS/Epic CD will do just fine.

 

If I could find it.

I can't even find the regular US pressing.

 

Damn! I just looked at Amazon. It's going for crazy prices! I guess it's OOP too.

 

Sad, RIP. Named after the Perry Como song?

 

Gotta be honest; not feeling that at all. SRV is all wrong on that song. His solo is neither melodic-pretty or dirty-funky. It's just a mess that really doesn't say anything. The song itself is an odd structure and it doesn't do a thing for me.

Thanks for sharing it, though. I hadn't heard it.

Ed

 

Well, there's always a spike in demand for an artist's work right after they die. Give it some time and the prices will likely return to what they were before. (I don't know whether it was going for a crazy price before her death as well, but it's surely going for more right now because of it.)

 

Is there a Japan-for-U.S. pressing? Although the album came out in '84, Allmusic lists the CD as a 1985 release. If it came out in '85, then there probably would not be a Japanese pressing.

 

They were going for crazy prices before. Hopefully we will now finally see some of them re-issued. I heard rumors of a hip-o-select "Lady T" but its never come out.

 

I took a chance and ordered a used Starchild CD from Secondspin in the Amazon Marketplace for $7.98 shipped.

 

Starchild is easy to find used. It also was re-issued as a clone of the original in 2008.

 

I saw the 2008 reissue on Amazon but wasn't sure about the packaging. It must be out of print because the only copy on Amazon is in the Marketplace for a whopping $149.99.

In any case, I went with a cheap used copy on Amazon that was listed under the original CD issue. I never see copies of Starchild in the bins, unfortunately. There also isn't much on eBay.