Mary Christine Brockert, known professionally as Teena Marie, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, arranger, and producer.
28 Facts About Teena Marie
2.
Teena Marie was known by her childhood nickname Tina before taking the stage name Teena Marie and later acquired the nickname Lady T, given to her by her collaborator and friend, Rick James.
3.
Teena Marie was known for her distinctive soprano vocals, which caused many listeners to believe she was black.
4.
Teena Marie was a four-time Grammy Award nominee, winning one posthumously in 2023, as a credited songwriter on Beyonce's hit song "Cuff It".
5.
Teena Marie spent her early childhood in Mission Hills, California.
6.
Teena Marie said that her ethnic heritage was Belgian, Portuguese, Italian, Irish, and Native American.
7.
Teena Marie took to singing naturally, performing Harry Belafonte's "Banana Boat Song" by age two.
8.
Teena Marie later taught herself the guitar, bass, and congas.
9.
Teena Marie had asked Berry Gordy to contact Rudolph and secure his input, as Rick James was unavailable, and she felt unprepared to be sole producer of her own material.
10.
Also in 1980, Teena Marie released her third LP, Irons in the Fire, for which she handled most of the writing and production herself, an achievement considered rare at the time for a female artist.
11.
That same year, Teena Marie appeared on James' album, Street Songs, with the duet "Fire and Desire".
12.
In 1982, Teena Marie got into a heated legal battle with Motown Records over her contract and disagreements about releasing her new material.
13.
The latter was one of many tracks Teena Marie would write over the years about her real-life romance with one-time mentor Rick James.
14.
In 1986, Teena Marie released a rock music-influenced concept album titled Emerald City.
15.
Teena Marie recorded the rock-influenced track, "Lead Me On", co-produced by Giorgio Moroder, for the soundtrack of the box office hit film Top Gun.
16.
On March 30,1995, Teena Marie appeared and performed in an episode of New York Undercover as an old friend of one of the characters.
17.
Subsequently, Teena Marie devoted most of her time to raising her daughter Alia Rose.
18.
Teena Marie was unable to secure a major label deal for the album and did not want to put it out on her own Sarai label, in light of the modest sales of Passion Play.
19.
Teena Marie released her eleventh album, La Dona, in 2004, and follow up Sapphire, in 2006.
20.
Teena Marie parted ways with Ca$h Money records after the release of Sapphire.
21.
Teena Marie took this time to play a couple of finished tracks from her upcoming album, Congo Square, and received a positive response from the audience.
22.
Teena Marie has described the album as "personal and spiritual", and indicated that it was more jazz-influenced than most of her previous work.
23.
In 2010, Teena Marie continued to be a headliner on the Las Vegas Strip, appearing regularly at the Las Vegas Hilton and other venues until just before her death.
24.
At the time of her death, Teena Marie had been in the process of completing her 14th album, Beautiful.
25.
Teena Marie gave birth to a daughter named Alia Rose in 1991.
26.
Teena Marie lived in various neighborhoods throughout greater Los Angeles, including Santa Monica, Inglewood, Pasadena, and Marina Del Rey.
27.
Lenny Kravitz posted a video in which he said that Teena Marie had taken him into her home and helped him when he was struggling early in his career.
28.
In 2004, while Teena Marie was sleeping in a hotel room, a large picture frame fell and struck her on the head.