 Born Mary Christine Brockert in Santa Monica, CA., her parents nicknamed her Teena Marie, which she then adopted as her stage name when she signed with Motown records in the late 70's. As one of the first successful
white female artists on that label, Teena Marie would soon become a staple on the black charts releasing 4 albums, some of which went gold. And although Motown deliberately left her picture off the cover of her first album, Wild and Peaceful, because they didn't believe that the black consumers would accept a white singer singing as soulful as Aretha Franklin, she persevered.
With the teaming up of Rick James, she would play to standing-room-only crowds that were primarily black across the United States, until the early 80's, when she sued Motown records over unpaid royalties. Teena was then released from her contract with the popular record company and signed with Epic soon after.
Combining funk, rock, jazz, and gospel, Teena seemed to have her own sound and the industry couldn't categorize her style of music, thus creating difficulties with mainstream billboards. But since she already had a home on the black charts, she continued to find success. She put out 5 more albums on Epic (and a greatest hits album), including the 1984 album Starchild which produced the top 5 hit song "Lovergirl" (That's when I discovered her...). Capturing an entirely new audience, she continued to have success for two more years until she released the follow-up album Emerald City. At this time people generally thought that she just disappeared. But back on the R&B charts, Teena never lost her soulful touch or her fans. With funky songs like "Lips to Find You," "Work It," and "Here's Looking at You," as well as the smoother, jazzy tunes like "Ooo La La La," "Casanova Brown," and "If I Were a Bell," Teena kept on groovin', gaining even more support from black radio and less enthusiasm from the stations that had a primarily white audience.
So what makes Teena Marie so unique? It's not just the fact that she has a soulful voice, or at a first listen, you might think she is black, but the message she conveys through her extremely expressive lyrics. Soul music, to me, has always been this deep emotional sense of experience and adversity. It's the type of music that forces you to feel things you never thought you'd feel. With a strong attitude against ignorance and racism, many of Teena's songs are an extension of what she truly believes and what she'd like others to believe in. It's music that forces you to feel things you never thought you'd feel. Her music, in essence, exemplifies that which can be achieved by
embracing diversity instead of fearing it.
I finally had the pleasure of watching this little 5'1" white girl,
belt out songs like "Deja Vu," "Square Biz," "I Need Your Lovin'," "Lovergirl," and "Ooo La La," to a standing-room-only crowd at the Park West in Chicago, IL. on 7/14/94. I had waited a lifetime to see her live, despite my ignorance in discovering her musical talents after her Motown days. Nonetheless, a love affair grew, and keeps on growing today, as I anxiously await the nationwide release of a song I heard on a local radio station called "My Body's Hungry," before seeing Teena at the House of Blues that same night. In true Teena Marie fashion, "My Body's Hungry" got to the core of my soul, keeping myself, as well as the DJs locked in.
It had always been my dream to see this lady perform. I can see why Teena has been considered more of a sister, than just another white girl doing soul music. Playing to a 99% African-American crowd at the Park West, the other 1% being me and my friend Angela, I was mesmerized, as others were, by her style of singing which has its influence in jazz, blues, gospel and shades of George Clinton.
Teena has always been on the front lines fighting the great fight for
equality, and getting people to "squash the hate" which is definitely a
strong attitude that she promotes in almost all her material. Though her songs can be very thought provoking, she never strays too far away from the good ole' love ballads and funky dance tunes that people have grown to love, and which, I would say, is her forte. Not to mention, the magnitude of her vocal range which can reach those high, high notes, as well as the octaves below.
Always the consummate performer, Teena never let the audience down at the 1994 concert. Though she tried to do all of her great hits from past years, the ones that she did do were enough to keep the people happy and forever wanting more. The mark of a true performer, in my opinion. That concert also marked her first tour in probably 8 years, promoting a new album under her own record Sarai label, called Passion Play, a must-buy for true Teena fans.
If I had to choose one word that could describe the way I feel about Teena Marie, it would have to be "role model." Growing up in a small suburb of Chicago, I was raised to hate blacks, latinos, and any other type of ethnic or minority group. Due to their ignorance and bigotry, I found myself questioning everything that was being taught to me, and when I discovered that I was gay, my whole world crumbled. Soon after coming out to my family, I was totally dismissed, and asked to move out. I was all but 19 at the time. It was very troubling for me, and I desperately needed someone who I could look up to. Someone who could validate my own ideas about accepting diversity and judging people by character and not by color or sexual orientation. Teena became my savior. I didn't feel as alone in my beliefs, and I began opening up my eyes "to the salt and pepper of the earth," as Teena so eloquently wrote on the inside sleeve of the album Irons in the Fire. I started to believe in myself, and found an inner strength and a quiet peace.
I owe a lot to Teena Marie for helping me accept others as well as myself. As I listen to the blues, jazz or gospel, I can't help but feel all the things that exist in life, the good, the bad, and yes, the ugly. To me, music truly is that which can only be felt by the individual who is listening. It's a personal preference and a way of channeling your innermost desires and pains. Teena accomplishes all of this and more. Through her lyrics and performances, you can honestly get to the soul of Teena Marie. I have yet to find another artist who is this real or this honest. When she is on stage, she becomes the music -- every instrument you hear, and every note that is sung.
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