Teena Marie passed away suddenly on Sunday, December 26. (Teena is pictured here at the far left with Ruth Garland-Dewson at an awards ceremony in Beverly Hills in 2008).
Known as the “Ivory Queen of Soul”, a white woman in the black world of Motown R&B, disco and then rap, Teena was a force in the music industry to be reckoned with. A protege of “Super Freak” singer Rick James, she played rhythm guitar, keyboards and congas, and had huge hits in the ’80s, like “Lover Girl” and “Square Biz”.
But what’s less known about Teena Marie (born Mary Christine Brockert) is how she was a “musician’s musician” and broke down more than a color barrier in the music industry. When Motown refused to release material she recorded in the early ’80s, she sued – and won, setting a precedent to this day that makes it illegal for a record label to keep artists under contract if it will not release their work in a timely manner.
What’s saddest about the loss of Teena Marie is that this innovative musician was still making music and performing. So many people had yet to experience the day when they discovered one of her songs or albums in that great mass of music to download and could eagerly anticipate in the months and years ahead hearing something new.
Sources: Wikipedia “Teena Marie” and NPR.org “Farewell to Teena Marie: The Ivory Queen of Soul”.
Photo courtesy of KazzaDrask Media.
Kathy Drasky regularly writes about online culture. Her marketing and communications work with the ANZA Technology Network, Advance Global Australians and with various Australians and Australian enterprises has led to at least a dozen trips Down Under.
An accomplished digital photographer, her photos have appeared in 7×7 Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle and Google Schmap.
