Teena is truly one of the GOATs of R&B, soul and funk . When I was in my teens I played her music constantly. Try her song “Behind The Groove” I’m sure you will like that one.
S Nation! When you hear these blasts from the past which I and my generation saw firsthand in their original moments it does my heart ❤️ good to see this younger generation be awed by what they hear and see raw talent and showmanship no auto tune in these performances what you hear is what you got , ENJOY!
Teena was in her early 30s when she released "Ooh La La La". She played guitar and piano. She was from California. Will you please listen and react to her song "Where California?'
An extra sweet reaction 🍯! I see 👁👁 that you have reacted to Teena Marie before: Square Biz, Fire And Desire and Lovergirl. Ooh La La La was released as the lead single from Teena Marie's 1988 album: Naked To The World. It was written by Teena Marie and Allen McGrier. It was produced by Teena Marie. The song reached #1 on the R&B chart and #85 on the Hot 100. Beyoncé sampled the song: "Ooo La La La", for her single: "Cuff It", in 2022, for which co-writer Allen McGrier and Teena Marie (posthumously) received a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song at the 65th Grammy Awards in 2023. The song has been sampled by many other artists including: Fugees, Redman, Mobb Deep, Trey Songz, Raekwon, Grand Puba, Donell Jones, Mother Superia and more. She was 32 or 33 during this 1988 Soul Train Performance. The single had a resurgence in popularity when the song was interpolated by the Fugees on the group's 1996 hit single: "Fu-Gee-La". Teena Marie Info 📰: Mary Christine Brockert (Teena Marie) was born on March 5, 1956 in Santa Monica, California. She is a singer, songwriter, actress, musician, composer, arranger and producer. She was known for her distinctive soprano vocals, which caused many listeners to believe she was black. Her success in R&B and Soul music, and loyalty to these genres would earn her the title: Ivory Queen Of Soul. Teena Marie was a four-time Grammy Award nominee, winning one posthumously in 2023, as a credited songwriter (as Mary Christine Brockert) on Beyonce's hit song: Cuff It. She 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. When she was eight years old, her parents began sending Teena on auditions which, among other things, netted her an acting role on popular tv series The Beverly Hillbillies, credited as Tina Marie Brockert. She later taught herself the guitar, bass, and congas. In the early 1970s, after the family moved to Venice, Los Angeles, Teena Marie spent her adolescent years in the historically black Venice enclave of Oakwood, California referred to as "Venice Harlem". There, she would acquire a strong spiritual influence from neighborhood matriarch Berthalynn Jackson, a black woman who would become her godmother. While attending Venice High School, she joined the Summer Dance Production and was the female lead in the school's production of The Music Man. She also fronted a local Venice rock band "Truvair" in 1974-1975; the band's members were her high school classmates. Following graduation, she juggled auditioning for various record companies with studying English literature at Santa Monica College. In 1976, Teena Marie gained an introduction to Motown Records staff producer Hal Davis (best known for his work with Brenda Holloway and The Jackson 5). It led to an audition for a film about orphans that was being developed by Motown. The project was shelved, but Motown label boss Berry Gordy, impressed with her singing but having no need for a musical group, decided to sign her as a solo act. Teena Matie recorded unreleased material with a number of different producers over the next few years, before being spotted by labelmate Rick James, who was immediately impressed with her sound. Some of Tina Marie's earlier, unreleased material has since been made available on the compilation album: First Class Love Rare Tee. At the time, Rick James, already established as a successful recording artist, was on tap to produce for Diana Ross but changed his mind and decided to work with Teena Marie, instead. The result was her debut album release: Wild And Peaceful (1979). The album was, at one point, due to be credited to "Teena Tryson", but ultimately was put out under "Teena Marie", the name by which she would be known throughout her remaining career. The album scored Teena Marie her first top-ten R&B hit, "I'm A Sucker For Your Love" (#8 R&B Singles Chart), a duet with Rick James. Neither the album nor its packaging had her picture on it, and many radio programmers assumed she was black during the earliest months of her career. This myth was disproved when she performed her debut hit with Rick James on Soul Train in 1979, becoming the show's first white female guest. (She would appear on the show eight more times, more than any other white act.) Her second album: Lady T (1980), featured her portrait on the cover, and is also noted for having production from Richard Rudolph (the widower of R&B singer Minnie Riperton). Teena Marie had asked Berry Gordy to contact Richard Rudolph and secure his input, as Rick James was unavailable, and she felt unprepared to be sole producer of her own material. Richard Rudolph had intended for a song he penned, "Now That I Have You", for his wife Minnie Riperton, but offered it to Teena Marie for Lady T. Richard Rudolph also co-composed the single "Behind The Groove", which reached number 21 on the R&B singles chart and No. 6 on the U.K. singles chart in 1980. The song would also be included on the soundtrack of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on the Fever 105 radio station. 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. The single "I Need Your Lovin'" (#37 Pop, No. 9 R&B Singles) brought Teena Marie her first top 40 hit; it also peaked at No. 28 in the UK chart. That same year, Teena Marie appeared on Rick James' album, Street Songs, with the duet "Fire And Desire". In an interview, Teena Marie said she had a fever at the time yet managed to record her vocals in one take. After the session, she was driven to a hospital. The two would perform the single at the 2004 BET Awards, which would be their last TV appearance with one another, as Rick James passed away later that year. Teena Marie continued her success with Motown in 1981, with the release of her album: It Must Be Magic (#2 R&B Albums Chart), her first gold record, which included her then biggest hit on R&B, "Square Biz" (#3 R&B Singles). Other notable tracks include "Portuguese Love" (featuring a brief, uncredited cameo by Rick James, No. 54 R&B Singles), the title track "It Must Be Magic" (#30 R&B Singles). In 1982, Teena Marie got into a heated legal battle with Motown Records over her contract and disagreements about releasing her new material. The lawsuit resulted in "The Brockert Initiative", which made it illegal for a record company to keep an artist under contract without releasing new material for that artist. In such instances, artists are able to sign and release with another label instead of being held back by an unsupportive one. Teena Marie commented on the law in an LA Times article, saying, "It wasn't something I set out to do. I just wanted to get away from Motown and have a good life. But it helped a lot of people, like Luther Vandross and the Mary Jane Girls, and a lot of different artists, to be able to get out of their contracts." She left Motown as the label's most successful white solo act. Teena Marie continued to record new music at Epic Records in the 1980s. In 1984, Teena Marie released her biggest-selling album: Starchild. It yielded her biggest hit, "Lovergirl", which peaked at No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in March 1985 and at No. 9 on the R&B chart. "Lovergirl" was included in the 2002 Jennifer Lopez movie: Maid In Manhattan. The record label also released the moderate R&B hit "Out On A Limb", which peaked at No. 56 on the R&B chart but didn't break the Hot 100. "14k" was featured on the soundtrack of the film The Goonies (1985) but this song was not a hit. In 1986, Teena Marie participated in the Martin Luther King Jr Holiday celebration musical project: "King Dream Chorus & Holiday Crew: King Holiday", along with New Edition, Stephanie Mills, Whitney Houston, El DeBarge, Lisa Lisa, Full Force, Stacy Lattisaw, James "JT" Taylor, Menudo, The Fat Boys, Run DMC, Whodini, Melle Mel and Kurtis Blow. In the 1990s Teena Marie would two more albums before taking a hiatus to raise her daughter her daughter Alia Rose, who has since adopted the stage name "Rose Le Beau" and is pursuing her own singing career in the music industry. Teena Marie would return to the music industry in 2004 and continued to release new music collaborating with many artists including: Alia Rose, Gerald Levert, MC Lyte, DeDe O'Neal, Rick James, Shirley Murdock, Common, Smokey Robinson and more. She also resumed her live on stage performances. ****CONTINUE BELOW****
In 2004, while Teena Marie was sleeping in a hotel room, a large picture frame fell and struck her on the head. The blow caused a serious concussion that resulted in momentary seizures for the rest of her life. In 2009, TV One produced an Unsung episode on Teena Marie's life and music career. On the afternoon of December 26, 2010, Teena Marie 🙏🏼 was found unconscious by her daughter, Alia Rose, in her Pasadena home. On December 30, 2010, an autopsy was performed by the Los Angeles County coroner, who found no signs of apparent trauma or a discernible cause of death, and concluded she had died from natural causes. She had suffered a generalized tonic-clonic seizure a month before. At the time of her passing, Teena Marie had been in the process of completing her 14th album: Beautiful. It was finished posthumously by her daughter, Alia Rose, and released on January 15, 2013. Also, a limited edition album was released in July 2011, comprising previously unreleased songs from her Motown era entitled: "First Class Love: Rare Tee". A memorial service for her was held at Forest Lawn Cemetery on January 10, 2011 where she was laid to rest. Among those in attendance were Stevie Wonder, Deniece Williams, Smokey Robinson, Queen Latifah, LisaRaye, Sinbad, Tichina Arnold, Shanice Wilson and Berry Gordy Jr. In 2011, the Teena Marie documentary: "Inside: Teena Marie", directed by J Kevin Swain and featuring appearances from Alia Rose, Faith Evans, Lalah Hathaway, Shanice Wilson, was released. The singer JoJo (Joanna Noëlle Levesque) is rumored to be up for the lead role in a potential production of a future Teena Marie bio-pic. Teena Marie Acting Credits 🎬: The Beverly Hillbillies (1964) New York Undercover (1995) The Parkers (2000) The Steve Harvey Show (2001) Teena Marie Albums 📀: Wild And Peaceful (1979) Lady T (1980) Irons In The Fire (1980) It Must Be Magic (1981) Robbery (1983) Starchild (1984) Emerald City (1986) Naked To The World (1988) Ivory (1990) Passion Play (1994) La Doña (2004) Sapphire (2006) Congo Square (2009) First Class Love: Rare Tee (2011) Beautiful (2013) Some good Teena Marie songs 🎶: It Must Be Magic, Portuguese Love, 365, Fix It, Midnight Magnet, I'm a Sucker For Your Love, Can It Be Love, Don't Look Back, I Need Your Lovin', Starchild, Light, Harlem Blues, My Dear Mr Gaye, Co-Pilot To Pilot, Stop The World, Opus III (Does Anybody Care), Opus III- The Second Movement, Here's Looking At You, Work It, You Make Love Like Springtime, Behind The Groove, Ask Your Momma, Now That I Have You, De Ja Vu (I've Been Here Before), Playboy, Still In Love, Ooh Wee, Congo Square, I Can't Love Anymore, The Red Zone, Hypnotized, Emerald City, Here's Looking At You, Once Is Not Enough, The Ballad Of Cradle Rob And Me, Love Just Wouldn't Be Right, Out On A Limb, Jammin', Love Me Down Easy, Behind The Groove, Dear Lover, Maria Bonita (For My Mother), If I Were A Bell, Warm As Mommas Oven, Too Many Colors (Tee's Interlude), Mr Icecream, The Once And Future Dream, Lips To Find You, The Sugar Shack, We've Got To Stop (Meeting Like This), Batucada Suite, Main Squeeze, Why Did I Fall In Love With You, Ecstacy, Smooth Tip, I'm Gonna Have My Cake (And Eat It Too), 14K, Just Us Two, You're All The Boogie I Need, Chains, Lonely Desire, The Ball, Aladdin's Lamp, Turnin' Me On, Young Girl In Love, Revolution, Irons In The Fire, Young Love, Help Youngblood Get To The Freaky Party, Tune In Tomorrow, The Long Play, Sweet On You, First Class Love, Where's California, Yes Indeed, Pretty Man, Wild Horses, Cassanova Brown, Ms Coretta, Somebody Just Like You, Robbery, Miracles Need Wings To Fly, Beautiful (For Alia), Shadow Boxing, Dear Lover, Midnight Magnet, Surrealistic Pillow, Fix It, Out On A Limb, Why Can't I Get Next To You, The Perfect Feeling, Since Day One, Call Me (I Got Yo Number), Shangri-La, Carte Blanche, You So Heavy, Alibi, Snap Your Fingers, Ivory (A Tone Poem), Jammin', Black Rain, Trick Bag, Marry Me, Crocodile Tears, Passion Play, Climb The Walls, Naked To The World, Oh Love, Cupid Is A Real Straight Shooter, Butterflies, How Can You Resist It, Parking Music ... (The Baby Maker), Can You Do It, Blackberry Playa, Slow Grind, Breakfast In Bed, High Yellow Girl, The Air I Breathe, God Has Created, The Greatest Love Of All Time, Happiness Is In Your Soul, Wasn't I Good To You, Honey Call, Make You Surrey, I'm Still In Love, Baby I'm Your Fiend, White Soul, Betcha I'll Prove, Watcha Got 4 Me, Hey Boy, Spanish Harlem, The Rose N' Thorn, My Body's Hungry, I'm On Fire, Resilient (Sapphire), The Way You Love Me, Baby I Love You, Milk N' Honey, Don't Turn Your Back On Me, Wasn't I Good To You, More Love, Black Cool, 1999, First Class Love, Sweet Tooth, Luv Letter, Definition Of Down, Can't Last A Day (w/ Faith Evans), Lover's Lane (w/ Howard Hewett), Revelations 3:8 Introduction (w/ Common), The Pressure (w/ MC Lyte), God Has Created (w/ Smokey Robinson), A Rose By Any Other Name (w/ Gerald Levert), Soldier Boy (w/ Shirley Murdock), I Love Him Too (w/ DeDe O'Neal), The Mackin' Game (w/ MC Lyte, Medusa), You And I (w/ Rick James), Happy (w/ Rick James) and I Got You (w/ Rick James). Fun Fact 🕵🏾♀: Teena Marie was godmother to American actress and comedienne Maya Rudolph, daughter of singer-songwriter Minnie Riperton, as well as to Marvin Gaye's daughter Nona Gaye.
