JANICE'S BLUES ALLEY PRESENTS
TEENA MARIE
No white artist has sung R&B more convincingly than Teena Marie, whose big, robust vocals are so black-sounding that when she was starting out, some listeners wondered if she was a light-skinned African-American. Marie grew up in west Los Angeles in a neighborhood that was nicknamed "Venice Harlem" because of its heavy black population. The singer/songwriter/producer was in her early twenties when, around 1977, she landed a job at Motown Records. It was at Motown that she met her mentor and paramour-to-be, Rick James, who ended up doing all of the writing and producing for her debut album of 1979, Wild and Peaceful. That LP, which boasted her hit duet with James, "I'm Just a Sucker for Your Love," didn't show Marie's picture -- so many programmers at black radio just assumed she was black. When her second album, Lady T, came out, much of the R&B world was shocked to see how fair-skinned she was. But to many of the black R&B fans who were eating her music up, it really didn't matter -- the bottom line was she was a first-rate soul singer whose love of black culture ran deep.
By her third album, 1980's gold Irons in the Fire, Marie was doing most of her own writing and producing. That album boasted the major hit "I Need Your Lovin'," and Marie went gold again with her next album, It Must Be Magic (which included the major hit "Square Biz"). It Must Be Magic turned out to be her last album for Motown, which she had a nasty legal battle with. Marie got out of her contract with Motown, and the case ended up with the courts passing what is known as "The Teena Marie Law" -- which states that a label cannot keep an artist under contract without putting out an album by him or her.
Switching to Epic in 1983, Marie recorded her fifth album, Robbery, and had a hit with "Fix It." In 1984, Marie recorded her sixth album, Starchild, and had her biggest pop hit ever with "Lovergirl." Though Marie had often soared to the top of the R&B charts, "Lovergirl" marked the first time she'd done so well in the pop market. Ironically, Marie was a white singer who had enjoyed little exposure outside the R&B market prior to "Lovegirl."
Three more Epic albums followed: 1986's Emerald City, 1988's Naked to the World (which contained her smash hit "Ooh La La La"), and 1990's Ivory. Unfortunately, Marie's popularity had faded considerably by the late '80s, and Epic dropped her. In 1994, the singer released Passion Play on her own Sarat label. Ten years later, she signed to Cash Money and released La Do�a, featuring assistance from Gerald LeVert, Rick James, and MC Lyte. Sapphire followed two years later. Though both La Do�a and Sapphire peaked at number three on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, she switched to Stax for her next album, 2009's Congo Square. Marie unexpectedly died in her sleep on December 26, 2010.
-- All Music Guide, Alex Henderson
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Congo Square [2009]
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1 The Pressure 2 Can't Last a Day 3 Baby I Love You 4 Ear Candy 101 5 Lover's Lane 6 Marry Me 7 You Baby 8 Milk N' Honey |
9 What U Got 4 Me 10 Rovleta's Jass 11 Congo Square 12 Harlem Blues 13 Black Cool 14 Ms. Coretta 15 Soldier 16 The Rose N' Thorn |
Sapphire [2006]
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1 God Has Created 2 Cruise Control 3 Baby Who's Is It 4 Make It Hot 5 Ooh Wee 6 Sleeping with the Enemy 7 A.P.B. 8 Love Is a Gangsta |
9 Ladies Choice 10 Somebody Just Like You 11 You Blow Me Away 12 Simmer Down 13 Romantica 14 The Way You Love Me 15 Ecstasy 16 Resilient (Sapphire) |
La Dona [2004]
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1 La Do�a-Intro 2 I'm Still in Love 3 Honey Call 4 Baby I'm Your Fiend 5 My Body's Hungry 6 A Rose by Any Other Name 7 Off the Chain 8 Makavelli Never Lied 9 Revelations 3: 8 |
10 Recycle Hate to Love 11 The Mackin' Game 12 I Love Him Too 13 I Got You 14 Hit Me Where I Live 15 High Yellow Girl 16 Black Rain 17 I'm on Fire |
Lovergirl: The Teena Marie Story [1997]
| 01. Just Us Two 02. Ooo La La La - (12-inch version) 03. Sugar Shack, The - (Extended Club Mix) 04. If I Were A Bell 05. Stop The World 06. My Dear Mr. Gaye |
07. Shadow Boxing 08. Light 09. Out On A Limb 10. Lovergirl 11. Dear Lover 12. Fix It - (12-inch version) |
Best of Teena Marie [1996]
| 01. Square Biz 02. Don't Look Back 03. You Make Love Like Springtime 04. Can It Be Love 05. Young Love |
06. I Need Your Lovin' 07. Now That I Have You 08. You're All The Boogie I Need 09. Why Did I Fall In Love With You 10. 365 |
Passion Play [1994]
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1 Warm as Mommas Oven 2 Main Squeeze 3 Wild Horses 4 Smooth Tip 5 Hypnotized Prelude 6 Hypnotized 7 Parking Music |
8 Sweet on You 9 Slow Grind 10 Climb the Walls 11 Breakfast in Bed 12 Passion Play 13 Pretty Man 14 The Air I Breathe |
I Need Your Lovin' [1994]
| 1. I Need Your Lovin' 2. Behind the Groove 3. Every Little Bit Hurts 4. Irons In The Fire 5. Portuguese Love 6. It Must Be Magic |
7. Deja Vu (I've Been Here Before) 8. Don't Turn Your Back On Me 9. Square Biz 10. Turnin' On Me 11. Now That I Have You 12. I'm A Sucker For Your Love |
Greatest hits {Epic} [1991]
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1. Lovergirl 2. Work It 3. Ooo La La La 4. If I Were A Bell 5. Here's Looking At You |
6. Call Me 7. Cassanova Brown 8. My Dear Mr. Gaye 9. Out On A Limb |
Ivory (1990)
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01. Here's Looking At You 02. Sugar Shack (prelude) 03. Sugar Shack 04. If I Were A Bell 05. Just Us Two 06. Ivory (A Tone Poem) |
07. Snap Your Fingers 08. Mr. Ice Cream 09. Cupid's A Real Straight Shooter 10. How Can You Resist It 11. Since Day One 12. Miracles Need Wings To Fly 13. The Red Zone |
Teena Marie Greatest Hits [1989]
| 1. I'm A Sucker For Your Love 2. De Ja Vu (I've Been Here Before) 3. Behind The Groove 4. It Must Be Magic 5. I Need Your Lovin' |
6. Aladdin's Lamp 7. Portuguese Love 8. Square Biz 9. Opus III (Does Anybody Care) |
Naked to the World [1988]
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01. Trick Bag 02. Call Me 03. Ooo La La La 04. Crocadile Tears 05. Opus III - The Second Movement |
06. Surrealistic Pillow 07. Once And Future Dream 08. Work It 09. The Ball 10. Naked To The World |
Emerald City [1987]
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1. Emerald City 2. Once Is Not Enough 3. Lips To Find You 4. You So Heavy |
5. Shangri-La 6. Batuccada Suite 7. Love Me Down Easy 8. Sunny Skies |
Starchild (1984)
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1. Lovergirl 2. Help Youngblood Get To The Freaky Party 3. Out On A Limb 4. Alibi 5. Jammin |
6. Starchild 7. We've Got To Stop 8. My Dear Mr. Gaye 9. Light |
Robbery (1983)
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1. Ask Your Momma 2. Cassanova Brown 3. Dear Lover 4. Fix It 5. Midnight Magnet |
6. Playboy 7. Robbery 8. Shadow Boxing 9. Stop The World |
Irons In The Fire [1981]
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1. I Need Your Lovin' 2. Young Love 3. First Class Love 4. Irons In The Fire |
5. Chains 6. You Make Love Spring Time 7. Tune In Tomorrow 8. You Make Love Spring Time ( Reprise) |
Lady Tee [1980]
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1. Behind the Groove 2. Now that I have You 3. Lonely Desire 4. Aladdin's Lamp |
5. You're all the Boogie I Need 6. Can it be Love 7. Young Girl in Love 8. Why did I fall in love with You |
Wild and Peaceful [1979]
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1. I'm a Sucker for Your Love 2. Turnin' Me On 3. Don't Look Back |
4. De Ja Vu (I've Been Here Before) 5. I'm Gonna Have My Cake (And Eat It too] 6. I Can't Love Anymore |
