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TEENA MARIE PLAYLIST & THREAD ALERT Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Teena Marie. The homie @OliveTonic was talking about Lady T today so I decided to make 3+ hours ALL TEENA MARIE PLAYLIST for you to enjoy! But also let's talk about Teena https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2LCAv2AC5eWanEcj9xFgpq?si=U6SynQgvTzmle7C9Iqe7sg
For those who don't know, Teena was an absolute musical genius who's career spanned over 4 decades of incredible music. By the time she was only a teenage she had taught herself to play multiple instruments and was already performing and writing music
Over the course of her career Teena was 100% the complete package - singer-songwriter, musician, composer, arranger, producer - you name it. Teena was absolutely a feminist icon in the way that she demanded control of both her music & the autonomy of power behind her career
In 1976 Teena had a band that had been courted by Hal Davis, a producer for The Jackson 5. Although this project never got off the ground Berry Gordy signed Teena to a solo deal and later linked her up with Rick James - one of the most legendary couplings in music history
Rick was gonna produce for Diana Ross but decided to focus on Teena who was an undeveloped talent at this time and in 1979 Wild and Peaceful was released, which had the smash hit "I'm Just A Sucker For Your Love" on it
Motown intentionally did not put her photo on the cover of this album which lead to many people assuming that Teena was Black. The general public didn't keno until she appeared on Soul Train in 1979 - also becoming the first white woman on that show
Teena appeared on Soul Train another 9 times - the most appearances by a white artist in the history of the show.
With her follow up album Lady T, she enlisted Richard Rudolph to produce. Fresh off the death of his wife Minnie Riperton, Richard lent songs that were intended originally for Minnie to Teena (Now That I Have You) and also wrote Behind The Groove alongside Teena
Also as I've stated before, she was also a pioneer and advocate for artists rights. Teena (Born Mary Christine Brockert) was the artist behind a lawsuit that eventually lead to the " Brockert Initiative" - a landmark ruling for recording artists.
