Soul Fixin'

...and may I never die

In this day and age, social networking sites such as Twitter have become something like personal diaries. Glancing at Teena Marie's Twitter page you can't help but notice one tweet in particular. Lady T, tweeted on Christmas day a line from a Sarah Vaughn song, "may you never grow old, and may I never die." The following day, Teena Marie passed away at the seasoned age of 54, 31 years after mesmerizing millions with her Motown Records debut. Teena's body was discovered by her daughter who celebrated her birth date the prior day. I couldn't image the days of speaking of Lady T in past tense would arrive so suddenly.


Teena entered the lives of many through her unforgettable music. The world became familiar with Lady T thanks to her '79 debut, Wild and Peaceful and the accompanying hit single "I'm A Sucker For Your Love." No one could imagine that the voice behind the music belonged to a white woman. When Teena's true identity was discovered it didn't matter, Teena Marie could sing SANG! and that's all that mattered. Teena Marie has remained a constant in our lives and musical soundtracks not because she was a white woman who was capable of "talkin' our talk' and walkin' our walk" but because she possessed raw natural talent as a multi-talented producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. and she held a God-given gift, a voice full of soul that touched countless individuals in more ways than one. She verbalized through song our trials and tribulations, joy and sadness, heartache and pain, and losses and gains. And she sang the greatest duet of all time.


My introduction to Mary Christine Brockert came courtesy of the aforementioned duet and The Quiet Storm. 'Fire and Desire' is a staple of the Quiet Storm radio format. It was far more than just a song, it was a song, testimony, pleading confession, and love letter wrapped in pure musical perfection. 'Fire and Desire,'a song like no other, pain, heartache, pleasure, and deep sadness were on display not only for the world to hear but to also feel. Teena Marie and Rick James were a match made in heaven. Six years after Rick's death Teena Marie has joined her lover/best friend/musical collaborator/partner-in-crime in heaven.


In a recent interview, Teena was asked “When you get to heaven, what is the DJ playing?” and she responded, "I’m sure it’s Aretha Franklin. I’m sure it’s something off the Amazing Grace album. Probably, Aretha Franklin “Wholy Holy.” I hope when Rick James went to heaven they played Aretha Franklin “Wholy Holy” too. He loved her as much as I did. I have a lot of beautiful moments riding around with him in his Rolls, me and him just playing Aretha all day."


The clip below is from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation 2008 Pioneer Awards Ceremony. Teena Marie was one of the honorees.

Soul Fixin'

Celebrate 50 With Motown
Here is something you need to hear. Just in time for summer cookouts and family gatherings, Flwrpt has gathered a slew of Motown tracks, hits and rarities, for a mixtape celebrating 50 years of Motown. Don't expect to hear the traditional Motown hits, Flwrpt has unearthed tracks from the likes of Yvonne Fair, Willie Hutch, Eddie Kendricks, Rick James, The Jackson 5 and many others. Give Motown Fifty a listen, you won't be disappointed.

Video Soul

"brown as the sand, you’re soft as the shore
you’re leaving me hungry, I’m crying for more..."

Soul Tracks

It's hard to believe but it's been almost 30 years since Motown introduced us to Teena Marie. Her debut album mesmerized us and we were shocked when we discovered Lady T was much lighter than we assumed. Today's selection, 'Deja Vu(I've Been Here Before),' appears on Teena Marie's classic Rick James produced debut Wild and Peaceful. Written by Lady T's one time lover Rick James, 'Deja Vu(I've Been Here Before,' reveals Teena's admiration for Minnie Riperton. With lyrics such as "I used to be a queen you know...on an island by the sea...with rainbow colored people...happy as can be...we never had a problem...there never was a care...the love was ever flowing and it's feeling shared..." Lady T divulges into mysticism, reminiscent of Minnie's 'Take A Little Trip' and 'Close Your Eyes and Remember.' Sit back and enjoy this Motown classic.

Soul Tracks

Any dicussion involving the great male voices of R&B will always include the likes of Marvin Gaye, Eddie LeVert, Luther Vandross, and Sam Cooke. Rick James is rarely mentioned. The vocal techniques he administered on songs such as 'Give It To Me Baby' and 'Superfreak' are hardly what we would call saannging. But, we can all agree that Rick saaannng his ass off on 'Fire & Desire' and 'Ebony Eyes.' He also put a hurtin' on the lesser known 'Hollywood' featured on his 1978 Motown debut Come Get It, an earthy fusion of punk rock, funk and soul. Clocking in at over seven minutes, 'Hollywood' is Rick's passionate letter to his parents detailing his desire to "make it good in Hollywood." Let me say it again, Rick James put a hurtin' on this song. It's safe to assume that when Biggie put pen to paper and wrote 'Juicy,' 'Hollywood' was a motivating force. Peep the opening lyrics "Mama, sit down for me please/ Daddy, comfort her in this time of need/Your one and only son has got to get away/Before this ghetto life becomes the death of me..."

Payin' Homage

Who doesn't love Teena Marie? The love affair began back in '79 with her Rick James produced debut Wild and Peaceful. In the beginning we all assumed Teena was a black girl singing for Motown, we were all shocked when we found out she was a white girl from California. No blue-eyed soul singer could sing a song like Teena Marie. Black or white, Teena Marie is one of music's greatest voices. Teena Marie (born Mary Christine Brockert) grew up in the West Los Angeles neighborhood of Oakwood, nicknamed 'Venice Harlem.' In hopes of scoring a recording contract with Motown, Mary changed her name to Teena Marie. 'Lady T' would eventually join the Motown family in '76 as a backup singer. Within a short period of time, she hooked up with Rick James and Wild and Peaceful was born. Teena hit the charts with the Rick James duet "I'm Just A Sucker For Your Love" and the beautiful "Deja Vu (I've Been Here Before)." The singer/songwriter/musician/producer went on to produce two hit albums, Lady T and Irons In The Fire. 1981's It Must Be Magic was her best selling album on Motown and produced the mega hit "Square Biz" and "Portuguese Love." That same year Rick James and Teena Marie made magic with the duet "Fire and Desire", a song considered to be the greatest duet in the history of R&B. Teena would eventually leave Motown and sign to Epic Records. Upon her departure from Motown, Teena Marie sued the label. As a result, The Brockert Initiative, better known as 'The Teena Marie Law', was passed, it set a precedent for artists seeking control of the careers by limiting the length of recording contracts.

The second phase of her career at Epic included the release of albums Robbery, Starchild, Emerald City, Naked To The World, and Ivory and hit songs "Fix It," "Lovergirl," "Out On A Limb," "Ooo La La La" and "If I Were A Bell." Upon taking a 10 year hiatus from the music biz, Teena released Passion Play, on her own independent label. The self proclaimed 'Queen of Ivory Soul' made a comeback in 2004 on the hip hop label Cash Money Records with the release La Dona, the highest charting album of her career. "Still In Love" and a duet with the late Gerald Levert, "A Rose By Any Other Name" proved to be hit songs. "Still In Love" garnered Teena a 2005 Grammy nomination for Best R&B Female Vocal Performance. In 2006, Teena Marie released Sapphire, she scored a hit with "Ooh Wee." Teena Marie recorded with her musical idol Smokey Robinson on the tracks "God Has Created" and "Cruise Control." Teena has since parted ways with Cash Money and rumor has it she is working a on new release described as "personal and spiritual."