Teena Marie: A Lifetime Of Soul
Take a look at some of Teena Marie's career moments.
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A Lifetime Of Soul - "Teena Marie" was born Mary Christine Brockert and grew up in Santa Monica, California. She began singing at the age of 2 and had an acting role as a child on the TV sitcom, "The Beverly Hillbillies." At the age of 10, she sang at Jerry Lewis' son's wedding.
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A Lifetime Of Soul - In 1976, Teena Marie signed to Motown Records and eventually linked up with producer and famed recording star Rick James.
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A Lifetime Of Soul - Her first album, "Wild and Peaceful" (which James later said was originally supposed to be for Diana Ross), spawned the R&B hit, "I'm Just a Sucker for Your Love," featuring Rick James. The song earned Teena a spot on the Billboard R&B charts.
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A Lifetime Of Soul - Her second album, "Lady T," established the moniker that would stick with her throughout her career. On this album, she worked mostly with producer Richard Rudolph, husband of the late Minnie Ripperton. The single "Behind the Groove" was the album's big hit.
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A Lifetime Of Soul - By 1980, Teena Marie was a musical force of her own, writing and producing her third album, "Irons in the Fire." The album earned her first crossover hit, "I Need Your Lovin'," which hit the Top 40 charts. She also appeared on Rick James' classic record "Fire and Desire."
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A Lifetime Of Soul - A year later, Teena Marie released a follow-up, her fourth album entitled "It Must Be Magic." The album featured her big hit, "Square Biz," and became her first Gold record.
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A Lifetime Of Soul - In 1982, Teena Marie got into a legal battle with her then-record label, Motown. As a result of her case, it became illegal for a record label to lock artists into their contracts without releasing new material; it was known as "The Brockert Initiative."
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A Lifetime Of Soul - After Motown, she was signed to Epic Records for seven years, releasing five more albums, including her biggest-selling "Starchild," featuring the hit "Lovergirl." After parting ways with Epic, she spent time raising her daughter, Alia Rose.
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A Lifetime Of Soul - After recording two independent albums and then a 14-year hiatus, Teena Marie signed to Cash Money Records and released her 2004 comeback album, "La Dona," which went Gold. She followed it up with "Sapphire" in 2006.
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A Lifetime Of Soul - Later, Teena recorded the album "Congo Square," released on Stax/Concord. The album was a collection of songs, each dedicated to a musical inspiration. One song, "The Pressure," was dedicated to Rick James, with whom she had a romantic relationship early in her career.
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A Lifetime Of Soul - In 2009, she recorded a duet with Faith Evans, and has compared Faith's relationship with Biggie to her and Rick James.
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A Lifetime Of Soul - Teena was one of the first artists to "rap" on one of her hits (before it was the thing to do), when she dropped a rap verse on "Square Biz."
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A Lifetime Of Soul - Late in her career, Teena Marie became a headliner at the Las Vegas Hilton and at other venues. Here, she is with her daughter, Alia Rose, who is also a singer under the name Rose LeBeau.