“….I’ve been here before….”

You and me both, Teena. Damn shame you’re not still with us. Teena Marie meant the world to me as a kid; one of few women in the music business that was writing, producing and performing her own music—and kicking ass. She was her whole self in her music, always. (“I don’t want the fire without the flame…”) Lyrics to live by.

A young white woman signed to Motown back in the seventies who took the R&B charts by storm, but never “crossed over”. Plenty of appearances on Soul Train, but not on other television music outlets: Midnight Special, Saturday Night Live, Austin City Limits, Night Flight, Tom Snyder’s Late, Late Show….she made it to American Bandstand once (in 1984), and MTV played “Square Biz” or “Lovergirl” on really rare moments, but that was about it. She came on the scene ’round about the time apartheid-oriented radio was revved up and in gear; a toxic combination of “Disco Sucks” (and anti-punk/New Wave) backlash, radio deregulation and its niche formatting, and music industry fears of video and cassettes undercutting profits (translation: new artists weren’t exactly promoted aggressively, especially if they crossed genres). But she paid that no mind, and was a frequent flyer up the R&B charts with every new release.

Speaking of new releases, when Motown was reticent about releasing her newer material in 1982—but wouldn’t release her from contract—she sued and won. The “Brockert Initiative” (from Teena’s given name, Mary Christine Brockert; “Teena Marie” is the reversal of her first and middle names) made it illegal for record companies to keep an artist under contract without releasing new material from the artist. She continued making and producing music in the 80s, but through the 90′s, she dedicated most of her time to raising her daughter, Alia Rose; she paid the bills through touring. In 2004, she was back on the block with La Doña, whose intro played with a “godfather” theme (and her italian ancestry). That was quickly followed with Sapphire” in 2006, and 2009′s Congo Square.

Check out Ta Nehisi Coates’ “The Indomitable Blackness of Teena Marie” and Afrobella’s tribute. TV One has an informative documentary; towards the end there’s a duet with her daughter, Alia Rose (who sings just like her!).

I don’t know where to begin. I first heard her on Soul Train doing “I’m A Sucker For Your Love.” Soul Train was one of the few outlets to hear funk and soul music commercially where I lived; Saturday afternoon on WGN for Soul Train was a must! Beyond that, there were a couple of radio stations within listening distance that had R&B shows (a college radio station had a Saturday night show; there was another station with a Sunday evening show). There was the “soul skate” at the roller rink late Sunday afternoons. Eventually, there was a soul station created through cable access—but hell, I only got to listen to that when my parents weren’t home (only one cable outlet, and that was pretty much reserved for sports and news programs my father liked to watch. Music on the tv wasn’t on his agenda). So, I’d sit in my room on Sunday nights taping the R&B songs I liked, because if I didn’t do it then, I’d lose my chance. Teena Marie was part of the soundtrack of my growing up….the more sophisticated part, LOL! She put out “grown folks music” before they were calling it that! Before La Doña came out, I was working in the MetroEast area; a long drive for me but it beat the alternative of being unemployed….plus, the advantage of better radio stations made the drive not-so-bad. Anyway, I heard her do a live performance of “Deja Vu” on the Tom Joyner Morning Show that was just incredible. Made my day to start off the workday with that.

Crucial jams: “I’m A Sucker For Your Love,” “Deja Vu”, “Behind the Groove,” “Fire and Desire,” “I Need Your Lovin’,” “Young Love,” “It Must Be Magic,” “Portuguese Love,” “Shadow Boxing,” “Casanova Brown,” “Aladdin’s Lamp,” “Cupid Is a Real Straight Shooter,” “Lovergirl,” “Out On A Limb,” “Yes Indeed,” “Shangri La,” “Ooh La La La,” “If I Were A Bell.” You can hear some of these on Questlove’s Swift FM station. I think the whole album La Doña is great, but especially “A Rose By Any Other Name” (Gerald LeVert channels his inner Rick James for this), “Makavelli Never Lied,” “Hit Me Where I Live,” and “Black Rain”. “Ooh Wee,” “Make It Hot,” “APB,” and “Love is a Gangsta” from Sapphire, and “Milk ‘N Honey,” “Harlem Blues” and the title track to Congo Square are all good—while so many artists keep rehashing old material, she just kept getting better with age.

Lady Tee, you will be missed.