Teena Marie (born Mary Christine Brockert on March 5, 1956 in Santa Monica, California) is an American singer/songwriter/producer. "Lady T" is a proteg?? of late funk legend Rick James, and is notable as one of the few successful Caucasian R&B performers, currently the reputed queen of blue-eyed soul. After signing with Motown Records in 1976 as a backup singer, Teena hooked up with James for her first album titled Wild and Peaceful, released in 1979. Legend has had it that thanks to James' refusal to work with Motown diva Diana Ross, Teena Marie found her first successes with the songs "I'm A Sucker For Your Love" and "Deja Vu (I've Been Here Before)." After James' initial guidance, Teena Marie opened the 1980s by producing two hit albums on her own, the 1980 gold album, Lady T (featuring the hit R&B single, "Behind the Groove") and its follow up, Irons in the Fire, (featuring her first pop hit, the Top 40 single, "I Need Your Lovin'"). In 1981, she released her best-selling album on Motown, the platinum It Must Be Magic. It yielded the hit songs, "Square Biz", "Portuguese Love", and the title track. That same year, she also appeared on James' hugely successful album, Street Songs, where they scored a huge hit with their duet, "Fire And Desire." Success, however, did not mean Teena Marie was satisfied professionally or was stable financially. Upon discovering she had been underpaid royalties for the four albums she recorded for Motown, Teena Marie decided to leave the label and later sued it for having restricted her artistic control. A law was passed as a result, The Brockert Initiative, popularly known as "The Teena Marie Law", which set a precedent for artists seeking control of their careers by limiting the length of recording contracts. After leaving in 1982, she signed with Epic Records in 1983 and released the concept album Robbery, which featured the single
1 | It Must Be Magic | It Must Be Magic |
2 | Revolution | It Must Be Magic |
3 | 365 | It Must Be Magic |
4 | Yes Indeed | It Must Be Magic |
5 | Someday We'll All Be Free (Live) | It Must Be Magic |
6 | Still In Love | La Doña |
7 | Portuguese Love | It Must Be Magic |
8 | Where's California | It Must Be Magic |
9 | Square Biz (Instrumental) | It Must Be Magic |
10 | Opus 111 (Does Anybody Care) | It Must Be Magic |
11 | The Ballad Of Cradle Rob And Me | It Must Be Magic |
12 | Square Biz | It Must Be Magic |
13 | Lead on me | Top Gun Soundtrack |