REMEMBERING R&B’s TEENA MARIE

She was affectionately known as the “Ivory Queen of Soul.”  On Sunday, R&B legend Teena Marie passed away quietly in her sleep.

Born Mary Christine Brockert, Teena Marie was best known for teaming up with the late funk legend Rick James for the mega-hit “Fire and Desire,” which launched her more than 30 year music career.  She was a white woman who sang with so much soul, most DJ’s early in her career assumed she was black.  It was a voice like no other.

She signed with Motown Records, and went on to record such hits as “Ooo La La La” and “Square Biz,” music which many current artists credit as an early musical influence.  The R&B world spent most of the day yesterday paying tribute to the late singer via Twitter, Facebook, and other social sites. “Teena created music that is timeless!” wrote rapper Missy Elliott on Twitter. “Songs sung with soul and conviction, a true LEGEND!” The Roots’ drummer ?uestlove spent hours tweeting tributes to Marie. “She was an amazing work of art,”  he wrote. “She was a rare phoenix of a soul. A TRUE ARTIST.”

Alicia Keys celebrated Marie’s life with remembrance of the song “Fire and Desire,” which she called “one of the most beautifully performed songs”.  Said Keys, “Once a beautiful song, always a beautiful song! Certain songs just have that ‘THING’!”

Mary J. Blige wrote at length about Marie, calling her a model and a muse. “She inspired me vocally as a child,”  Blige explained. “Her songs I sang in the mirror with a hair brush … Every girl that grew up in the hood, with her blasting through the windows, cars and radio waves can feel me … All of your music will live forever through me.”

Perhaps one of the most poignant and unexpected tributes came from Lenny Kravitz, who eulogized Teena Marie with a simple video tribute on YouTube.  “I’ve never really talked much about it in depth, but I would not be here … if it wasn’t for Teena,”  Kravitz said. “She took me in when I was around 16. I was just a musician on the street. I was living from pillar to post. She took me in. She gave me a bedroom. She fed me. She cooked for me. She took care of me. She gave me instruments to play. She took me to all her recording sessions. She took me to concerts. She nurtured me and helped me to become who I am. She changed my life not only as an artist but as a person.”