<p>I must admit I was surprised how much coverage the death of this relatively unknown singer received. I think I am among the 1 in 5000 people who even knew who NPR was devoting a couple major segments to. I mean “Lovergirl” is a great blue-eyed funk song and somewhere I have her CD…<br>
So were most of you wondering–who the heck is Teena Marie??</p>
<p>That was certainly my reaction–then I realized that during the years she was recording I was raising babies and working full-time and the music of the time pretty much passed me by. I’d only listen to the news on the car radio when driving to and from the office, in hopes of keeping up with the world, so I have giant gaps in my pop music knowledge of the late eighties and early nineties. (Not sure I missed all that much…)</p>
<p>I was a BIG Teena Marie fan. I loved her music and was saddened by her death. I went to a few of her concerts back in the early eighties. (but she had recently dropped off my radar.) If you really want to hear Ms Marie give her vocal cords a workout, listen to her duet with Rick James (Fire and Desire)</p>
<p>I am a proud member of the other 4999 :-). I did google her just because I saw two references to her passing away and it made me curious.</p>
<p>Out on a Limb–some of the best female r & b vocals you’ll ever hear!</p>
<p>^true true soprano. If you have never heard her,don’t just google her, go to youtube,give a listen and get schooled in what really excellent R and B can sound like.</p>
<p>Now just a dadgum minute!!! Teena Marie was well known to more than a few of us. I wouldn’t say that she was relatively unknown. Unknown only perhaps in the same sense that anyone under the age 21 has never seen a hard copy telephone book or a vinyl album. I still stamp my foot every time I hear ‘I Need Your Lovin.’ That goregeous diminuitive Latina had a voice like like a thunder cloud. RIP.</p>
<p>Teena Marie’s Portuguese Love is one of my favorites. Been a fan since day one. She was one of those teeny tiny women with a big beautiful voice!</p>
<p>She first came to light with her single “square biz” that hit #3 Billboard black singles in '81.
I used to listen to that on WBLZ in Cincinnati, if anyone here listened to Ohio radio back then.
In '04 the song was modified to become intro song of Hollywood Squares tv show.
She had the nickname “Vanilla Child”, and referred to herself as “Ivory queen of Soul” (no ego in that! ha) and had off-and-on dating relationship with Rick James.
Her biggest hit was mainstream “lovergirl” hit #4 Billboard top 100 in '85.</p>
<p>I enjoyed a few of her songs, but I certainly would not describe her as a “legend” as some papers have done. Seems to me for a singer to be a legend, I would expect more than 1 mainstream hit single. (of course, I define a good song differently than a hit song)</p>