Rudolph also co-composed the single " Behind The Groove", which reached number 21 on the black singles chart. Rudolph intended for the song he penned, " Now That I Have You", to be sung by his wife, but was later given to Marie. Marie had asked Berry Gordy to contact Rudolph and secure his input as Rick James was unavailable and she did not feel quite ready yet to be sole producer of her own material.
Marie's second album is noted for having production from Richard Rudolph (husband of R&B singer Minnie Riperton who passed a year earlier). This myth was dispelled when, in 1980, her sophomore album, Lady T, sported a picture of her on the cover. In fact, many radio programmers wrongly assumed Marie was African American during the earliest months of her career. Neither the album sleeve nor other packaging showed a picture of Marie, apparently on the theory that black audiences might be reluctant to buy an album by a white artist. It scored Marie her first top-ten R&B hit, "I'm Just a Sucker for Your Love" (#8 Black Singles Chart), which was a duet with James. The album was at one point due to be credited to "Tina Tryson", but ultimately was put out under Marie's now-established stage name. (Some of the earlier unreleased material has since been made available on compilation albums.) Her debut album release, Wild and Peaceful, was originally conceived as a project to be produced by James for Diana Ross, but James preferred to work with Marie. She recorded unreleased material with a number of different producers, including Kerner and Wise, but was then spotted by Rick James, who effectively became her mentor. Marie signed with Motown Records in 1976, having gained an introduction to staff producer Hal Davis (best known for his work with The Jackson 5) and then auditioned, with her then band, for label boss Berry Gordy. Marie worked briefly at Pup 'n' Taco in the mid 1970s while attending Venice High School, where she joined the Summer Dance Production, and also had a role in the school's production of The Music Man. She also sang at the wedding of actor Jerry Lewis's son when she was 10 years old. As a child, she had an acting role on The Beverly Hillbillies, credited as Tina Marie Brockert. Marie grew up in Oakwood, a neighborhood in West Los Angeles. She is of Belgian, Portuguese, Irish, Italian, and Native American ancestry. Marie was born in Santa Monica, California.
She is survived by a daughter named Alia Rose who, as of 2009, sings under the name Rose Le Beau. She has quoted this as being her favorite album. She also had written, produced, sung and arranged virtually all of her songs since her 1980 release Irons in the Fire.
She sang R&B with big, robust vocals, and played rhythm guitar, keyboards and congas. (Born Mary Christine Brockert) Marie, nicknamed Lady T, was a protegée of the late funk legend Rick James, and is notable as one of the few successful multi-ethnic performers of R&B. Teena Marie (MaDecember 26th, 2010) was an American Grammy Award-nominated singer–songwriter–producer.
0 kommentar(er)
