Music Legend Teena Marie has died at the age of 54

[ginomons]

I regret to inform you that Music Legend Teena Marie has died...:[[ :[[ :[[

[soulster]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/26/lovergirl-singer-teena-marie-dead-report_n_801396.html?ref=tw

R.I.P.

[luke]

OMG CNN just announced her death.

[abfan]

I heard this omg omg omg wow this just cant b true....she was just tweeting with us

[blueskies]

This is so sad....we're losing too many. RIP Teena.

[abfan]

check out her twitter page.. i think her daughter birthday was yesterday too

http://twitter.com/#!/MsTeenaMarie

[stephanie]

TMZ just confirmed it as well

http://www.tmz.com/2010/12/26/lovergirl-singer-teena-marie-dead-died-los-angeles-sleep-rick-james-protegee/

[sophisticated_soul]

I can hardly believe this. It's just too much. Rest In Peace, Teena.

[GeeTee(HPK)]

What a year 2010 has been. :[[ R.I.P.

[tsull1]

Very sad, this one I can't believe, too young. I can't believe a lot of them, but some of our legends were very old and not in good shape. This one I don't get. Sad.

[stephanie]

"Teena Marie Law" and prevented labels from keeping an artist under contract while refusing to release and promote new material.

Lets remember her for that and for being one of the first to rap on Square Biz. She was definitely an innovator.
Stephanie

[msmotown2]

R.I.P. This is so sad. I hate to hear this kind of news.
Well she is with Rick now. We will miss you Tina.

[rta5225]

I wanna know HOW she died.

[jillfoster]

I just heard it announced on WCCO in Minneapolis. How sad we are losing so many this year.

[tsull1]

How? Not sure, it sounds like she had a seizure a month ago, probably complications from that.

[brother_love]

So very sad and shocking I have no words.

She was a true artist and a dear friend.

Lady T, R.I.P. you've been her before....

[nysister]

Lady T??? Have Mercy Lord!!

[sonit]

I can't believe it! I loved me some Lady T! My prayers go out to her daughter and the rest of her family. :[[

[REDHOT]

It's really sad news,About MISS TEENA MARIE.R.I.P My sister.My prayer also go out to her daughter and her family.

[pshark]

I'm really shocked to hear about this.
RIP
Teena Marie age 8 on the Beverley Hillbillies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucbrcwCQZYc

[daddyacey]

TEENA MARIE.R.I.P
This is so sad.

[marv2]

RIP Teena. You were one of the greatest!

[waldo]

i have no words..

[catwoman55]

Very sad, shocking news :[[ I found out after I landed last night back home from the holiday trip. May she RIP...I do respect her musical legacy.

Cat

[motown4ever]

So sad but oh so talented. May Teena Marie rest in peace.
My sister has "If I Were A Bell" as one of her ringtones. Man she loves her some Teena Marie.
God Bless.

[RossHolloway]

I read this last night and have been sick and heartbroken ever since.

[whitesoxx]

This is a very very sad day for music. RIP Lady T...

[glencro]

Here is a clip of Teena Marie's daughter singing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4snJkzbnuw&feature=player_embedded#! ....I'm lifting this young lady up in prayer. I experienced the pain of losing a mother this past January and I pray that she finds comfort during this difficult time

[juicefree20]

I feel for her daughter Alia Rose big-time. My understanding is that they had a birthday party for her 19th birthday Christmas evening, only to discover her mother the next afternoon. Teena took great pride in bringing Alia out to sing with her during her concerts & Alia is a very sweet young lady.

Teena was one of my favorites in the early 80s & as a DJ, I played her records extensively. And who could have imagined her career renaissance with Cash Money & the Al Green laced "Still Lovin' You" from the "Sapphire" LP? She had a comeback to the extent that she was able to sell out venues such as The Dell in Philly by herself. She was well-respected & best of all, she was respected to such an extent that we didn't view her as a white woman singing soul, but simply as a woman with soul. Teena did her thing, did it well & will always be remembered fondly by Soul music fans everywhere who are still dancing to her music.

Teena Marie - R.I.P.

[abfan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QJ23SPnRnU&feature=related

[luke]

Teena referred to herself as a black singer in white skin.

[glencro]

I had the chance to see her in concert before and she gave 110%. What was so great about her performance was that she sang some great album cuts along with the hits. I heard everything I wanted to hear that night. The music world has lost another great one and at such a young age.

[soulster]

Reports i've seen say that, apparently, she died of a myocardial infarction [[heart attack) in her sleep. She had just celebrated her daughter's 18th birthday the night before.

[mark speck]

Prayers of comfort for her daughter...RIP, Teena, and thank you... :[[

Best,

Mark

[midnightman]

RIP to a true legend. Not only a Motown legend but an R&B/music legend in general.

From what I'm hearing, she had suffered a grand mal seizure a month prior to her death and that she was taking medication for it but the medication almost caused her to be "suicidal" so she shortened the doses and then relied on herbal medicine. After having the seizure, she reportedly have to had someone sleeping with her because she was afraid of sleeping alone so her daughter slept with her.

The night of her daughter's birthday [[Dec. 25), she had to rest because, she told family, she wasn't feeling good so she laid down and one of her assistants slept with her. The assistant left that morning. Teena was still up that early morning tweeting on her Twitter. Her last tweet was, I believe, 11:30 am.

When Alia Rose, her daughter, went to check on her at 1:00 pm and she was fine. Two hours later, Alia checked again and that's when she found her mother unresponsive. Luckily someone else near by called 911 but by the time paramedics arrived, it was already too late.

[voosh]

Sad. I'm really sad. Another classic gone too soon. I'm sure she'll be in good company kickin' it out in the afterlife. Like I said, Sad.

[ollie]

Wow, now we lost her as well. Just last week i introduced Teena 's music to my daughter, after the first Lady T song i played for her, my daughter was hooked. She really likes her compositions and voice. Thank you Teena for the music and your personality, may you rest forever and may you never be forgotten.

[timmyfunk]

I don't know how much more of this I can take. One legend after another is being taken away from us. I'm glad I had the honor of meeting her. Very gracious lady. I'd take her over most so-called divas.

R.I.P. Lady T.

[pshark]

I hear you Tim. She didn't fall into that "diva" trap. She proved what she was and that was a Sanger!

[sophisticated_soul]

I just spoke with a couple of friends of mine in San Francisco. To make a sad thing sadder, Teena had a concert scheduled for February 13 in Oakland CA at the Paramount Theatre and they, being big fans, already had their tickets. They are just devastated. She would have been heading my way [[SoCal) in late March. It is just so sad. So unreal.

[ladyvanaye]

My heart is so sad about this death and for this obviously UNSUNG talent. Luckily I was never stupid to her music and never saw her as just a white girl who could sing r&b and soul and jazz. I just waited for the next joint to come out by her and bought it. Even when he career sort of went down, I still bought those lp's...because she was so talented and could sing sing sing! Im grateful to have seen her live during the Rick James years, and solo. My ex-husband actually knew her when he was stationed in 29 Palms, California, during the rise of her career she liked the soldiers and truly had a way with the fellas as it was explained to me. :) She was described as quite, but friendly and smart...and she could hang. LOL. She was loved by all over there in 29 Palms and Im sure they are really shocked in California right about now as we are in NYC. It is a tremendous and shocking loss and dont care who comes along, the will NEVER be another Teena Marie so Christina Aguilera stop trying. I digress there...but not to say RIP Teena Marie ...SMDH trying to understand..:[[ God bless and God rest.

[sonit]

I'm stil sad about this. :[[ I still can't believe it. Teena was so versatile - she sang funk, jazz, soul, pop. She did it all. She seemed like such a cool person, very down to earth and true to herself.

Here's one of my favorites by Teena:

Sunny Skies - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Wj4nNQsDYE

[stingbeelee]

A nice article by the always-good Susan Whitall in the Detroit News:

http://www.detnews.com/article/20101229/ENT04/12290311/Late-singer-Teena-Marie-recalled-Motown-life-fondly

Late singer Teena Marie recalled Motown life fondly
Susan Whitall / The Detroit News
When it comes to celebrity deaths, there's no rumor mill like social media. The death on Sunday of former Motown singer Teena Marie, 54, who was sometimes called the "Ivory Queen of Soul," confused many into thinking that the "Queen of Soul," Aretha Franklin, had died. The news persisted on social networks, especially Twitter.

Franklin is alive and recovering from her recent operation at home.

Teena Marie first hit with duets with Rick James like "Fire and Desire," then had a string of solo hits in the '80s including "Square Biz" [[she picked the slang term up from one of her Detroit musicians), "Lovergirl" and "Portuguese Love."

While she had an acrimonious split with Motown, the singer came to be close again with label founder Berry Gordy, her mentor. She told The Detroit News in 2009, when she played Detroit's Fox Theatre, that she still was close to Gordy, as well as his niece, writer/producer Iris Gordy, and Smokey Robinson.

Marie also said that it still surprised some fans that she wasn't black. "I still have people who stare at me when I'm singing. Some people still don't know I'm white. It's all cool. I'm just happy that they love me."

The singer recalled how Gordy insisted that her photo not run on the cover of her first album, 1979's "Wild and Peaceful." "Berry was pretty smart with that … they wanted people to just listen, or they'd see my skin color first."

It was a flip of what Motown used to do in the '60s with its black acts, she said. "They'd do that with a Temptations record, only they'd put white surfers on the front of their covers."

Teena Marie performed at the Motown Historical Museum fundraiser in 2009. She related what happened when the Motown alums got together the day before the show.

"We went to Hitsville and we re-enacted the old Motown meetings. [[Gordy) made us all stand up and sing something, then they rated us. It was really fun, so exciting to be a part of that. We'd try to pick at little things, just to have fun. 'Well, your song was too long, but it was great.'"



From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20101229/ENT04/12290311/Late-singer-Teena-Marie-recalled-Motown-life-fondly#ixzz19WFZthhS

[tsull1]

Here's one of my favorites ... of her zillion great tunes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxL_8EMqkbw&feature=related

[splanky]

I understand time and change and I know our own mortality is evidenced by the passings of those who have inspired, touched and influenced our lives through their works so death doesn't surprise me much anymore but some deaths, they
sadden me tremendously nonetheless. I have said before how much I've loved Teena Marie and I'll say it again. She was
a one of a kind talent. She could not only sing but she could SANG, if you get my meaning, even better quite a few women
who called what they did "souL". RIP, Lady T. Dang, you left too soon, baby. At the same age as I and several of us are right now...That's some perspective for our asses, ain't it?...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvOMFngfvEY

[KevLo]

Hi this is Kev-Lo

I saw here live back in February and she sounded good R.I.P Teena Thanks for the great music and memories

[wonder_woman]

Totally shocked to hear this news on the BBC, tragic, I saw Teena perform in London over 20 years ago, loved her music ever since, what a remarkable singer she was her music will live on, an amazing lady. R.I.P Teena Marie

[stephanie]

Eat your heart out Alicia Keys!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfQ_y6ThAMo&feature=related