Teena Marie dies at 54
Teena – Tina – Marie the ivory queen of soul died on Sunday at the age of 54. She was discovered lifeless by her daughter, but the official cause of death has not yet been revealed, her manager Mike Gardner stated.
Born Mary Christine Brockert, she began her career as a singer in the legendary Motown label alongside singer and mentor Rick James in 1976.
Multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and arranger, her first album ‘Wild and Peaceful’ was released in 1979 without a photo on the cover (Motown did not want the public to find out she was white). Teena Marie has released 13 studio albums in total, including 6 discs certified platinum in the U.S. and 6 certified gold.
Her biggest single, ‘Lovergirl’ released in 1984 peaked at Number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, however her most famous songs are undoubtedly ‘Behind the Groove’ (1979), ‘I’ma sucker for your love’ (1979) and ‘Ooo la la la’(1988) sampled by The Fugees back in 1996 under the title ‘Fu-gee-la’.
- Teena Marie.
Over the past 24 hours were a whirlwind for Alia Rose, the daughter of R&B star Tina Marie, and she will follow in the footsteps of her mother and to act as a singer. Her stage name she used was ‘Rose Le Beau, not Alia Rose’. She was born on Christmas and just celebrated 19th birthday on Saturday, Christmas day. On Twitter, her most recent tweet: “I’m going to cross the line,” so I guess it really was a holiday. And her mom chirped a sweet message: “19 years ago, I was in labor! My Heavenly Father has given me the most glorious gift I could ever get. Girl on Christmas Day!“
But for Alia, it turned for the worse on Sunday, Dec. 26, last night.
Tina Marie’s daughter, a day after her birthday, found the body of her mother. Tina Marie died in her sleep, according to preliminary reports. She is reported to have had a seizure, neurological events, marked loss of consciousness and violent muscle contractions: “about a month ago. But it was feeling much better and was very upbeat in recent times.” She was even planning to return to the scene shortly.
2010 was a year rife with stories of celebrities leaving the physical realm. Many of them were in the music world. We can only hope that this will be the last one.
Christine Brockert as she was known outside of the biz, earned praise at a young age for her sharp vocals and impressive guitar skills. In her prime, she could be seen on stage next to funk-king Rick James.
The four-time Grammy nominee also won over critics with her song writing ability. Her biggest single by far was ‘Lovergirl’ – which embodied the quintessential pop-funk sound of the 80s. It had it all; the attitude, the slap-bass line, and the big drums. In the video – she effortlessly glides along the stage, twirling around with her guitar in between verses.
Sometime Sunday morning, family members found her lifeless body in her California home. According to TMZ, she had a typical Christmas with her brother, and even spoke with her rep not long before passing. They also report that there is no indication of foul play.
In fact, her publicist indicated that she had suffered a major seizure not long ago, and that she was rushed to the hospital for treatment. On the way, she apparently suffered another seizure event.