OK, I haven't been around much for the last several months, but I do scan the archives every once in a while, and just could not bear to have Teena Marie go down in the annals of history as a one-hit wonder.
Aside from her talent and general fabulousness, Teena's defining characteristic--and probably the reason she was discussed in the context of Laura Nyro--is that she is perhaps the most notable white musician to have a predominantly black audience. There are plenty of blue-eyed soul singers--Dusty, Annie, Lisa Stansfield--of course, but each of these has had a largely crossover audience, whereas Teena enjoyed airplay almost exclusively on R&B/urban stations. Teena's primary producer and love interest was none other than Rick James, and she recorded for Motown. I know she is still touring, though I suspect these are more nostalgic jukebox shows than anything. --Michael NP: 'Retha, _Young Gifted & Black_ ===== ___________________________________________________________________________ "[Naipaul] is devoutly read wherever literacy in English prevails, as well as in parts of America." --Gavin McNett, "The Black Sheep." http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2001/10/14/naipaul/index.html Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. http://personals.yahoo.com
