# Teena Marie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 29, 2020, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717 "2020-02-29T21:42:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717/21 "2020-03-02T13:27:21Z")
I’m white, as well. I know who she was, in the very general sense that I recognized the name, and remember when “Lovergirl” was popular. That’s the only one of her songs I could have named. Other than that, I had no idea of the length or breadth of her career, and probably would have (wrongly) called her a “one-hit wonder.” I also vaguely remember a story about Ike Turner trying to talk her into touring with him, so that they could be billed as “Ike and Teena.” But that may be apocryphal, or could even be something that I imagined. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717/22 "2020-03-02T13:48:28Z")
White guy here. Never heard of her, don’t recall any of her songs. I don’t think I’ve ever seen _Soul Train_. I am not a big R&B fan. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717/23 "2020-03-02T16:00:33Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > White guy here. Never heard of her, don’t recall any of her songs. I don’t think I’ve ever seen _Soul Train_. I am not a big R&B fan. > > Regards, > Shodan Ditto. Of course, I was born in the sticks in 1980, which could easily explain it. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717/24 "2020-03-02T16:13:58Z")
It’s strange. Her name is as familiar to me as, say, Pat Benatar or Patti Labelle or Chaka Khan, three other women named at random that would have been played on the radio where I grew up, and of which I can name at least one song, but I have no idea what she looks like nor what kind of music she sings. ETA: White guy here. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717/25 "2020-03-02T16:17:09Z")
I’m white, and while I recognize her name, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you any of her songs. It’s possible that I knew, back in the '80s, that she was white, but I honestly don’t remember. > [@MrAtoz](#): > > I also vaguely remember a story about Ike Turner trying to talk her into touring with him, so that they could be billed as “Ike and Teena.” But that may be apocryphal, or could even be something that I imagined. Apparently not apocryphal, and I remember hearing the story back then (it’s one of the only things I remember about Teena Marie). [From a 1985 article in Spin](https://www.spin.com/2015/06/ikes-story-1985-feature-ike-tina-turner/): > [@](#): > > Then last December, an item in The Los Angeles Times: Ike Turner contacts Teena Marie about a possible collaboration. “It was to be another Ike and Teena revue,” said Marie’s former manager Allan Mink. “He talked on and on about a national tour, but it didn’t make any sense. He didn’t even leave us a phone number, so afterwards we just laughed. A part of me now feels sorry for the guy.” ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717/26 "2020-03-02T16:23:04Z")
The only song of hers I remember off the top of my head is “Lead Me On” from the “Top Gun” Soundtrack. But I had heard of her at the time of that movie. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717/27 "2020-03-02T16:53:10Z")
Nope. Never heard of her or any of the linked songs. I’m white, but this has nothing to do with colour and everything to do with the type of music I listened to, and it wasn’t disco, or whatever you call that. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717/28 "2020-03-02T16:53:59Z")
She was Rick Jame’s protege. You guys know who Rick James is, right? [Here she is with Rick in an iconic slow jam (for us black folk, anyway).](https://youtu.be/CPikYsi6_zU) ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717/29 "2020-03-02T17:07:28Z")
I know of Rick James because he skipped out to Canada to avoid the draft and was in a band (The Myna Birds) with Neil Young in the 60s. I could not name any song by Rick James though. Or the Myna Birds either. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717/30 "2020-03-02T17:14:40Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I know of Rick James because he skipped out to Canada to avoid the draft and was in a band (The Myna Birds) with Neil Young in the 60s. I could not name any song by Rick James though. Or the Myna Birds either. They didn’t play Super Freak to death up north? Because EVERYBODY’S heard Super Freak. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717/31 "2020-03-02T17:29:42Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > But first, a question: Without looking her up, how many of you know who Teena Marie was? My first thought is, ‘Isn’t she Elvis’s daughter?’ ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717/32 "2020-03-02T17:40:13Z")
51 year old white dude, and I knew who she was if only to recognize “Lovergirl.” I went to a high school whose student body was mostly black, so that may have affected it. I thought of her generally (and without disrespect\*) as one of the many funk acts that gained notoriety in the wave of “Minneapolis sound” acts (e.g., Jesse Johnson, etc.). \*Make hay while the sun shines, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717/33 "2020-03-02T17:44:12Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > … You guys know who Rick James is, right? … You mean the singer in the Mynah Birds w/ Neil Young? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717/34 "2020-03-02T18:08:55Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > They didn’t play Super Freak to death up north? Because EVERYBODY’S heard Super Freak. OK. Yes, I know that to hear it, but couldn’t have told you who it was. I listened to classic rock from a station in Detroit back then. Those were my formative years, and classic rock doesn’t play that kind of music. It was all: Beatles Stones Who Zeppelin Doors Cars Springsteen Supertramp AC/DC Van Halen Boston Kinks etc… ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717/35 "2020-03-02T18:11:02Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > White guy here. Never heard of her, don’t recall any of her songs. I don’t think I’ve ever seen _Soul Train_. I am not a big R&B fan. > > Regards, > Shodan You’ve probably heard “Lovergirl” and don’t realize that’s her; it comes across as more early 80s pop than anything R&B or funk really. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717/36 "2020-03-02T18:11:23Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > OK. Yes, I know that to hear it, but couldn’t have told you who it was. > > I listened to classic rock from a station in Detroit back then. Those were my formative years, and classic rock doesn’t play that kind of music. It was all: > > Beatles > Stones > Who > Zeppelin > Doors > Cars > Springsteen > Supertramp > AC/DC > Van Halen > Boston > Kinks > etc… Yeah, yeah I listened to that too. Even before it was ‘classic’. But that’s because I’m old. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717/37 "2020-03-02T18:57:39Z")
> [@bump](#): > > You’ve probably heard “Lovergirl” and don’t realize that’s her; it comes across as more early 80s pop than anything R&B or funk really. I can’t speak for **Shodan** , but that’s a nope from me. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717/38 "2020-03-02T23:12:49Z")
I remember her, but wasn’t too familiar with her music. I do recall crushing on her a bit as an adolescent - the nose ring she sported was quite exotic at the time. I had no idea that she was such an anomaly in terms of crossing racial boundaries; that kind of thing never really occurred to me. I also didn’t know she had passed at such a young age. She certainly had quite the interesting life, with a sad end. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717/39 "2020-03-03T04:13:58Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Love her and was sad when she passed away. Yes, I knew she was white and yes, I am black. My favorite of hers has got to be [Behind The Groove.](https://youtu.be/ZxUGmibiGec) Great song— Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717/40 "2020-03-03T04:30:31Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > She was Rick Jame’s protege. You guys know who Rick James is, right? [Here she is with Rick in an iconic slow jam (for us black folk, anyway).](https://youtu.be/CPikYsi6_zU) It sure sounds like a classic, a slow smolder catching fire— and then the [live performance of it](https://youtu.be/TrG-QuL_sso) was :eek::eek:🙂 Wow! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teena-marie/848717.md?page=3)