The self-proclaimed “Ivory Queen of Soul” was found dead, by her daughter, this past Sunday. Her manager, Mike Gardner, told CNN that she was found dead at her Pasadena home on Sunday afternoon, and apparently died in her sleep. The singer suffered a grand mal seizure a month ago. Family friends disclosed to TMZ that Tina has suffered other seizures, but the grand mal shook her up badly. We’re told she had broken two ribs after falling during that seizure. Also that Teena was so scared of having another grand mal seizure she would have someone sleep next to her at night. Teena had returned to bed early afternoon, after getting up at 11:30am. When her daughter checked on her at 1 pm, she was fine, but at 3 pm her daughter found her unresponsive. The Coroner has said signs point to death from natural causes. But “natural causes” could be death from a seizure.
Born Mary Christine Brockert, Teena Marie grew up in a predominately black area of Los Angeles. Teena began singing at the age of eight and was signed by Motown just after graduating from high school in 1976. Her music was unreleased until she met up with her mentor and musical collaborator, Rick James. Motown then released “Lovergirl”, “Fire and Desire” and “Lover”. Rick James went on to produce her 1979 debut album, Wild and Peaceful. Her first hit was a duet with Rick James called “I’m a Sucker for Your Love”.
Motown apparently thought black audiences might not accept that the R&B singer was white, so the album cover was publish without a photo of Teena Maria. After much success from her first album, Teena was won a huge following in the black community and was dubbed the “Ivory Queen of Soul”.
