Althouse: "Farewell To Teena Marie, The 'Ivory Queen Of Soul.'"

December 27, 2010

"Farewell To Teena Marie, The 'Ivory Queen Of Soul.'"

NPR puts up 2 old pieces that include some real singing.

29 comments:

Bartender Cabbie said...: First John Leslie and now Teena Marie.; 12/27/10, 10:07 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Yea, my Tweet on this was:

Lady T has died - http://tinyurl.com/24ql8vr Tomorrow, expect a cry from the ghetto: "Damn, I wanted to fuck her!"

She was kind of weird (Rick James' white/black girlfriend) but, at least, most people talked about her music and not what she wore, like GaGa.; 12/27/10, 10:14 AM
Scott M said...: If you are a white woman who is convinced that you were born a black man in the wrong body, which bathroom do you use in Montgomery, AL circa 1950?

I note that saying the same thing, "I'm a white singer in a black body" wouldn't have the same cache as what Teena said, now, would it? No double-standards here, nothing to see...keep moving, please.; 12/27/10, 10:37 AM
Bayoneteer said...: She never managed to get out from under Rick James' shadow and her career suffered for it. RIP; 12/27/10, 10:56 AM
TMink said...: Good point about her being able to sing on pitch and actually play and make music. What a concept!

Trey; 12/27/10, 11:10 AM
Toad Trend said...: @ Crack

Yeah, I guess I always thought she was a black woman...hard to tell really while concentrating on my pool shots. Most of the Rick James I heard was blasted in the college pool hall back in the early 80's.; 12/27/10, 12:17 PM
Alex said...: This kind of attitude is sickening. Notice it never happens the other way...; 12/27/10, 12:35 PM
Will Cate said...: More than just a white soul singer, Teena Marie was a talented multi-instrumentalist who wrote, performed and produced her own albums. Her fight to break free from her Motown contract in 1982 changed the rules of the record business.; 12/27/10, 12:35 PM
coketown said...: Her biography reads like something out of Chicken Soup for the Queen of Soul. But I still prefer Dusty Springfield in the 'you'd-swear-I-was-colored-but-really-I'm-not' category. Prince is a distant third.; 12/27/10, 2:42 PM
Scott M said...: I hate to gratuitously through the President into this thread for no reason, so I won't. Given Coketown's list, wouldn't President Obama count as third or fourth? Same parental setup as Prince without the excellent music. Prince wasn't even raised by white folks or born in Hawaii.; 12/27/10, 2:49 PM
coketown said...: Scott: Those two totally slipped my mind! The first black and first half-black presidents. We'll need to start a top 10 list.

1. Dusty
2. Teena
3. Bill Clinton
4. Prince
5. Oback Barama
6. ?
7. ?
8. ?
9. ?
10. Lisa Lampanelli; 12/27/10, 2:57 PM
Scott M said...: Robin Quivers
Corey Glover; 12/27/10, 3:09 PM
Anonymous said...: Incredible racism in that report. Just amazing that so many racists work at NPR.

First, they appointed a black woman to the report ... because as we all know only a black can report on any news relating to "soul."

Would NPR label Ella Fitgerald the "Negroid Queen of Soul Music?" Their double standard on race is stunning to behold.

"... she composed her own music, and she was white." As if white people can't sing the blues or something. This is just stunning racism and perpetuates the most horrible stereotypes. It tells our poor white children that if they suffer from depression, they can't really expect to fulfill their dream of singing the blues because they won't be accepted owing to the color of their skin and inherent black racist attitudes against whitey.

That we allow our government to perpetuate these racial stereotypes using our tax dollars is just incredible.

Our government is racist. We have a long way to go before we rid it of these people.

And NPR proves it.; 12/27/10, 3:34 PM
BJM said...: Can NPR get any more pretentious?

I've never been a fan of the 70's LA Motown sound, so I'll stick with Bessie, Billie, Ruth, Dinah, Etta, Aretha, Big Mama and Sade.

Yeah, I'm hopelessly mired in the past, R&B-wise.; 12/27/10, 3:43 PM
BJM said...: @Coketown

Don't forget Marcia Ball. What is it about east Texas (the triangle) that produces so many white blues artists?; 12/27/10, 3:54 PM
Scott M said...: What is it about east Texas (the triangle) that produces so many white blues artists?

My wife and I have committed to buying a new house by 2013. We're likely to buy right here locally and stay put, but we've been thinking "what if" as far as the rest of the country. Texas is looking better and better across a whole range of considerations. This just helps cinch it. Well, that and the fact that I can get twice the house for the money compared to here. Twice the heat too, but wtf? Blood thins out as the drawl creeps in.; 12/27/10, 3:59 PM
The Dude said...: Beyonce comes by her straight blond hair naturally. Crystal Gail Mangum was born a blue eyed blonde. Race, and racial characteristics are all that matter.

And Eric Clapton, lest anyone at NPR has not noticed, is not black.; 12/27/10, 4:16 PM
Anonymous said...: "Well, that and the fact that I can get twice the house for the money compared to here."

And no income tax.; 12/27/10, 4:24 PM
Anonymous said...: "And Eric Clapton, lest anyone at NPR has not noticed, is not black."

The black racists are NPR are incapable of seeing people except through the lens of color.

You know ... I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

It's too bad the black racists at NPR are standing in the way of that dream.

Maybe I'll write a speech about it.; 12/27/10, 4:26 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Did anybody mentioned Joaquin Phoenix?

He was a big star too ;); 12/27/10, 5:31 PM
XWL said...: A separate but parallel discussion would be how many traditionally 'black' music styles are now predominately white.

Jazz, is mostly played by and consumed by upper middle class, and upper middle aged white folks. Same can be said of blues. 'Traditional' R&B has seen a bit of a revival, but the fanbase and interest in those sounds seem to be mostly European rather than American.

These forms haven't just 'crossed over', but have been all but completely abandoned by the greater black community.

Don't know if hip hop will follow the same trajectory in another 20 to 50 years. Not sure that it matters, or that it's a bad or good thing. The black community as a separate community within the overall American experience seems like something that should disappear sooner rather than later. Being a 'black' American should be an intergrated part of the whole, like being of German or Swedish ancestory, rather than some special marker of difference as many still perceive it to be.

It's telling that 'liberals' (and this piece by NPR is part of that trend) tend to push, emphasize, and exploit the differences between black communities and the overall American experience. The fact that democratic candidates own the black vote hasn't produced much good for black voters, you'd think at some point they'd catch on.

Teena Marie was a soul singer, period. She used her skin color as a marketing tool back in the 70s when consciousness about racial matters was more foregrounded by society in general and the press in particular. Other than that there is no story, or at least there shouldn't be, beyond the early death of a person who created some compelling music for a brief period of time (she had talent, but unfortunately she got pegged to a musical style that didn't itself have long-lasting mainstream appeal).; 12/27/10, 7:16 PM
Jeff with one 'f' said...: Back in the 90's she would be called a wigger...; 12/27/10, 7:16 PM
BJM said...: Anjani, Cohen's long time backup singer/squeeze, has an amazing voice, more jazz than R&B, but her work on this is as good as it gets.; 12/27/10, 10:11 PM
el polacko said...: not until her death have i ever heard teena marie referred to as the 'ivory queen of soul'...'lady T' yes..'ivory queen' never. who is the source for this alleged title ??; 12/27/10, 11:12 PM
Scott M said...: The article seems to indicate it was a self-awarded title.; 12/28/10, 6:59 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Yea, like Michael Jackson becoming the King of Pop.; 12/28/10, 12:18 PM
Methadras said...: Lady T was an ideal woman for me, she was in the mold of Sheena Easton and for along time, I always thought they were long lost sisters. However, I don't understand what her cause of death was. Can anyone elaborate?; 12/28/10, 7:16 PM
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