I know some of ya'll share the same love and respect for Teena, as I do...please share with me, your favorite songs, moments, and love for Lady Tee...She has/had such an impact on my being. I live through her words of encouragement, heartbreak, longing, and love. Pictures would be nice too...but...as she says..."Ars Longa vita brevis..." Art is long, life is short...my euphonic heartache, do I brag, complain, or sport...it's not enough to say U care...U know U got to spread the word...have U heard?

Way back in the day I wrote a poem for Teena. The poem was a response to Opus III (Does Anybody Care), which you quote above, and it was called Death of a King (I Care). I mailed it off to her fan club address and didn't think too much of it after a point because that was how Life was before the internet. (At that time they sent back a photograph of Teena at the 1981 Gammys in the shoulderless cream dress. I was so in Love. That look was clean.)

About 6 months later I was living in Provo Utah with some great, but misguided, people who were trying to make me "straight" by providing me with a good male role model. (Stop laughing! It sure wasn't funny in 1983.) This situation ended pretty quickly because it was such a stupid idea, and because the father figure was incredibly upset at how often I combed my hair - no kidding. (But really, isn't it in your job description when you are 19 to comb your hair a lot?) I was in their basement one night listening to Robbery on head phones when I got a call from a woman who claimed to work at Epic as a secretary. Teena was interested in my poem. Who was I? What was I doing in life?

Well, I was just a boy ...who had been chased home from school. ...was disenfranchised from my southern Pentacostal/Baptist family. ...who didn't know yet that you could make a way out of no way. ...who loved Teena Marie and Rick James. Stone City Love, ain't no question.

She never called, that I know of. I wan't mad, Teena Marie had read my poem.

Jesus / He was just a man / the Bible tells us so / He gave more than just his hands, and he never ever said no.

allsmutaside said:

Way back in the day I wrote a poem for Teena. The poem was a response to Opus III (Does Anybody Care), which you quote above, and it was called Death of a King (I Care). I mailed it off to her fan club address and didn't think too much of it after a point because that was how Life was before the internet. (At that time they sent back a photograph of Teena at the 1981 Gammys in the shoulderless cream dress. I was so in Love. That look was clean.)

About 6 months later I was living in Provo Utah with some great, but misguided, people who were trying to make me "straight" by providing me with a good male role model. (Stop laughing! It sure wasn't funny in 1983.) This situation ended pretty quickly because it was such a stupid idea, and because the father figure was incredibly upset at how often I combed my hair - no kidding. (But really, isn't it in your job description when you are 19 to comb your hair a lot?) I was in their basement one night listening to Robbery on head phones when I got a call from a woman who claimed to work at Epic as a secretary. Teena was interested in my poem. Who was I? What was I doing in life?

Well, I was just a boy ...who had been chased home from school. ...was disenfranchised from my southern Pentacostal/Baptist family. ...who didn't know yet that you could make a way out of no way. ...who loved Teena Marie and Rick James. Stone City Love, ain't no question.

She never called, that I know of. I wan't mad, Teena Marie had read my poem.

Jesus / He was just a man / the Bible tells us so / He gave more than just his hands, and he never ever said no.

That is a very cool story! Did U keep a copy of the poem for yourself too? Maybe U can post in the other forum. I'd love to read it.

No, I was 20 years old at the time and had no idea there would be a future to save things for.

Let's play a little bit.

Name any of the songs where she includes "maybe that will express what I've been going through?"

1) Tune In Tomorrow

allsmutaside said:

No, I was 20 years old at the time and had no idea there would be a future to save things for.

Let's play a little bit.

Name any of the songs where she includes "maybe that will express what I've been going through?"

1) Tune In Tomorrow

I've been going crazy, thinking of the others! She sings that in two other songs, right? I just can't think of them for the life of me!

i love the poetry pieces she always added on the covers and inserts of her albums... she was a being of light, certainly...

favourite songs? wow...

my favourite all-time song of hers is 'where's california'. i also love 'yes indeed', 'dear lover', 'naked to the world', dear lover', 'can't last a day', 'light', 'resilience'... there's so many.

benjaminira said:

allsmutaside said:

No, I was 20 years old at the time and had no idea there would be a future to save things for.

Let's play a little bit.

Name any of the songs where she includes "maybe that will express what I've been going through?"

1) Tune In Tomorrow

I've been going crazy, thinking of the others! She sings that in two other songs, right? I just can't think of them for the life of me!

Portugese Love and Aladdin's Lamp. There have to be more. Cake?

MJJstudent said:

i love the poetry pieces she always added on the covers and inserts of her albums... she was a being of light, certainly...

favourite songs? wow...

my favourite all-time song of hers is 'where's california'. i also love 'yes indeed', 'dear lover', 'naked to the world', dear lover', 'can't last a day', 'light', 'resilience'... there's so many.

Naked to the World is what somebody needs to tell Whitney about. If she is gonna half step with the voice she needs to be performing great and meaningful material. I am not a big Whitney fan, but f Clive Davis and his bullshit.

I guess that veered off of the subject a little bit.

allsmutaside said:

MJJstudent said:

i love the poetry pieces she always added on the covers and inserts of her albums... she was a being of light, certainly...

favourite songs? wow...

my favourite all-time song of hers is 'where's california'. i also love 'yes indeed', 'dear lover', 'naked to the world', dear lover', 'can't last a day', 'light', 'resilience'... there's so many.

Naked to the World is what somebody needs to tell Whitney about. If she is gonna half step with the voice she needs to be performing great and meaningful material. I am not a big Whitney fan, but f Clive Davis and his bullshit.

I guess that veered off of the subject a little bit.

hee hee, you went to the other thread, right? the one about who is the most evil music executive guy...

i think whitney needs to trust herself more she appears to be apologetic as of late, particularly in the concert footage i've seen. teena marie certainly had her share of substances; but somehow the pureness and light won out. ms. houston is dealing with a lot of personal demons. my heart goes out to her.

DirtyChris STANS OUT on the phone with Lady T

http://www.zshare.net/aud...6e8bfaf7e/

from the MUTHA KNOWS show.. (circa 2009)

I asked her about the Robbery album cover (777-....)

DirtyChris said:

DirtyChris STANS OUT on the phone with Lady T

http://www.zshare.net/aud...6e8bfaf7e/

from the MUTHA KNOWS show.. (circa 2009)

I asked her about the Robbery album cover (777-....)

i was wondering about the 777-9... phone number myself.

Marsha Ambrosius' cover of Portuguese Love

I thought it was great.

syl said:

Marsha Ambrosius' cover of Portuguese Love

I thought it was great.

Thanks Syl! That was a nice treatment of a Teena classic!

syl said:

Marsha Ambrosius' cover of Portuguese Love

I thought it was great.

This woman is an amazing singer. She did Teena proud.

Its hard for me to express myself about Lady Tee. I get choked up. I met her a few times and was able to tell her how I felt about her....Last communicated with her a week b 4 she passed away. My favorite song by her is "Now that I have you". My signature says it all..... Teena U were my favorite female vocalist,arranger,producer....I'm glad U & Rick are finally back together again...r.i.p.

[img:$uid]http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2084/9118410/23615037/394358330.jpg[/img:$uid]

My favorite pic of her....

beautiful pic indeed. How lucky, I never had the chance to meet her let alone talk to her. Thanks for sharing your experience!

That is my fav pic of Teena too Beautiful.

syl said:

beautiful pic indeed. How lucky, I never had the chance to meet her let alone talk to her. Thanks for sharing your experience!

benjaminira said:

I know some of ya'll share the same love and respect for Teena, as I do...please share with me, your favorite songs, moments, and love for Lady Tee...She has/had such an impact on my being. I live through her words of encouragement, heartbreak, longing, and love. Pictures would be nice too...but...as she says..."Ars Longa vita brevis..." Art is long, life is short...my euphonic heartache, do I brag, complain, or sport...it's not enough to say U care...U know U got to spread the word...have U heard?

benjaminira - what are the odds that you haven't heard this? No, not good. But I call to your attention just in case... stick around to the end, Rick "sounds pretty good."

http://www.youtube.com/wa...7GyZPtzZuk

allsmutaside said:

benjaminira said:

I know some of ya'll share the same love and respect for Teena, as I do...please share with me, your favorite songs, moments, and love for Lady Tee...She has/had such an impact on my being. I live through her words of encouragement, heartbreak, longing, and love. Pictures would be nice too...but...as she says..."Ars Longa vita brevis..." Art is long, life is short...my euphonic heartache, do I brag, complain, or sport...it's not enough to say U care...U know U got to spread the word...have U heard?

benjaminira - what are the odds that you haven't heard this? No, not good. But I call to your attention just in case... stick around to the end, Rick "sounds pretty good."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7GyZP

Odds are in your favor my friend...I have NOT heard this version! Thanks so much!

@KCOOLMUSIQ - I referred to her as the "female Prince of the 80s" when I spoke with her in that blogshow.. she said it was a wonderful thing to say because she loved Prince.

DirtyChris said:

@KCOOLMUSIQ - I referred to her as the "female Prince of the 80s" when I spoke with her in that blogshow.. she said it was a wonderful thing to say because she loved Prince.

Cool! good that u told her that...There is no other woman I can think of that could do all that she did in the studio. Maybe Angela Winbush or Missy Elliot or even Wendy & Lisa come close. But Teena was a multi instrumentalist & her vocals were always on point. Plus she sounded just as good if not better live just like Prince.

She was underrated and never got the credit she deserved. No tribute awards nothing. Its sad that people always wait to someone passes to acknowledge them. But I ackhowleged her and i'm @ peace with it.....

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Cool! good that u told her that...There is no other woman I can think of that could do all that she did in the studio. Maybe Angela Winbush or Missy Elliot or even Wendy & Lisa come close. But Teena was a multi instrumentalist & her vocals were always on point. Plus she sounded just as good if not better live just like Prince.

She was underrated and never got the credit she deserved. No tribute awards nothing. Its sad that people always wait to someone passes to acknowledge them. But I ackhowleged her and i'm @ peace with it.....

me too.. so glad I got to see her perform live, I got to speak with her via blogshow, and I discovered/appreciated her catalog before she passed.

My all time favorite Teena Marie song would have to be "Aladdin's Lamp" from the Lady T album

DirtyChris said:

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Cool! good that u told her that...There is no other woman I can think of that could do all that she did in the studio. Maybe Angela Winbush or Missy Elliot or even Wendy & Lisa come close. But Teena was a multi instrumentalist & her vocals were always on point. Plus she sounded just as good if not better live just like Prince.

She was underrated and never got the credit she deserved. No tribute awards nothing. Its sad that people always wait to someone passes to acknowledge them. But I ackhowleged her and i'm @ peace with it.....

me too.. so glad I got to see her perform live, I got to speak with her via blogshow, and I discovered/appreciated her catalog before she passed.

My all time favorite Teena Marie song would have to be "Aladdin's Lamp" from the Lady T album

That use to be my favorite on there. But now its "Now that I have you" & "Why did i have to fall in love with U"

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

DirtyChris said:

me too.. so glad I got to see her perform live, I got to speak with her via blogshow, and I discovered/appreciated her catalog before she passed.

My all time favorite Teena Marie song would have to be "Aladdin's Lamp" from the Lady T album

That use to be my favorite on there. But now its "Now that I have you" & "Why did i have to fall in love with U"

those 2 are dreamy... I love "Why Can't I Get Next To You" (one of the bonus tracks)

could you hear Minnie Riperton doing "Now That I Have You"? won't it originally written for her?

benjaminira said:

allsmutaside said:

benjaminira - what are the odds that you haven't heard this? No, not good. But I call to your attention just in case... stick around to the end, Rick "sounds pretty good."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7GyZP

Odds are in your favor my friend...I have NOT heard this version! Thanks so much!

http://www.youtube.com/us...ieMemorial

There are some nice photographs in this youtube coverage of Shanice singing Deja Vu at the Grammy MM tribute. [I love all of the love heading T's way right now, but with the exception of this cover by Jessica Betts (http://www.youtube.com/wa...E3rF2cDDvE,) I don't seem to care for folks singing Teena Marie classics just now. Her stuff is hard to sing.]

DirtyChris said:

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

That use to be my favorite on there. But now its "Now that I have you" & "Why did i have to fall in love with U"

those 2 are dreamy... I love "Why Can't I Get Next To You" (one of the bonus tracks)

could you hear Minnie Riperton doing "Now That I Have You"? won't it originally written for her?

Yes I can & yes it was. I got in2 Minnie Riperton's music when she died. Her music has that sensuality that Teena had in her music. Richard Rudolph was a perfect co producer with Teena. Now both Minnie & Teena are gone..

[Edited 2/25/11 11:20am]

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

DirtyChris said:

those 2 are dreamy... I love "Why Can't I Get Next To You" (one of the bonus tracks)

could you hear Minnie Riperton doing "Now That I Have You"? won't it originally written for her?

Yes I can & yes it was. I got in2 Minnie Riperton's music when she died. Her music has that sensuality that Teena had in her music. Richard Rudolph was a perfect co producer with Teena. Now both Minnie & Teena are gone..

[Edited 2/25/11 11:20am]

"...get next you" - love this song. Great post.

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

DirtyChris said:

those 2 are dreamy... I love "Why Can't I Get Next To You" (one of the bonus tracks)

could you hear Minnie Riperton doing "Now That I Have You"? won't it originally written for her?

Yes I can & yes it was. I got in2 Minnie Riperton's music when she died. Her music has that sensuality that Teena had in her music. Richard Rudolph was a perfect co producer with Teena. Now both Minnie & Teena are gone..

[Edited 2/25/11 11:20am]

I know right

"Playboy" from Robbery came on in the car earlier

Love Teena. Is there a new CD coming out?

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

DirtyChris said:

those 2 are dreamy... I love "Why Can't I Get Next To You" (one of the bonus tracks)

could you hear Minnie Riperton doing "Now That I Have You"? won't it originally written for her?

Yes I can & yes it was. I got in2 Minnie Riperton's music when she died. Her music has that sensuality that Teena had in her music. Richard Rudolph was a perfect co producer with Teena. Now both Minnie & Teena are gone..

[Edited 2/25/11 11:20am]

yeah... maya rudolph is teena's god-daughter. and she was in the song 'too many colors'. i'm sure the series of events hit maya pretty significantly as well.