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do you think Teena Marie influenced Madonna? find this first review of her debut album v. interesting - i made a mix cd and i totally hear it!
SEPTEMBER 29, 1983
Madonna, who crashed onto the dance charts last year with "Everybody," has a voice that takes some getting used to. At first, it doesn't sound like much at all. Then you notice its one distinguishing feature, a girlish hiccup that the singer uses over and over until it's irritating as hell. Finally, you get hooked, and you start looking forward to that silly little catch in her voice. It helps that she writes good tunes — catchy and bare to the bone. It helps even more that her album is pristinely produced by Reggie Lucas. Electric keyboards have the clarity of finger chimes. The bass slaps the backbeat like shoes on pavement. Mind you, it's simple stuff: "I'm burnin' up/Burnin' up for your love," or "Holiday/Celebrate." But it's clever at times, too. "Physical Attraction" is practically a capsule history of high-school proms, with its sly references to the Association's "Cherish" and Olivia Newton-John's "Physical." There are lots of blue-eyed soul belters with more generous voices and more intricate songs — Teena Marie comes quickly to mind. Still, without overstepping the modest ambitions of minimal funk, Madonna issues an irresistible invitation to the dance.
I'll leave it alone babe...just be me | |
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No, not to any significant degree. [Edited 10/9/11 16:36pm] | |
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No. | |
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The people that influenced Madonna were Deborah Harry, Donna Summers, & Marilyn Monroe. | |
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No. I don't see it or hear it | |
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And there you have it. I also count Diana Ross as an influence in some level vocally... (just SOMEWHAT, mostly in her Supremes days lol). | |
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Madonna is soulLESS.... NO
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i'm glad you two can "see it". | |
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The "hiccup"?
Missing Persons (Dale Bozzio)...
Music for adventurous listeners
"Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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My memory couldn not be jarred. Thank ya.
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Dale was definitely an influence... | |
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Pretty sure she did, maybe not a major influence, but many and many people influence an artist, not just the few they always mention. PRINCE: Always and Forever
MICHAEL JACKSON: Always and Forever ----- Live Your Life How U Wanna Live It | |
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Madonna used to get a lot of airplay on R&B stations when she first came out just like Art Of Noise and Culture Club did. That's probably why she's compared to Teena in this early article. You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton | |
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Them too! | |
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Being played on r&b stations and having soul are two DIFFERENT things... I would never compare Madonna to Teena Marie. | |
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The only similarity I see is that both of them are white and both of them's first release was released without a picture and played on R&B radio first before pop radio. "Everybody" was a 12 Inch before it was released on an album.
Other than that, Madonna is a lot more pop than Teena Marie who only crossed over once with "Lovergirl". Andy is a four letter word. | |
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LOL
Absolutely not. | |
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You're looking at this from a modern standpoint. Many new acts are compared to someone already established. Madonna was a new act, and was a white female singer that recieved R&B airplay and liked by some Black listeners. The so-called "blue eyed soul" acts that were popular were pretty much all males and Teena was the only woman that recieved regular airplay, so Madonna was compared to Teena. It might be hard to concieve to modern listeners, but Madonna was considered "blue-eyed soul" at first. Really her first album sounds like the Stephanie Mills stuff of the time, because they had the same producer, Reggie Lucas. But Madonna could get pop radio (and MTV) airplay unlike Stephanie (or Teena). [Edited 10/9/11 19:45pm] You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton | |
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Madonna wouldn't even have known who Teena Marie was. Her diet consisted of digesting pop culture and stealing ideas from her gay friends. Space for sale... | |
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And would it be a bad thing if she did influence Madonna? [Edited 10/9/11 20:31pm] | |
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Im sure she knew who every then-successful female pop/rock/and especially R&B act was when she was trying to emulate their success and danceclubs/radio dominance in the beginning. Puh Lease .... i'd bet you $50 at least one of her "gay friends" who she stole "ideas" from was a Queeny Lady Tee ultrafan I'll leave it alone babe...just be me | |
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Lawd Jesus, Lady T and Madonna named in the same sentence. ~deep breath~ Okay, let me recover. I'll be back. | |
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The overall point for some reason is slipping over your head. This isnt about who had more black appeal or black fans. Madonna is a souless singer. She is a pop star. I dont care about many African American fans she has. It is obsurd to compare her to Teena Marie and insinuate she has soul JUST because she played on r&b stations and has African American fans...
Once again appeal and soul are DIFFERENT. Madonna is NOT a soulful singer EVEN if she wasnt compared to Teena she STILL would not be soul and I double dare you to make a ridiculous case that she is. Madonna has guts of steel but doesnt have an ounce of soul in her body..
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I have never listened to anything by Madonna and thought it was influenced by Teena. Never, ever, ever. Teena was the Ivory Queen, in a category of her own. She sang with a lot of runs, and power. This article is reaching. Listening to Teena just makes me think of how much Madonna is lacking, if anything. RIP. | |
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Space for sale... | |
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Does Teena Marie have some Italian in her or am I wrong about that? That's one thing they have in common, and the other being that people thought both were black artists when on the radio until it was revealead on tv that they weren't. Those are the only things they have in common, nothing else at all. | |
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What exactly is "soul"? According to the church I went to, everyone has a soul. "Soulful" singing doesn't mean anything, just like "new age", "pop", "alternative", "goth", "race", "freestyle", "bluegrass", or "heavy metal" doesn't mean anything. What is "world music"? All music is made in the world. Soul is a label someone made up for marketing purposes. I never said Madonna was a soul or any other kind of singer. I was explaining the article and said she was considered "blue eyed soul" by some people of the time and hence compared to Teena. That's all I have to say about this, since you like arguing for no reason. It's not that big of a deal. [Edited 10/9/11 21:46pm] You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton | |
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noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo | |
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LOL I asked my dad about this a year or two ago and he says it's not true. I've seen the interviews of her saying people thought she was black but I don't think she was fooling as many listeners as legend has it.
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OK, let's set the record straight: Madonna was never billed a "blue eyed soul artist". She was pop from day fucking one! Sire Records was just being fishy, that's all. | |
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