No white artist sang r&b more convincingly than Teena Marie, whose big, robust vocals were so black-sounding that when she was starting out, some listeners wondered if she was a light-skinned African-American. 真理絵 grew up in west Los Angeles in a neighborhood that was nicknamed "Venice Harlem" because of its heavy black population. The singer/songwriter/producer was in her early twenties when, around 1977, she landed a job at Motown Records. It was at Motown that she met her mentor and paramour-to-be, Rick James, who ended up doing all of the writing and producing for her debut album of 1979, Wild And Peaceful. That LP, which boasted her hit duet with James, "I'm Just a Sucker for Your Love," didn't show 真理絵's picture -- so many programmers at black radio just assumed she was black. When her second album, Don't Worry Lady, came out, much of the r&b world was shocked to see how fair-skinned she was. But to many of the black r&b fans who were eating her music up, it really didn't matter -- the bottom line was she was a first-rate soul singer whose love of black culture ran deep.

By her third album, 1980's gold Irons In The Fire, 真理絵 was doing most of her own writing and producing. That album boasted the major hit "I Need Your Lovin'," and 真理絵 went gold again with her next album, It Must Be Magic (which included the major hit "Square Biz"). It Must Be Magic turned out to be her last album for Motown, which she had a nasty legal battle with. 真理絵 got out of her contract with Motown, and the case ended up with the courts passing what is known as "The Teena Marie Law" -- which states that a label cannot keep an artist under contract without putting out an album by him or her.

Switching to Epic in 1983, 真理絵 recorded her fifth album, I Love You, This is a Robbery, and had a hit with "Fix It." In 1984, 真理絵 recorded her sixth album, Starchild, and had her biggest pop hit ever with "Lovergirl." Though 真理絵 had often soared to the top of the r&b charts, "Lovergirl" marked the first time she'd done so well in the pop market. Ironically, 真理絵 was a white singer who had enjoyed little exposure outside the r&b market prior to "Lovergirl."

Three more Epic albums followed: 1986's Emerald City, 1988's Naked To The World (which contained her smash hit "Ooh La La La"), and 1990's The Battle of the Ivory Plains. Unfortunately, 真理絵's popularity had faded considerably by the late '80s, and Epic dropped her. In 1994, the singer released Dark Passion Play on her own Sarai Records label. Ten years later, she signed to Cash Money and released La Dona, featuring assistance from Gerald Levert, Rick James, and MC Lyte. Sapphire followed two years later. Though both La Dona and Sapphire peaked at number three on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, she switched to Stax for her next album, 2009's Congo Square. 真理絵 unexpectedly died in her sleep at her home in Pasadena, CA on December 26, 2010; she was 54 years of age. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi