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Teena Marie, known as 'Ivory Queen of Soul,' dies - USA - entertainment - music - Teena Marie - Obituary

Teena Marie, known as 'Ivory Queen of Soul,' dies

Teena Marie, who made history as Motown's first white act but developed a lasting legacy with her silky soul pipes and with hits like "Lovergirl," `'Square Biz," and "Fire and Desire" with mentor Rick James, has died. She was 54.

NEKESA MUMBI MOODY | Yahoo! News | Published: 12/27/2010 08:17

The confirmation came from a publicist, Jasmine Vega, who worked with Teena Marie on her last album. Her manager, Mike Gardner, also confirmed her death to CNN.

Teena Marie, known as the "Ivory Queen of Soul," was certainly not the first white act to sing soul music, but she was arguably among the most gifted and respected, and was thoroughly embraced by the black audience.

She was first signed to the legendary Motown label back in 1979 at age 19, working with James, with whom she would have long, turbulent but musically magical relationship.

The cover of her album, "Wild and Peaceful," did not feature her image, with Motown apparently fearing backlash by audiences if they found out the songstress with the dynamic voice was white.


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