Teena Marie with daughter Alia at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards on February 13, 2005
Teena Marie, the early 80s Motown artist with hits like "Lovergirl," "Square Biz," and "Fire and Desire" with mentor Rick James, died Sunday. She was 54.
Confirmation came from publicist Jasmine Vega, who worked with Marie on her last album. Manager Mike Gardner also confirmed her death to CNN.
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Smokey Robinson and Teena Marie at a 50th anniversary celebration of Motown on October 20, 2007
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 embraced by the black audience.
She was first signed to the Motown label at age 19, working with James, with whom she would have long, turbulent 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 she was white.
During her tenure with Motown, the singer-songwriter and musician produced passionate love songs and funk jam songs like "Need Your Lovin'," "Behind the Groove" and "Ooh La La La."
Marie had a daughter and had toured in recent years after overcoming prescription drug addiction.
R.I.P Teena Marie
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