RandBobit: Teena Marie

Sorry to hear of the Boxing Day death of Teena Marie.

Perhaps the most surprising, but touching, eulogy came from Lenny Kravitz, who admits Marie was more than just an influence:

"I've never really talked much about it in depth, but I would not be here ... if it wasn't for Teena," he confessed. "She took me in when I was around 16. I was just a musician on the street. I was living from pillar to post. She took me in. She gave me a bedroom. She fed me. She cooked for me. She took care of me. She gave me instruments to play. She took me to all her recording sessions. She took me to concerts. She nurtured me and helped me to become who I am. She changed my life not only as an artist but as a person.

"Teena Marie was a treasure, was a genius – composer, arranger, singer, musician, unique [and] underrated by far," Kravitz continued. "I just want to send all my love and respect out to the family."

It says something about Marie's position as an aficionado's choice rather than a mainstream name that Twitter decided it must have been Aretha Franklin who had died.

But she was every bit as good, if not so much of a household name. Look:



It's being reported that Marie, who was 54, might have died from a grand mal seizure.