Mary Christine Brockert known to the world as Teena Marie passed away earlier today at the age of 54.
News of her passing has been confirmed by major news outlets in the United States such as the Huffington Post, CNN and the first to report her death was RadioFacts.com. Brockert’s long time manager Mike Gardner stated that she was found at her home dead due to unknown causes.
As I sit here on the bus, composing this piece on my BlackBerry, the guy next to me has his headphones up real loud. He can't be that old, 14 or so. I'd usually be annoyed, but today I'm not. It's 'Billie Jean'. It’s such a familiar and distinctive sound, I’d spot it from a mile off. There's not many souls who wouldn’t recognise that drum intro, bass line and 3 note synth motif. Even though the album is as old as I am, Michael Jackson is so engrained in music culture it's hard to separate him from music itself.