Teena Marie Celebrates Her 30th Anniversary with New Single – “Can’t Last A Day” Feat Faith Evans!!

When a lady has thrived at the epicenter of a musical movement that
some initially claimed was not her birthright, and that lady has
steadfastly held that legacy down strong for 30 phenomenal years,
acknowledgment, respect and celebration are in order. Today, that
artist is “Lady Tee,” Teena Marie.

2009 marks the 30th (pearl)
anniversary of Teena Marie’s recording career with the June release of
her thirteenth CD, Congo Square – and there’s a milestone for every
decade that has led to it. First is the 16-song CD itself, boasting all
of the panoramic musicality a fan could desire. Second is her fresh
alignment with Stax Records that –after her storied Motown debut in
1979 – marks the second time Teena has been proudly affiliated with a
bedrock black music institution. Finally, there’s a more personal
revelation regarding her family lineage that once and for all proves
why she has been bursting with indisputable soul all these years. Teena
has New Orleans roots!

Congo Square is a passionate,
accessible and, as always, autobiographical adventure that cruises
smoothly from southern soul and smoky jazz to dance floor funk. Along
for the party are special guests Faith Evans (on the first single
“Can’t Last a Day”), Howard Hewett (on the steamy duet “Lovers Lane”),
MC Lyte (on the sexy opener “The Pressure”), the jazz trio of pianist
George Duke (on the title track “Congo Square”), drummer/co-composer
Terri Lyne Carrington and bassist Brian Bromberg (on the cinematic
ballad “The Rose n’ Thorn,” orchestrated by the legendary Paul Riser),
and Teena’s daughter Rose LeBeau (on the soul salute “Milk n’ Honey”).

Teena songs morph in styles from sassy (the flirtatious “Ear Candy
101”) and sexy (the Bourbon Street jazz fantasy “Harlem Blue”) to
sublime (“Ms. Coretta,” about the woman who stood by her man, Martin).
“I have so much respect for that woman,” Teena says softly. “It’s
documented that Martin said he wanted a woman with character,
intelligence, personality and beauty – so we went deep on this one. I
found a spoken passage of Coretta’s on the Internet from a speech she
gave when Martin’s birthday became a national holiday. And the bell you
hear is a sample of the Normandy Bell – the French replica of the
Liberty Bell.” Congo Square’s first single “Can’t Last a Day” is a
modern spin on Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff’s Philadelphia
International sound and pairs Teena with the sensational Faith Evans.
“If you really listen to the lyrics,” Teena shares, “it transcends a
typical love song:

If the sun in the sky disappear from
view / And the love in my heart baby wasn’t true / If the rivers and
seas all just up and dry / And the moon pass away from the deep blue
sky / If I lost all my faith in a higher power / Tell me where would I
be in the final hour / I’d be losing my way baby I’d be through / Cuz I
can’t last a day honey without you

It’s about that
mystical, joined-through-God kind of love…I’m talking about people
being together until the end of time! I think we’re really missing that
level of love today.” Reflecting on her hook-up with Faith, Teena
continues, “It was AFTER I recorded the song that I got the idea to put
Faith on. I’ve always loved her vocal style. She reminds me of me. Her
correlation with Biggie – having a career with him and without him –
reminds me of me and Rick. We know each other through mutual friends. I
called her up and she was really excited to do it. When I play the song
for younger people especially, they seem really thrilled to hear us
together…just the idea of it.”

As a singer, songwriter,
producer and multi-instrumentalist, Teena Marie obliterated the barrier
of race when it comes to soul music, opening the door for later
superstars from Madonna to Justin Timberlake. That this white woman can
purposefully create an album with a title inspired by an historical
American locale where Black slaves gathered on Sundays to recharge
their spiritual batteries after six days under the lash – and no one
would bat an eye – speaks volumes of her singular stature within the
black community that has embraced her as its own. There’s a reason for
this which she recently learned.

“I have always had a deep
affinity for New Orleans,” Teena begins, “the culture, the people…the
actual air! From the moment I stepped off the plane, I felt like, ‘I’ve
been here before.’ The people embraced me and my music from the very
first time I went there in the early `80s. A few months ago, my first
cousin was here visiting and I happened to tell her about my deep
affinity for New Orleans. She looked at me and said, ‘Well, you know
that’s where our people are from, right? Our great, great grandmother
Sarah Howell Colin was married in the St. Louis Cathedral in the French
Quarter.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about? We’re from Texas.’ She
said, ‘Yes, but before Texas our folks were in Louisiana.’ I could have
learned this at any time in my life, but for me to find this out as I
was finishing Congo Square… Now it all makes sense.”

This
revelation informs much of the atmosphere on the more introspective
second half of Congo Square, such as the Sarah Vaughan-inspired “The
Rose n’ Thorn” and the shout of support to the American men and women
serving our country overseas titled “Soldier.” “Milk n’ Honey is the
title of the album John Lennon was working on when he was killed,”
Teena states. “I was thinking about physical things I could give my
daughter – diamonds and pearls – but it was far more important to pass
down the stuff that sustains us on this earth like milk and honey – the
good spirit a mother gives you. Music is part of that, so I had Rose
LeBeau write and sing on the track “Milk n’ Honey”. It’s only the
second time we’ve recorded together, my way of passing the torch. She
makes me so proud.”

That Teena would be making these artistic
statements for a resurrected Stax Records makes the cross-cultural
connectedness complete. When Jim Stewart and his sister Estelle Axton
laid the foundation for Stax in Memphis during the late `50s, it was as
a place where black and white musicians could make incredible music
together – evidenced most famously by racially integrated house band
Booker T. & The M.G.s.