''Lady T'' is the second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American singer-songwriter

Teena Marie Mary Christine Brockert (March 5, 1956 – December 26, 2010), known professionally as Teena Marie, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, arranger, and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before taking the sta ...

, released by

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

's Gordy label on February 14, 1980.

Background

The album was produced by

Richard Rudolph Richard James Rudolph (born October 27, 1946) is an American songwriter, musician, music publisher, and producer. Life and career Richard Rudolph is the son of Muriel Eileen (Neufeld) and Sidney J. Rudolph. His grandfather, Julius Abraham Rud ...

, and the track "Too Many Colors" features the then 7 year-old

Maya Rudolph Maya Rudolph (born July 27, 1972) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. In 2000, she became a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''), and later played supporting roles in the films '' 50 First Dates'' ...

, daughter of Rudolph and his late wife

Minnie Riperton Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You" and her four octave D3 to F7 coloratura soprano range. She is also widely known for her use o ...

. The album was dedicated to Minnie Riperton. Lady T was the nickname of Teena Marie at Motown Records. The packaging of Teena Marie's debut album '' Wild and Peaceful'' had not included a picture of the singer, and the image on the sleeve of this album surprised many people who had assumed she was

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

. ''Lady T'' peaked at #18 on the Black Albums chart and #45 on the Pop Albums chart. Lead single "Can It Be Love" was a minor hit on the US Black Singles chart followed by "Behind the Groove" which peaked at #21 on the US Black Singles chart and became Teena Marie's only top 20 hit in the United Kingdom, reaching #6. "Lonely Desire" was released as the final single from the album.

Track listing

;Side A # "Behind the Groove" (Marie,

) – 6:06 # "Now That I Have You" (Art Philips, Richard Rudolph, Claudia Talbott) – 5:32 # "Lonely Desire" (Marie, Richard Rudolph, Dwayne Wedlaw) – 4:39 # "Aladdin's Lamp" (Marie) – 4:55 ;Side B :5. "You're All the Boogie I Need" (Mickey Hearn, Marie) – 5:44 :6. "Can It Be Love" (Marie, Dwayne Wedlaw) – 4:24 :7. "Young Girl in Love" (

Jill Jones Jill Jones (born July 11, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress, who performed as a backing vocalist for Teena Marie and Prince in the 1980s. Overview Jones was born in Lebanon, Ohio on July 11, 1962. Her mother, a fashion model, ...

, Marie) – 3:55 :8. "Why Did I Have to Fall in Love with You" (Marie, George Sopuch) – 4:45 :9. "Too Many Colors (Tee's Interlude)" (Marie) – 3:10 ;1991 Reissue :10. "Why Can't I Get Next to You" (Marie) – 3:58 :11. "Co-Pilot to Pilot" (Marie) – 4:23 ;2011 Expanded Edition :10. Behind The Groove (Original LP Version) - 6:13 :11. Behind The Groove (Rick James Mix) - 6:16 :12. Behind The Groove (The Missing "M+M" 12-Inch Mix) - 9:13

Personnel

*Teena Marie – acoustic guitar, lead and backing vocals *

Nathan Watts Nathan or Natan may refer to: People *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name *Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible *Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David and ...

, Eddie Watkins, Oscar Alston on "Behind The Groove" – bass * Paulinho Da Costa – percussion *

Michael Boddicker Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthesi ...

– synthesizer *

Jeremy Lubbock Jeremy Michael Lubbock (4 June 1931 – 29 January 2021) was a Grammy-winning English pianist, conductor, orchestrator, music producer, arranger, composer, and songwriter. Life and career Born in Berkshire, he learned piano as a child, and ...

– Fender Rhodes *

Randy Waldman Randy Waldman (born September 8, 1955, Chicago, Illinois, United States) is an American pianist, arranger, composer, and conductor. In 2019, Waldman's arrangement of the " Spider-Man Theme" on his ''Superheroes'' album garnered the Grammy Award f ...

– Fender Rhodes, piano, synthesizer *Greg Hargrove, Tim May, Bob "Boogie" Bowles, Art Phillips – guitar *Charles A. Glenn, Jr., Eddie N. Watkins, Jr. – bass *Christopher Anthony Boehme, Paul Hines, Tony "T-Bird" Lewis – drums * Gary Grant – flugelhorn, trumpet *Kim Hutchcroft – flute, saxophone *

Jerry Hey Jerry Hey (born 1950) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Michael Jackson's '' Thriller'', ''Rock with You'', ...

– flugelhorn, trumpet *Charles Loper – trombone * Steve Forman – percussion *Everett Bryson, Jr. – congas, percussion *James S. Stewart, Jr. – piano *Thomas "T" Bumpass – trumpet, backing vocals *William Carroll White, Jr. – saxophone, backing vocals *

Larry Williams Larry Williams (born Lawrence Eugene Williams, a.k.a. Lawrence Edward Williams; May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Williams ...

– flute, saxophone *Ray C. Woodard – saxophone, backing vocals *Bob Zimmitti – cowbell, percussion *

, Dwayne Medlaw – voices *

Diahnne Abbott Diahnne Eugenia Abbott (born January 1, 1945) is an American actress and singer. She played supporting roles in films of the 1970s and 1980s, including ''Taxi Driver'' (1976). Abbott was married to actor Robert De Niro from 1976 to 1988. Th ...

, Brenda Lee Eager, Linda Little,

, Bill Thedford – backing vocals

Charts

Singles

References

External links

Teena Marie-Lady T at Discogs
{{Authority control Teena Marie albums 1980 albums Gordy Records albums