Título: Teena Marie
Seção: Early life (1956-1978)
Background: Mary Christine Brockert (March 5, 1956 - December 26, 2010), better known by her stage name Teena Marie, was an American singer-songwriter, and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before taking the stage name Teena Marie and later acquired the nickname Lady Tee (sometimes spelled Lady T), given to her by her collaborator and friend, Rick James. She was known for her distinctive soulful vocals, which caused many listeners to believe she was African-American. Her success in R&B and soul music, and loyalty to these genres would earn her the title Ivory Queen of Soul.

Conteúdo: Mary Christine, or Tina as she was called, was the daughter of construction worker Thomas Leslie Brockert and his wife, home renovator Mary Anne. She spent her early childhood in Mission Hills, Calif. Her ethnic heritage was Portuguese, Italian, Irish, and American Indian. In 2005, while visiting Louisiana, she had discovered that her paternal ancestors once lived in New Orleans. She took to singing naturally, performing Harry Belafonte's Banana Boat Song by age two. She also developed a fondness for singing Motown songs, and her self-professed "gift from God" would become fine-tuned as the years progressed.  When she was eight years old, her parents began sending Tina on auditions which, among other things, netted her an acting role on The Beverly Hillbillies, credited as Tina Marie Brockert. She also sang at the wedding of Jerry Lewis' son when she was 10 years old. Reared in a Roman Catholic household, she learned to play the piano under the tutelage of two nuns, and later taught herself the guitar, bass, and congas. She would go on to form a semi-professional R&B band with her younger brother Anthony and their cousin.  In the early 1970s, after the family moved to Venice, Los Angeles, Brockert spent her adolescent years in the historically black Venice enclave of Oakwood, nicknamed "Venice Harlem". There, she would acquire a strong spiritual influence from neighborhood matriarch Berthalynn Jackson, a black woman who would become her godmother.  While attending Venice High

user: Where was she born?

assistant: She spent her early childhood in Mission Hills, Calif.

user: DId she show an interest in music at an early age?

assistant: She took to singing naturally, performing Harry Belafonte's Banana Boat

user: Where did she perform Banana Boat?

assistant: CANNOTANSWER

user: Who were her parents?

assistant: Mary Christine, or Tina as she was called, was the daughter of construction worker Thomas Leslie Brockert and his wife, home renovator Mary Anne.

user: Did they encourage her music?

assistant: When she was eight years old, her parents began sending Tina on auditions

user: What was one of the places she auditioned?

assistant: an acting role on The Beverly Hillbillies,

user: Did she get the role?

assistant: her parents began sending Tina on auditions which, among other things, netted her an acting role on The Beverly Hillbillies, credited as Tina Marie Brockert.

user: Did she do any other acting?

assistant: While attending Venice High School, Brockert joined the Summer Dance Production and was the female lead in the school's production of The Music Man.