Teena Marie, the R&B singer is dead at the age of 54. Tina Marie, the “Ivory Queen of Soul” who gave us hits like “Lovergirl,” “Square Biz,” and “Fire and Desire” with mentor Rick James, died on Sunday.

Singer Teena Marie died in her sleep and the reason for her death is not confirmed yet. The police and fire department were called to her home after her daughter found her unresponsive. But according to CNN, Marie’s publicist states that she suffered from a grand mal seizure last month.

Teena Marie last tweeted on Christmas day, with one of her final tweets quoting another music legend, Sarah Vaughn:

MsTeenaMarie: Sarah Vaughan “May You never grow old, and may I never die”.

Her big hit was ’Lovergirl’, a single that came out in 1984 and it to the number four spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Marie made her debut on the legendary Motown label back in 1979, becoming one of the very few white acts to break the race barrier of the groundbreaking black-owned record label that had been a haven for black artists like Stevie Wonder, the Jackson Five, the Supremes and Marvin Gaye.

Teena Marie is survived by her daughter, Alia Rose who sings under the name of Rose Le Beau.

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