Teena Marie gets ‘Up Close and Personal’ at Birchmere

Teena Marie, “Lady T” to her devoted fans, surpasses herself with “Congo Square,” her latest CD with a mystical connection to her past. This weekend, the voice that defines her Motown roots reigns at The Birchmere for two evenings of musical reminiscing and question-and-answer sessions.

The Grammy Award-nominated singer, songwriter and producer burst on the R&B scene in 1979 with her debut album, “Wild and Peaceful,” followed by “Lady T.” Thirteen albums later, the come-hither voice revels in rhythm and romantic lyrics plucked from her heart.

“I’m excited about coming back to Washington for these intimate evenings,” she says, speaking from her home in California. “It’ll just be me and my guitar, a piano and a bass. I’ll do lots of stuff people don’t get to hear, songs my die-hard fans love and numbers from ‘Congo Square.’ The title comes from the place in the French Quarter of New Orleans where the slaves were allowed to dance and sing on Sundays.

“I’d always loved everything about the city, but I had no idea of my connection there until I was finishing the album and my cousin from Washington state came to visit. When I told her about my affinity for the city, she said it was no wonder because our family originated there. I’d thought that our fathers, who were brothers, came from Texas. It turns out that they were born in Louisiana and went to Texas later. Our great-great-grandmother was married in the St. Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter.”

Teena Marie has been a magnetic entertainer and songwriter since childhood. She quickly mastered the 10 guitar lessons her father paid for, then proceeded to teach herself. Not yet a teenager, she acted in “The Beverly Hillbillies” and sang at every opportunity, even the wedding of Jerry Lewis’ son. She was the total professional when she hit Motown at its beginning and became the protege of Rick James.

Once she was established as a star, she stopped recording for several years to stay home and raise her daughter. She recalls one low point when finances were so strained that she sold two guitars worth $5,000 to a man on the corner for $1,000 in order to provide Christmas for her child and family.

Even while she struggled, she wrote continuously, no more effectively than during the despair she was undergoing while turning out the gems in “Congo Square.” Just as the title song pays homage to the ghosts of slaves and the city’s fabled musicians who congregate there, other numbers also tap the past. Her inspirations were artists like Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Isaac Hayes, who touched her through their distinctive styles.

“Soldier” is a tribute to those serving overseas, “Ms. Coretta” honors the wife of Martin Luther King Jr., and “The Rose and the Thorn” recognizes life’s trials and the eternal hope for a new dawn. Perhaps the most beautiful is “Milk N’ Honey,” a duet with her talented daughter, Rose LeBeau, whose own career is soaring.

Few young performers today know that Teena Marie is responsible for improving the artists’ rights they enjoy. The Brockert (her surname) Initiative prohibits record companies from holding unreleased creative materials and barring the artist from taking them to another company.

“My father, who passed when I was 20, would have been proud that I stood my ground and accomplished this for my fellow artists,” she says. “Today my primary responsibility is as caregiver to my 86-year-old mother, and I feel blessed to have a child of my own who loves to cuddle. You can’t keep a good woman down.”