Terrific Tuesday

Funk legend Rick James joined forces with Teena Marie for Fire and Desire and the duo had a big, big hit with this sultry song. The performance is just classic. James and Teena Marie, the Ivory Queen of Soul, seemed like a match made in pop heaven as they climbed the charts together.

From Rick’s 1981 album Street Songs, Fire and Desire was a superior recording. Never had Rick James sounded more soulful or more at home with the material he was working on than he did with this one. And Teena’s contributions to the track are superb. This pair should have cut more songs together. Like Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, they seemed to belong together.

Contemplating that both of these music icons are now gone is simply foreign. For their fans, they have left behind a rich legacy of hits that people will be listening to for years to come. Fire and Desire is the cream of the crop, and Rick and Teena were the top of their genre.