Tammi Terrell | |
|---|---|
 Terrell in 1968 | |
| Born | Thomasina Winifred Montgomery (1945-04-29)April 29, 1945 Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | March 16, 1970(1970-03-16) (aged 24) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Resting place | Mount Lawn Cemetery,Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 1960–1969 |
| Relatives | Bob Montgomery (uncle) |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Labels | |
Musical artist | |
Thomasina Winifred Montgomery (April 29, 1945 – March 16, 1970), professionally known asTammi Terrell, was an American singer-songwriter, widely known as a star singer forMotown Records during the 1960s, notably for a series of duets with singerMarvin Gaye.
Terrell began her career as a teenager, first recording forScepter/Wand Records, before spending nearly nine months as a member ofJames Brown's Revue, recording for Brown'sTry Me label. After attending college, Terrell recorded briefly forChecker Records before signing with Motown in 1965. With Gaye, she scored seven Top 40 singles ontheBillboard Hot 100, including "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", which was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame in 1999,[1] "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" and "You're All I Need to Get By".
Terrell's career was interrupted when she collapsed into Gaye's arms as the two performed at a concert atHampden–Sydney College on October 14, 1967. Terrell was later diagnosed with abrain tumor and had eight unsuccessful surgeries before dying on March 16, 1970, at the age of 24.
Thomasina Winifred Montgomery was born inPhiladelphia to Jennie, née Graham, and Thomas Montgomery. Jennie was an actress and Thomas was a barbershop owner and local politician.[2] According to her sister, their mother was "mentally ill".[3]
Terrell was the older of two siblings. According to the Unsung documentary, her sister Ludie said her parents thought Terrell would be a boy and, therefore, she would be named after her father.[3] When Terrell was born, the parents settled on the name Thomasina, nicknaming her "Tommie".[3] Terrell later changed it to "Tammy" after seeing the filmTammy and the Bachelor and hearing its theme song, "Tammy", at the age of 12.
According to Ludie's bookMy Sister Tommie – The Real Tammi Terrell, Terrell wasraped by three boys at the age of 11.[4] Around this time, she started to havemigraine headaches.[3] While it was not thought to be of significance at the time, family members later stated that these headaches might have been related to her later diagnosis ofbrain cancer.[3]
Terrell attendedGermantown High School in Philadelphia.[5]
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In 1960, Terrell signed under the Wand subsidiary of Scepter Records after being discovered byLuther Dixon. She recorded the ballad "If You See Bill" under the name Tammy Montgomery, and did demos forthe Shirelles. After another single, Terrell left the label. Having been introduced toJames Brown, she signed a contract with him and began singing backup for his Revue concert tours. In 1961, Terrell created the groupthe Sherrys. In late 1962, she was kicked out due to multiple disputes. Eventually, they went their separate ways, with the Sherrys moving on without Terrell. In 1963, she recorded the song "I Cried". Released on Brown'sTry Me Records, it became her first chartingsingle, reaching No. 99 on theBillboard Hot 100.
Terrell later signed with Checker Records and released theBert Berns-produced "If I Would Marry You", a duet withJimmy Radcliffe, which Terrell co-composed. Following this relative failure, Terrell announced a semi-retirement from the music business. Terrell enrolled in theUniversity of Pennsylvania, where she majored in pre-med, staying at the school for two years.[5] In the middle of this, Terrell was asked byJerry Butler to sing with him in a series of shows in nightclubs. After Butler arranged to assure Terrell that she could continue her schooling, she began touring with Butler. In April 1965, during a performance at the Twenty Grand Club inDetroit, she was spotted by Motown CEOBerry Gordy, who promised to sign her to Motown.[6]
Terrell agreed and signed with Motown on April 29, 1965, her 20th birthday. "I Can't Believe You Love Me" became Terrell's first R&B top 40 single, followed almost immediately by "Come On and See Me". In 1966, Terrell recorded two future classics,Stevie Wonder's "All I Do (Is Think About You)" andThe Isley Brothers' "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)". After the release of her first single on Motown, Terrell joined theMotortown Revue opening forthe Temptations.
| External audio | |
|---|---|
 HearTammi Terrell & Marvin Gaye sing "Ain't no Mountain High Enough" onYouTube |
In early 1967, Motown hired Terrell to sing duets withMarvin Gaye, who had achieved duet success withMary Wells andKim Weston, as well as having recorded duets with Oma Heard. During recording sessions, Gaye recalled later that he did not know how gifted Terrell was until they began singing together.[3] The duets were first recorded separately. For sessions of their first recording, theAshford & Simpson composition "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", both Gaye and Terrell recorded separate versions.[7] Motown remixed the vocals and edited out the background vocals, giving just Gaye and Terrell vocal dominance.
The song became a crossover pop hit in the spring of 1967, reaching No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on the R&B charts and making Terrell a star. Their follow-up, "Your Precious Love", became an even bigger hit, reaching No. 5 on the pop chart and No. 2 on the R&B chart. At the end of 1967, the duo scored another top-ten single with "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You", which peaked at No. 10 on the pop chart and No. 2 on the R&B chart. The song'sB-side, the Marvin Gaye composition "If This World Were Mine", became a modest hit on both charts, No. 68 pop, No. 27 R&B.
Gaye later cited the song as "one of Tammi's favorites". All four songs were included on Gaye and Terrell's first duet album,United, released in the late summer of 1967. Throughout 1967, Gaye and Terrell began performing together, and Terrell became a vocal and performance inspiration for the shy and laid-back Gaye, who hated live performing. The duo also performed together on television shows to their hits. They were voted the No. 1 R&B duo inCash Box magazine's Annual Year-End Survey in 1970.[8] In 1967the Funk Brothers supportedMarvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell's live show as backing band.
While Terrell was being established as a star, the migraines and headaches she had suffered from since childhood were becoming more constant. While Terrell complained of pain, she insisted to people close to her that she was well enough to perform. However, on October 14, 1967, while performing "Your Precious Love" with Gaye atHampden–Sydney College,[9][10] just outside the town ofFarmville, Virginia, Terrell collapsed into Gaye's arms onstage.[11][12] Shortly after her return from Virginia, doctors diagnosed a malignanttumor on the right side of her brain. Terrell underwent brain surgery atGraduate Hospital in Philadelphia on January 13, 1968.[13]
After recovering from her first surgery, Terrell returned to Hitsville studios in Detroit and recorded "You're All I Need to Get By". Both that song and "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" reached No. 1 on the R&B charts. Despite Terrell's optimism, her tumor worsened, requiring more surgeries. By 1969, Terrell had retired from live performances as doctors had ordered her not to perform due to her tumors. Motown issued Terrell's first and only solo album,Irresistible, in early 1969. Terrell was too ill to promote the recordings. The album had no new repertoire: all tracks had been recorded earlier and shelved for some time.
Both Marvin Gaye and Valerie Simpson gave different stories on how the production of Terrell's and Gaye's third album together,Easy, went about. According to reports, Terrell had become so ill due to her operations that she could not record, and Motown opted to have Valerie Simpson sub in for Terrell. This report was repeated in the bookMarvin Gaye: What's Going On and the Last Days of the Motown Sound.[14] Gaye would later say the move was "another moneymaking scheme on B.G.'s [Berry Gordy's] part."[15]
Valerie Simpson, on the other hand, stated that the ailing Terrell was brought into the studio when she was strong enough to record over Simpson's guide vocals, insisting Terrell had sung on the album.[16]Easy produced the singles "Good Lovin' Ain't Easy to Come By", "What You Gave Me", "California Soul", and the U.K. top-10 hit "The Onion Song". Late in 1969, Terrell made her final public appearance at theApollo Theater, where Marvin Gaye performed.[3] As soon as Gaye spotted Terrell, he rushed to her side, and the duo began singing "You're All I Need to Get By" together.[3] The public gave them a standing ovation.
"David [Ruffin] could sometimes be rough on a lady. You hear and see things when you're out on the road like we were. We all knew about Tammi and James Brown. We knew how James Brown was about women that he would flip a woman's ass. And back then, you wouldn't ever get the woman's side so that people would assume, fairly or not, he flipped her ass because she provoked him to."
In 1962, 17-year-old Terrell became involved in an abusive relationship withJames Brown, who was 12 years her senior. One night on the road in 1963, Terrell left Brown after he assaulted her for not watching his entire performance.Bobby Bennett, former member of theFamous Flames, witnessed the incident. "He beat Tammi Terrell terribly. She was bleeding, shedding blood. Tammi left him because she didn't want her butt whipped", said Bennett.[18]
During the Motortown Revue in 1966, Terrell embarked on a torrid romance withThe Temptations lead singerDavid Ruffin.[19] That year, Terrell accepted Ruffin's surprise marriage proposal. After Terrell announced their engagement onstage during an appearance together, she discovered that he was already married.[5]
Ruffin had a wife, three children, and another girlfriend in Detroit. This revelation and Ruffin's drug addiction led to violent arguments. Terrell toldEbony magazine in 1969 that she believed her emotional state during this relationship was a contributing factor to her headaches, which came after quarrels.[5]
In 1967, Terrell ended their relationship after Ruffin hit her in the head with his motorcycle helmet.[17] It was rumored that Ruffin also hit Terrell in the head with a hammer, which further complicated her unknown condition.[20][21] This rumor was disputed in Terrell'sUnsung episode.[22]
At the time of Terrell's death, she was engaged to Ernest "Ernie" Garrett.[19] He was a doctor at the hospital where Terrell had been treated.[17]
Due to ongoing complications resulting from abrain tumor, by early 1970, Terrell was using awheelchair, experiencedblindness andhair loss, and weighed only 93 pounds (42 kg). Following her eighth and final operation on January 21, 1970, Terrell went into a coma. She died on March 16 at the age of 24. Terrell's funeral was held at the Janes Methodist Church in Philadelphia.[23]
At the funeral, Gaye delivered a final eulogy while "You're All I Need to Get By" was playing. According to Terrell's fiancé, Dr. Ernest "Ernie" Garrett, who knew Gaye, Terrell's mother, Jennie, angrily barred everyone at Motown from her funeral, except for Gaye, whom she felt was Terrell's closest friend. She blamed most of the label for failing to protect her fromDavid Ruffin during their relationship. Terrell was interred at Mount Lawn Cemetery inSharon Hill, Pennsylvania.[24]
Gaye reportedly never fully got over Terrell's death, according to several biographers who have stated that Terrell's death led Gaye todepression anddrug abuse. In addition, his classic albumWhat's Going On, a reflective, low-key work that dealt with mature themes, released in 1971, was in part a reaction to Terrell's death.[25]
Terrell and Marvin Gaye were nominated forBest Rhythm & Blues Group Performance, Vocal or Instrumental for their song "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" at the10th Annual Grammy Awards in 1968.[26] The song was later inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame in 1999.[1]
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Record label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [27] | US R&B [27] | |||
| 1967 | The Early Show(withChuck Jackson)[A] | — | — | Wand |
| United(withMarvin Gaye) | 69 | 7 | Tamla | |
| 1968 | You're All I Need(with Marvin Gaye) | 60 | 4 | |
| 1969 | Irresistible | — | 39 | Motown |
| Easy(with Marvin Gaye) | 184 | — | Tamla | |
| "—" denotes recordings that did not chart or were not released. | ||||
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Record label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [27] | US R&B [27] | UK [28] | |||
| 1970 | Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's Greatest Hits | 171 | 17 | 60 | Tamla |
| 1980 | Superstar Series Volume 2(withMarvin Gaye) | — | — | — | Motown |
| 2000 | 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell | — | — | — | |
| 2001 | The Essential Collection | — | — | — | Spectrum |
| The Complete Duets(with Marvin Gaye) | — | — | — | Motown | |
| 2010 | Come On and See Me: The Complete Solo Collection | — | — | — | Hip-O Select |
| 2011 | Icon: Love Songs(with Marvin Gaye) | — | — | — | Motown |
| "—" denotes recordings that did not chart or were not released. | |||||
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [27] | US R&B [27] | AUS [29] | CAN [30] | UK [28] | ||||
| 1961 | "If You See Bill"[B] | — | — | — | — | — | The Early Show | |
| 1962 | "Voice of Experience"[B] | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963 | "I Cried"[B] | 99 | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| 1964 | "If I Would Marry You"[B] | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1965 | "I Can't Believe You Love Me" | 72 | 27 | — | — | — | Irresistible | |
| 1966 | "Come On and See Me" | 80 | 25 | — | — | — | ||
| 1967 | "What a Good Man He Is" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"(withMarvin Gaye) | 19 | 3 | 63 | — | 80 | United | ||
| "Your Precious Love"(with Marvin Gaye) | 5 | 2 | 92 | — | — | |||
| "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You"(with Marvin Gaye) | 10 | 2 | 72 | — | 41 | |||
| 1968 | "If This World Were Mine"(with Marvin Gaye) | 68 | 27 | — | — | — | ||
| "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing"(with Marvin Gaye) | 8 | 1 | — | 9 | 34 | You're All I Need | ||
| "You're All I Need to Get By"(with Marvin Gaye) | 7 | 1 | — | 10 | 19 | |||
| "Keep On Lovin' Me Honey"(with Marvin Gaye) | 24 | 11 | — | 27 | — | |||
| "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)" | 67 | 31 | — | 89 | — | Irresistible | ||
| 1969 | "You Ain't Livin' till You're Lovin'"(with Marvin Gaye) | — | — | — | — | 21 | You're All I Need | |
| "Good Lovin' Ain't Easy to Come By"(with Marvin Gaye)[31] | 30 | 11 | — | 65 | 26 | Easy | ||
| "What You Gave Me"(with Marvin Gaye)[31] | 49 | 6 | — | — | — | |||
| "The Onion Song"(with Marvin Gaye)[31] | 50 | 18 | — | — | 9 | |||
| 1970 | "California Soul"(with Marvin Gaye)[31] | 56 | — | 79 | 87 | — | ||
| "—" denotes recordings that did not chart or were not released. | ||||||||
