Some books/articles give her birthdate as January 24, 1946; the authors probably misread a handwritten 4/29/45 as 1/24/46. But, having heard from someone who knew her and attended her funeral, I now know that 4/29/45 is the correct date. Anyway, Tammi (or Tommy, as her family knew her) was the older of two children born in Philadelphia to Thomas Montgomery (brother of boxer Bob Montgomery) and Jennie Montgomery (an actress).

Tammi began her singing career in 1960 with a contract with Scepter/Wand Records. She also recorded a few songs, including "I Cried," that were produced by James Brown, whose own hits include "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" and "I Got You (I Feel Good)." Until 1964 she toured with his Revue and was also his girlfriend. In 1965 she signed with Motown and became romantically involved with David Ruffin of the Temptations. Both Brown and Ruffin are reputed to have abused her. Contrary to popular belief (CTPB), she was never married to boxer Ernie Terrell, although some boxers and other sports pros do have bad reputations for violence against women. Instead, she adopted the last name Terrell for the samereason Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., would later become John Denver--to have a stage name shorter than the birth name.

Then, in 1967, she met the man on whose coattails she rode into fame--Marvin Gaye. Their duets include "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Your Precious Love" (both from their first album together, United). Also CTPB, they were not lovers in real life; however, they were as close as people who are just friends can be. The first sign of brain cancer came when she collapsed in his arms onstage at Virginia's Hampden-Sydney College in 1967. Two more duet albums were released over the next two years. Half the songs from the second album, You're All I Need, were real duets, but the rest were Tammi solo recordings to which Marvin's vocals were added. Two tracks from the third album, Easy, were overdubs; songwriter-producer Valerie Simpson susbstituted for Tammi on the rest. (Even two United songs were overdubs; this helped Motown keep studio expenses down.)

Eight brain surgeries failed to save her; the cancer continued to worsen until it ended her life. Her grave is at Mount Lawn Cemetery, northwest of Philadelphia International Airport. She is survived by a sister, Ludie Montgomery; Ludie's sons, Kirk and Donald; and Kirk's 3 children. All still live in Philly.

Marvin was so crushed by Tammi's illness and death that he sequestered himself from the studio from late 1969 until 1971, and from the stage until 1972. Worse yet, her illness and death prevented her from realizing her potential as a solo artist. Besides "I Cried," her solo songs included "I Can't Believe You Love Me" and "Come On And See Me." None of them were big hits, but some of them
were compiled into an LP, Irresistible, which was released in 1969.

taken from http://www.tammiterrell.com/

return to home page