Tammi Terrell
Tammi Terrell (born Thomasina Winifred Montgomery
April 29, 1945 – March 16, 1970
She was an American singer-songwriter, widely known as a star singer for Motown Records during the 1960s, notably for a series of duets with singer Marvin Gaye.
Terrell’s career began as a teenager, first recording for Scepter/Wand Records, before spending nearly nine months as a member of James Brown’s Revue, recording for Brown’s Try Me label. After a period attending college, Terrell recorded briefly for Checker Records, before signing with Motown in 1965. With Gaye, Terrell scored seven Top 40 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, including “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, which was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999,”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 at Hampden–Sydney College on October 14, 1967, with Terrell later being diagnosed with a brain tumor. She had eight unsuccessful surgeries before dying of the illness on March 16, 1970, at the age of 24.
Terrell was born as Thomasina Winifred Montgomery in Philadelphia, to Jennie (née Graham) and Thomas Montgomery. Jennie was an actress and Thomas was a barbershop owner and local politician. According to her sister, their mother was “mentally ill.”
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. However, when she was born, the parents settled on the name Thomasina, nicknaming her “Tommie.” She later changed it to “Tammy” after seeing the film Tammy and the Bachelor and hearing its theme song, “Tammy”, at the age of 12.
According to Ludie’s book My Sister Tommie – The Real Tammi Terrell, Terrell was raped by three boys at the age of 11. Around this time, she started to have migraine headaches. While it was not thought to be of significance at the time, family members would subsequently state that these headaches might have been related to her later diagnosis of brain cancer.
Terrell attended Germantown High School in Philadelphia
In 1962, 17-year-old Terrell became involved in an abusive relationship with James 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, the former member of the Famous 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.
During the Motortown Revue in 1966, Terrell embarked on a torrid romance with The Temptations lead singer David Ruffin. 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. Ruffin had a wife, three children, and another girlfriend in Detroit. This revelation and Ruffin’s drug addiction led to violent arguments. Terrell told Ebony magazine in 1969 that she believed her emotional state during this relationship was a contributing factor to her headaches, which would come after quarrels. In 1967, Terrell ended their relationship after Ruffin hit her in the head with his motorcycle helmet. It was rumored that Ruffin also hit Terrell in the head with a hammer, which further complicated her unknown condition. However, this rumor was dispelled in Terrell’s Unsung episode.
At the time of Terrell’s death, she was engaged to Ernest “Ernie” Garrett. He was a doctor at the hospital where she had been treated.
Due to ongoing complications due to brain cancer, by early 1970, Terrell was using a wheelchair, experienced blindness and hair 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.
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, Tammi’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 from David Ruffin during their relationship. She was interred at Mount Lawn Cemetery in Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania.
Gaye reportedly never fully got over Terrell’s death, according to several biographers who have stated that Terrell’s death led Gaye to depression and drug abuse. In addition, his classic album What’s Going On, an introspective, low-key work that dealt with mature themes, released in 1971, was in part a reaction to Terrell’s death
Terrell and Marvin Gaye were nominated for Best Rhythm & Blues Group Performance, Vocal or Instrumental for their song “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” at the 10th Annual Grammy Awards in 1968. The song was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.