Tammi Terrell
| Tammi Terrell | |
|---|---|
Terrell in 1968.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Thomasina Winifred Montgomery |
| Born |
April 29, 1945 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | March 16, 1970 (aged 24) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer–songwriter |
| Years active | 1960–69 |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | |
 You may listen to Tammi Terrell & Marvin Gaye sing "Ain't no Mountain High Enough" on YouTube
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Tammi Terrell (born Thomasina Winifred Montgomery; April 29, 1945 – March 16, 1970) was an American recording artist, best known as a star singer for Motown Records during the 1960s, most 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 two years 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", "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 succumbing to 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. Tammi was the elder of two siblings. According to the Unsung documentary, her younger sister Ludie said that they had 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. Starting around this time, Terrell started to have migraine headaches. While it was not thought to be of significance at the time, family members would later state that these headaches might have been related to her later diagnosis of brain cancer. According to her sister, Terrell's mother suffered from mental illness.
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