Today I finally had the time to sit down and listen to a full disc of Tammi Terrell's solo work in the form of The Essential Collection, a 2001 compilation that had until now managed to evade my radar.

I had never fully appreciated Tammi's wonderful voice until now. She was sublimely great with Marvin, but her solo work is rarely heard (well, except in the overdubbed Gaye duets), and she's largely forgotten. James Brown sensed her talent when he caught her live act, signed her to his label and she became a fixture of his live review. But the union produced no hits and eventually Motown snapped her up.

The tracklisting:

1. I Can't Believe You Love Me
2. That's What Boys Are Made For
3. Come on and See Me
4. What a Good Man He Is
5. Tears at the End of a Love Affair
6. This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)
7. He's the One I Love
8. Can't Stop Now (Love Is Calling)
9. Just Too Much to Hope For
10. Hold Me Oh My Darling
11. I Can't Go on Without You
12. Baby Don't You Worry
13. There Are Things
14. Two Can Have a Party (Solo Version)
15. Lone Lonely Town
16. Slow Down
17. I Gotta Find a Way to Get You Back
18. Ain't No Mountain High Enough (duet version)

As you can see, most of these are covers, since Berry Gordy refused to give her access to Motown's premier writers until she hit it big (by serendipity) with Marvin, but by then it was too late as her health quickly declined and she died tragically of a brain tumour in 1970 at 24. Her death sent Marvin into seclusion for 3 years and reputedly gave him the inspiration to make his work more serious and produce "What's Going On".

Some of these are unreleased tracks (such as her torchy, assertive cover version of The Temptations' "I Gotta Find A Way To Get You Back", which was probably too overtly sexual for Motown's tastes at the time). Others are simply lost gems like "Come On And See Me", an extraordinarily sensual Motown recording and "I Can't Believe You Love Me", which is tender and passionate in the Motown tradition. The hypnotic "Tears At The End Of A Love Affair" is yet another standout. Her voice is like smooth honey, and she would have been an excellent alternative to Diana Ross. Along with Brenda Holloway, Kim Weston and Barbara McNair she's easily the most underappreciated (and underutilized) female vocalist in the Motown camp. Her style was versatile, her voice was passionate, and her inflection was inimitable. She remains the only woman to evolve a convincing vocal rapport with Marvin Gaye (ice queen Diana Ross, Kim Weston and Mary Wells all tried but largely failed).

If you're interested, it's worth tracking down (via a file-sharing network) her unreleased 1966 version of Stevie Wonder's "All I Do Is Think About You", which he cut for his Hotter Than July album in 1980. It's better than Stevie's version, and it's pretty hard to top Stevie.


[This message was edited Sun Dec 28 18:30:16 PST 2003 by VoicesCarry]

waiting for DavidEye post... (& what about Mary Wells?)

jn2 said:

Yes, she's very underrated (and largely forgotten too), but her solo stuff at least found a massive audience, as it deserved to.

You can see some of Mary's live clips here: http://www.sixtiesmotown....ry%20Wells

thanks

Nice thread. Wonderful chemistry between her and Marvin.

U know who I miss? James Jamerson.

As for Motown's saddest loss, surely Marvin Gaye?

Nice thread though, like I said.

Oh, I'm not trying to minimize the loss of Marvin Gaye. I just find Tammi perhaps more tragic as she died so young and before she was able to fully reach her potential.

And James Jamerson was absolutely amazing. One of Motown's best assets...a true genius.
[This message was edited Mon Dec 29 8:42:46 PST 2003 by VoicesCarry]

Tammi Passed away so young at tha hands of David Ruffin who repeatedly beat her..but was never ever formally charged with her death alltho it was stated the tumor was contributed to head trauma. its a shame they'll never ever be another Tammi..

TheRealFiness said:

Yeah, that's a rumour, but it's unconfirmed. Some sources claimed she was actually beaten by James Brown. Although it's highly doubtful the tumour developed because of the beatings; cancer doesn't do that. But there are many unanswered questions about her life (was she married to Jean Terrell's brother or did she just use his last name because it worked well?). A biography is due out some time next year so hopefully they'll clear that up.
[This message was edited Mon Dec 29 8:51:27 PST 2003 by VoicesCarry]