Tammi Terrell: The Tragic Voice Behind Motown’s Greatest Duets
Tammi Terrell’s first break came as a teenager, performing with James Brown’s backing band. By the age of 20, she had signed with Berry Gordy’s Motown and soon began a celebrated collaboration with Marvin Gaye.
Unusually for Motown, their material came from outside the label’s regular hit factory, courtesy of songwriting duo Ashford & Simpson. Together, this team created three legendary duets: Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, and You’re All I Need To Get By.
Tragically, Tammi collapsed onstage into Marvin Gaye’s arms. She was diagnosed with a brain tumour and began treatment. A year later, she attended a Marvin Gaye concert at the Apollo Theatre, now confined to a wheelchair. Marvin, performing with Carla Thompson at the time, stepped into the audience to sing You’re All I Need To Get By with Tammi one final time.
She passed away shortly after, just 24 years old. Marvin would sing the same tune at her funeral.
Tammi Terrell Tunes | Related Pages
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough | Chords + TAB
You can learn to play Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Tammi Terrell + Marvin Gaye using chords, chord analysis, lyrics, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| Bm7/A | G#m7b5 | Gmaj7 | Em9 |
Ain’t no mountain high, ain’t no valley low, ain’t no river wide enough, baby…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: Ain’t No Mountain High Enough (Marvin Gaye + Tammi Terrell) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
You’re All I Need To Get By | Chords + TAB
You can learn to play You’re All I Need To Get By by Tammi Terrell + Marvin Gaye using chords, lyrics, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| A | B/A |
(You’re all I need to get by) Like sweet morning dew, I took one look at you…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: You’re All I Need To Get By (Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Tammi Terrell on the web
