Tammi Terrell

Tammi Terrell was born Thomasina Winifred Montgomery on April 29, 1945.

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She 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. Before turning 16, Terrell signed under the Wand subsidiary of Scepter Records after being discovered by Luther Dixon, recording the ballad “If You See Bill” under the name Tammy Montgomery and doing demos for The Shirelles. After another single, Terrell left the label and, after being introduced to James Brown, signed a contract with him and began singing backup for his Revue Concert Tours. In 1963, she recorded the song “I Cried.” Released on Brown’s Try Me Records, it became her first charting single, reaching No. 99 on the Billboard Hot 100.

After this tenure ended, Terrell signed with Checker Records and released the Bert Berns-produced duet, “If I Would Marry You,” with Jimmy Radcliffe, which Terrell co-composed. Following this relative failure, Terrell announced a semi-retirement from the music business and enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in pre-med, staying at the school for two years. In the middle of this, Terrell was asked by Jerry Butler to sing with him in a series of shows in nightclubs. After an arrangement was made by Butler to assure Terrell that she could continue her schooling, she began touring with Butler.