Celebrity Graveland

April 29, 1945 – March 16, 1970

This particular post should be a thrilling tale of resilience and overcoming incomprehensible adversity. It should be a celebration of the long and extraordinary career of a talented superstar.

It should be.

But life, as we know too well, is not always as it should be. Tammi Terrell was born Thomasina Montgomery in Philadelphia. The young girl loved to sing. She found solace in her music in defiance of the mounting horrors of her teenage years. Despite surviving a vicious sexual assault, Terrell remained focused and by the time she was 15, she had signed her first recording contract.

She recorded songs, joined groups, left groups and changed labels. But, she kept moving forward. She met legendary singer James Brown and soon was on the road with his band as a back-up singer. The two eventually began a romantic relationship, but that relationship quickly turned violent. Brown was abusive toward Terrell and she left him. It would not be her last volatile relationship.

In 1965, Tammi was spotted by Motown founder, Berry Gordy, and signed to the powerhouse label. She recorded a couple of singles that made it into the charts, but it was the opportunity to team up with superstar, Marvin Gaye, that launched her career into the stratosphere. Gaye and Terrell recorded a dozen tracks together, including the massive hits “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” “You’re All I Need to Get By” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”

During this time, Terrell was romantically involved with – and briefly engaged to – Temptations singer, David Ruffin. The relationship was, at best, complicated and, at worst, extremely violent. Ruffin’s personal demons manifested in abusive behavior toward Terrell and she finally ended it after he hit her with a motorcycle helmet.

While her personal life was in tatters, her career continued to soar. Through it all, Gaye remained Terrell’s rock. In 1967, the two were performing on stage when Terrell collapsed into Gaye’s arms. She was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Surgeries and other treatments allowed her to continue to record, but after two and a half years battling the cancer, Tammi Terrell died at the age of 24. Her loss devastated those who loved and worked with her and the world was left wondering what might have been.

Burial

Mount Lawn Cemetery – Sharon Hill, PA

Specific Location

Section A-2, Range #21, Lot 29, Grave 1; Enter the northern garden and take the first right. Tammi is buried to the southeast of the house, a row away from the tree line along Hook Road.

This entry was posted on October 30, 2023 at 9:16 am and is filed under Mount Lawn Cemetery with tags 500, Motown, Mount Lawn Cemetery, Singers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.