TAMMI TERELL - The PAINFUL HIDDEN STORY_What They Didn't Tell You! | FULL DOCUMENTARY

[Applause] that'sand jmy how long you been singing oh boy long time well since I was about 12 fres professional see what you're I'm sorry undoubtedly one of the most talented and gifted voices this world has ever seen the kind beautiful and vivacious Tammy Terrell was something else on top of this her chemistry with duet partner the legendary Marvin Gay was magical their voices were not only exquisite but perfectly matched many say they were a match made in heaven away from this her intelligence too was unrivaled an honest student in high school who went on to get a Premed scholarship at the University of Pennsylvania she was definitely cut from a special cloth and this is why her passing on at a mere age of 24 due to brain tumor sent shock waves to every corner of the world as it was such a tragedy to lose such a special Soul it is in the public domain of how much of a tortured Soul she was the cruelty she faced throughout her life and that a number of her fans have never quite moved on from her demise a section of them believed that in some way God got tired of Tammy being misused and took her to a better place away from this cruel world regardless we can only imagine what she could have turned out to be had she been given more time many assumptions have been made about her untimely death and her life in general with many rumors and hearsay going around but this is her candid and untold story a story that will help clear the doubts and give answers to the vague and undefined question marks Tammy was born Thomasina Winfred Montgomery on April 29th 1945 in a pretty tough neighborhood of Philadelphia as the eldest of the two daughters to Jenny and Thomas Montgomery Jenny was an actress and Thomas was a barber shop owner and local politician who was well respected Tammy's birth was more than anticipated they really looked forward to her birthday reason her parents really hoped she was going to be a boy for her to be named after her dad but it was not meant to be they decided to settle on Thomasina the feminine name of Thomas and nicknamed her Tommy right from birth she was full of life and energy the Lively type always going around entertaining anyone and everyone the parents impressed by this enrolled her to piano and dancing lessons when she was only three she also began singing in churches and school talent shows and developed a deeper liking to music telling everyone how big of a star she would become her relationship with her mother however wasn't that great as she was always in and out of Hospital due to depression and headaches fast forward at age 11 what happened to her changed her character forever one evening on her way home she was beaten up and and molested sexually by three older boys for a while she became withdrawn and her energetic personality vanished as she sought to stay behind closed doors Reports say that even though she managed to identify the boys to the authorities the case was in some way swept under the carpet being introduced to sex in such a way was in many ways brutal to her just a kid by three older stronger Boys in such a painful for and violent way isn't a way for a girl to be introduced to such a sacred act and considering it was still in the ' 50s there were no therapy supports or such for victims of abuse also considering her mom was sick she had to silently heal and that's what she sadly did they say the moment she resurfaced again she was a totally different person possessing the opposite of what people expected people expected her to hate the men she loved them more and was was always around them people expected her to be laid back depressed and with low self-esteem she was extroverted more than ever vivacious and always full of life she became promiscuous too we managed to reach out to a couple of psychologists to get answers on why victims of abuse would result to promiscuity something that ironically reminds them of their trauma every time they indulge and what they told us in some way resonated with us one victims would become promiscuous because believe it or not it serves as a defense mechanism for them they feel if they behave this way no one will bother them because they're in control by using their bodies if you are controlling then they can't hurt you there's also the idea that you aren't worth anything besides for sex and that you're ready to offer it as you believe people view you as an object anyway she was ready to face the world again it is also during this time that she also began having severe their headaches which they brushed it off with the excuse that it ran in the family and was just a normal thing she became Super Active in the talent shows and even managed to win a talent contest at Philadelphia's Earl theater while she was still 11 she also decided to change her name to Tammy inspired by the theme song of the film Tammy and the bachelor when she was 12 probably driven by the urge to disassociate with her former self four years later after hard work and persistence she was discovered by the legendary Luther Dixon and signed a deal with the one subsidiary of septer Records she recorded the ballad if you see Bill under the name Tammy Montgomery and also worked on doing demos for the charel in 1962 she recorded a second single the voice of experience and left shortly after after The Godfather of Soul James Brown saw her perform live and decided to give her a contract to sign as a backup singer for his review concert tours this was one offer she was never going to turn down considering how big of a name James Brown was despite her parents objections considering how young she was what she didn't know was James Brown not only saw the talent but also her beauty once they hit the road he didn't waste time on her he began showering her with numerous gifts just to lure her into liking him in 1963 she recorded the song I cried under Brown's try me records which became her first charting single reaching number 99 on the Billboard Hot 100 despite her music career looking promising she was not happy not happy because of what was happening behind curtains she was in an abusive relationship with James Brown who was known to be a very controlling Man Tammy decided enough was enough when Brown after a live performance hit her for not staying to watch him perform till the end she left and never looked back she then signed with Checker records a year later releasing if I would marry you a duet with Jimmy Radcliffe which didn't quite perform as she had expected and this prompted her to announce she was retiring temporary to concentrate to pursue her dream to be a doctor she had the intelligence and the beauty and the talent to be anything she wanted to be she was an honor student at Germantown High School and had managed to had a scholarship to attend the University of Pennsylvania as a Premed student 2 years in Jerry Butler convinced her to sing with him in a series of shows in nightclubs assuring her that she'd continue with her schooling in April 1965 while touring with Butler during a performance at the 20 grand club in Detroit she was spotted by mtown CEO Barry Gordy who promised to sign her to mtown Tammy agreed and signed with the label on April 29th 9 1965 her 20th birthday it is also in 1965 where she was briefly engaged to heavyweight boxer Ernie Terrell the brother of jeon Terrell a future member of the mtown super group The Supremes and even went ahead to assume his surname Terell as it felt more convenient as a stage name she made her label debut with the single I can't believe you love me which became Terrell's first R&B top 40 single followed almost immediately by come on and see me in 1966 Terrell recorded two future Classics Stevie wonders all I do is think about you and the iy brothers this old heart of mine is weak for you all the follow-up singles never quite hit the airwaves after the release of her first single on mtown Terell joined the motor toown review opening for The Temptations it is here that she embarked on a torrid romance with the Temptations lead singer David Ruffin in 1966 who at the time was at the top of the world with the group it is said that at one point Ruffin even refused to travel with his fellow Temptations in a bus and opted to travel with Terell in a limo he always went in heavy in impressing her she even accepted her surprise marriage proposal the same ye but shocked to her she leared that Ruffin was married he had a wife three children and another girlfriend in Detroit topped up with Ruffin's drug addiction and pride it marked the start of numerous problems with the two always engaging in violent arguments it is said that her headaches doubled during this time from the constant quarrels which really affected her emotional state she decided to end the relationship in 1967 after Ruffin allegedly hit her on the head with a motorcycle helmet her luck finally came in 1967 when she was chosen to replace Kim Weston as Marvin Gay's recording partner even though gay had previously recorded and found Success With Mary Wells as well as Weston he and Terell found a chemistry that neither of them had experienced before Tammy was very spirited when recording with Marvin Marvin at the time was a laid-back shy gentleman while Terell was a real ball of fire maybe it is because she finally found someone who let her dominate without the need of making her feel inferior like her past experiences with men the duo broke into the top 20 pop chart in 1967 with Ain't No Mountain High Enough the Tome string of hits continued with if I could build my whole world around you Your Precious Love which landed in the top five in 1967 ain't nothing like the real thing and you're all all I need to get by which topped the R&B charts in 1968 it was no doubt the Terrell gay chemistry produced some of the most memorable love songs of the mtown era and the aura of romance that the two created in their songs led to persistent rumors that they were lovers the duo also performed together on television shows to their hits they were voted the number one RnB duo in cashbox Magazine's annual year-end survey in 1970 though the partnership was creatively and professionally successful Terrell and gay were doomed as a team from the start after suffering from severe migraine headaches for some time on October 14th 1967 while performing Your Precious Love with gay at Hampton Sydney College just outside the town of Farmville Virginia Terell collapsed into Gay's arms on stage doctors first diagnosed exhaustion but later discovered a brain tumor she underwent her first surgery and after recovering she returned to hitsville studios in Detroit and recorded you're all I need to get by both that song and ain't nothing like the real thing reached number one on the R&B charts despite Terrell's optimism her tumor worsened requiring more surgeries which totaled seven by 1969 terel had retired from live performances as she had been ordered by doctors not to perform due to her tumor mtown issued Terrell's first and only solo album irresistible in early 1969 Terrell was too ill to promote the recordings there was no new repertoire on the album All tracks had been recorded earlier and subsequently shelved for some time late in 1969 the optimistic Terell made her final public appearance at the Apollo Theater where Marvin Gay was performing as soon as gay spotted Terrell he rushed to her side and the duo began singing You're All I Need to get by together they were given a standing ovation by the public by early 1970 as the complications worsened Terell was confined to a wheelchair she experienced blindness and hair loss and weighed only £93 following her eighth and final operation on January 21st 1970 Terell went into a coma and never woke up she died on March 16 a month before her 25th birthday this sent shock waves to everyone with Marvin Gay being hit the hardest with the news it is said this marked the start of drug abuse by Marvin Gay according to Terrell's fiance Dr Ernie Garrett who knew gay Tammy's mother Jenny angrily barred everyone at mtown from her funeral except for gay who she felt was Terrell's closest friend she blamed the label for failing to protect Terell while she was undergoing abuse Terrell's funeral service was held at the Janes Methodist Church in Philadelphia she was interred at Mount Laur Cemetery in Sharon Hill Pennsylvania despite her untimely death and short career it is wild to imagine the indelible Mark she left in the music industry she overcame bigger barriers and everything that was thrown at her to ensure we experience her special gift with all this beauty in the brains we can only Phantom what she would have turned out to be had she stayed much longer lastly we should not feel sad of what she went through let's celebrate that she's in a happy place she would never want us to empathize with her she may have gone through all that abuse for us to learn that we can still turn out to be the best versions of ourselves regardless of the situation no excuses and as the great Martin Luther King Jr would put it Darkness cannot drive out Darkness only light can do that hate cannot drive out hate only love can do that let's try and forgive all those who did her wrong for it is through that that we prevent history from repeating [Music] itself

Channel: BACK TO THE 60s

Views: 199,060

Keywords: tammy terell, tammi terell story, tammy terell documentary, mototown revue

Id: Xoz-W0fkR68

Length: 15min 17sec (917 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 19 2023