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Motown’s Tragic Omen: Tammi Terrell Collapses Into Marvin Gaye’s Arms

When Tammi fell on stage and collapsed into Marvin Gaye’s arms on October 14, 1967, it foretold of tragedy.

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Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell - Photo: Courtesy of Echoes/Redferns
Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell - Photo: Courtesy of Echoes/Redferns

An event which foretold of tragedy in soul music history took place on October 14, 1967. It happened when Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell were on tour in America celebrating the success of their now-classic recording of Ashford & Simpson’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

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In July, the song spent two weeks at No.19 on the Billboard Hot 100, while it was becoming a far bigger hit on the R&B chart. It had three weeks at No.3 there, held off the top by, among others, Marvin and Tammi’s Motown labelmate Stevie Wonder, with “I Was Made To Love Her.” Gaye was climbing that chart at the same time with his next solo hit, “Your Changing Love.”

A tragic diagnosis

Gaye and Terrell’s show at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia confirmed all was far from well with Tammi’s health. She fell on stage and collapsed into his arms, and was rushed to a nearby hospital with what was first diagnosed as exhaustion. When doctors conducted further tests on the Philadelphia-born singer, they found that, at just 22, she had a malignant tumour on the right side of her brain.

Listen to the Best Motown Songs Ever playlist.

Marvin continued on the road, with Maxine Brown filling in at a residency the following week at the famed Apollo Theatre in New York. Before the end of the year, Gaye and Terrell were in the pop and soul charts again, with “Your Precious Love,” which had been recorded back in March. Early in 1968, their magical partnership produced another major hit, taped at the same time, “If I Could Build My Whole World Around You.”

If I Could Build My Whole World Around You

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The pair did perform together again, and went on to record further giant hits for Motown in 1968 including “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing” and “You’re All I Need To Get By.” But Terrell never regained full health. She underwent a seemingly endless series of operations, and died in March 1970, some six weeks before she would have turned 25.

Gaye, in many ways, never recovered, withdrawing from live performance and adopting the introspection that informed his brilliant, career-changing 1971 album What’s Going On. His memories of one of the most inspired partnerships in all of soul music would never leave him.

Buy or stream some of Tammi Terrell’s best work with Marvin Gaye on the United album.

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. Clennis Jones Jr.

    November 21, 2018 at 3:40 pm

    Tammi left us way too soon. She was a pretty Black woman, and I’m sure we can all understand Marvin having problems with her passing. The blooming romance between her and Marvin shined brightly in their music.

  2. Dee Bean

    March 16, 2019 at 11:40 pm

    It’s important to review the violent relationship between Tammi Terrell and James Brown. It is a tale of such violence that Browns reputation should be damaged by it.

  3. Alf

    September 24, 2019 at 9:44 am

    David ruffin beat on her too. Come on men; find a non-violent way to deal with your anger and frustration.

  4. Cynthia Lee

    October 15, 2022 at 8:50 pm

    Her unnecessary death was caused by James Brown, David Ruffin and some other violent fool(s) out there. They’ll never, ever be forgiven for this. EVER!!!

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