Died On This Date (March 16, 1970) Tammi Terrell / R&B Great
themusicsover Tammi Terrell
April 29, 1945 – March 16, 1970
The incomparable Tammi Terrell was one of those special gifts that was taken from us far too soon. Although Terrell began performing at the age of 13, it wasn’t until she hit her early 20s when Motown’s Barry Gordy, Jr. discovered her and teamed her up with Marvin Gaye that her career began to soar. With a string of hits, the duo took their show on the road, but a series of severe headaches began to take their toll on both Terrell and their act. It all came crashing down in October of 1967 when Terrell collapsed in Gaye’s arms while on stage at Hampden-Sydney College on Vermont. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor which lead to her death on March 16, 1970 at just 24. Gaye was so distraught by her passing that he went into a self-imposed isolation for a couple of years. It was during this time that he wrote and recorded his classic, What’s Going On?. His maturation on that album was likely a byproduct of his great loss of Miss Terrell.
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