Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell — “Baby Don’t Cha Worry”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 1, 2023

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

940) Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell — “Baby Don’t Cha Worry”

OK, everybody knows of the classic duets between Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, both of whose lives were cut tragically short. But many have not heard this gem, an infectious, musically adventurous and deeply satisfying version of a “groovy” (Andrew Hamilton, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/johnny-jackey-mn0001271802) ‘63 Johnny & Jackey single.

Jason Ankeny tells us of Tammi:

Singer Tammi Terrell joined forces with the immortal Marvin Gaye [see #229] to create some of the greatest love songs ever to emerge from the Motown hit factory; sadly, their series of classic duets . . . came to a[] . . . halt with her premature death. . . .

Thomasina Montgomery . . . by the age of 13 . . . was regularly opening club dates for acts including Gary “U.S.” Bonds and Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles. In 1961, she was discovered by producer Luther Dixon and signed to Scepter. Credited as Tammy Montgomery, she made her debut with the single “If You See Bill[]” . . . . After James Brown caught [her] live act, she was signed to his Try Me label, issuing “I Cried” in 1963 and also touring with his live revue. . . . While performing with Jerry Butler in Detroit in 1965, [she] was spotted by Motown chief Berry Gordy, Jr., making her label debut with “I Can’t Believe You Love Me.” When subsequent outings . . . earned little notice, she was paired with Gaye, who previously recorded duets with Mary Wells and Kim Weston. His chemistry with Terrell was immediate and in 1967, they entered the pop Top 20 with the magnificent “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” the first in a series of lush, sensual hits authored by the husband-and-wife team of Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson. “Your Precious Love” cracked the Top Five a few months later and in 1968, the twosome topped the R&B charts with both “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” and “You’re All I Need to Get By.”

[A]fter an extended period of severe migraine headaches, in 1967 she collapsed in Gaye’s arms while in concert . . . and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Although the tumor forced Terrell to retire from performing live, she continued to record with Gaye even as her health deteriorated; however, as time went on, Valerie Simpson herself assumed uncredited vocal duties on a number of hits . . . . [Terrell] . . . died . . . on March 16, 1970 [age 24]. Gaye was so devastated by her decline and eventual passing that he retired from the road for three years; her loss also contributed greatly to the spiritual turmoil which informed . . . What’s Going On.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tammi-terrell-mn0000164093/biography

Here is Tammi’s solo version of the song:

Here is Johnny & Jackey’s original:

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