Channeling Tammi Terrell

"" Life is filled with so many exciting twists and turns. Hop off the straight and narrow whenever you can and take the winding paths. Experience the exhilaration of the view from the edge. Because the moments spent there, that take your breath away, are what make you feel truly alive."
— Stacey Charter

For the next several days I’m channeling Motown singer Tammi Terrell .  It’s preparation work actually for a duet I’m performing with Wayne Free. He’s the multi-talented lead vocalist for the The Embers.

Sometime this spring and summer we’ll be singing "For Your Precious Love".  It goes something like this:

[Marvin:]
Oo-hoo-oo.
Every day there’s somethin’ new,
(Oo-oo-oo, baby.)
Honey, to keep me lovin’ you.
(Oh-oh-oh, honey.)
And with ev’ry passin’ minute.
(Wo-oh-oh, sugar.)
Ah, baby, so much joy wrapped up in it.

[Tammi:]
Oh-oh-oh, heaven must have
Sent you from above.
Oh-oh-oh, heaven must have,
[Both:]
Sent your precious love.

Really, what serious music lover DOESN’T know that song?  Come on! It’s among his all time greatest hits!

I’ve been a Marvin Gaye fan since the 1970′s. My love for his music has grown stronger over the years.  I mean, I can listen to one of his hits today, and hear something new!  The musical arrangements were just genius. Thank the Funk Brothers.

But back to Miss Terrell.  What an amazing singer/song writer.  She was just 24 years old when she died.  It was a brain tumor. She collapsed into Gaye’s arms onstage during a performance.

I have googled her.. I have watched You Tube Videos of Tammi and Marvin.. I’ve done the wikipedia thing.  I’m just doing my homework. She was a stunningly beautiful young woman.  So much promise.. The future looked so bright for her.

I will be thinking of this strong and talented young woman when I sing For your Precious Love.  I will have to sweep the cobwebs off my heart and recall all those tingly, romantic feelings when love was new– when I thought I had met the man of my dreams, blah, blah, blah. That’ll be a challenge, but memory does serve me well when I need it to.

Marvin Gaye scored duet hits with Mary Wells and Kim Weston but those hits paled compared with his successes with the late Tammi Terrell.

She’s the real deal. I am beyond happy to sing her song.

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