The annals of music history are filled with iconic duets, but few capture the spirit of collaboration and the sheer joy of partnership quite like “It Takes Two.” This upbeat anthem, performed by the legendary Marvin Gaye and the dynamic Kim Weston, isn’t just a catchy tune; it’s a testament to the power of musical synergy and a vibrant snapshot of Motown’s golden era. Before we delve into the story of this unforgettable track, it’s worth noting that this exploration is part two of a deeper dive into the musical universe surrounding “I Heard it Through the Grapevine.” Last time, we charted the course of Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong, and Gladys Knight, tracing the initial journey of that iconic song. Now, we shift our focus to Marvin Gaye’s captivating career from 1963 to 1970 and his remarkable collaborations with Mary Wells, Kim Weston, and the tragically short-lived Tammi Terrell. Their stories, interwoven with the evolution of “It Takes Two Song” and the broader Motown narrative, offer a rich tapestry of musical innovation and personal drama.
Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
Marvin Gaye: From Stubborn Soloist to Duet Dynamo
To truly understand the significance of “it takes two song,” we need to rewind and examine the trajectory of Marvin Gaye’s early career. We’ve previously touched upon his journey with the song “Hitch-Hike,” but to recap, Gaye’s path was largely defined by a complex relationship with his father and a subsequent search for father figures, leading to a reputation as a “Stubborn Kind of Fellow.” This stubbornness, ironically, both hindered and propelled his artistic development.
Initially discovered by Harvey Fuqua, Gaye joined Fuqua’s backing group, The Moonglows. When Fuqua transitioned to Motown, Gaye followed, becoming a versatile asset, contributing as a songwriter, drummer (notably on The Marvelettes’ “Beechwood 4-5789”), and even floor sweeper.
[Excerpt: The Marvelettes, “Beechwood 4-5789”]
However, Gaye’s ambitions clashed with Berry Gordy’s vision for him. While Gordy recognized Gaye’s immense talent as an R&B singer – a potential successor to Sam Cooke or Ray Charles – Gaye himself yearned to be a crooner in the vein of Perry Como. This artistic divergence created friction, a rare occurrence at Motown where Gordy’s word was generally law. Gaye’s unique position stemmed from his connections: Smokey Robinson was Gordy’s confidante, Harvey Fuqua was Gordy’s brother-in-law, and Gaye was romantically involved with, and later married to, Gordy’s sister Anna.
This protective circle allowed Gaye to initially pursue his crooner aspirations, a detour that, in hindsight, proved artistically misguided. While Gordy occasionally indulged him, the undeniable pull of soul music eventually prevailed. Gaye, bowing to the inevitable, began crafting soul records, achieving consistent R&B chart success, though pop crossover remained initially sporadic.
Despite his crooner dreams lingering, Gaye gradually embraced his identity as an authentic R&B artist, finding pride in connecting with Black audiences. “Stubborn Kind of Fellow” marked his R&B breakthrough, yet pop chart success remained elusive until “Hitch-Hike” cracked the Top 30. It was “Pride and Joy,” however, co-written with Mickey Stevenson and Norman Whitfield and featuring Martha and the Vandellas on backing vocals, that catapulted him to pop stardom.
[Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “Pride and Joy”]
“Pride and Joy,” a personal ode to Anna Gordy, became a Top 10 pop hit, solidifying Gaye’s status as Motown’s leading male solo artist. Despite its success, it marked a temporary end to his collaboration with Stevenson, reflecting Gaye’s ongoing frustrations with Motown’s producer rotations.
For his next record, Gaye was paired with the burgeoning Holland-Dozier-Holland (HDH) team and The Supremes on backing vocals. The result, “Can I Get a Witness?”, was a gospel-infused track, drawing from Black Pentecostal church traditions.
[Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “Can I Get a Witness?”]
While “Can I Get a Witness?” didn’t match “Pride and Joy”‘s pop chart performance, it resonated deeply on the R&B charts and became highly influential, its chord progression echoing in subsequent songs. Even The Rolling Stones quickly covered it, drawn to its Jimmy Reed-inspired blues elements, as Lamont Dozier revealed.
[Excerpt: The Rolling Stones, “Can I Get a Witness”]
Initially, Gaye was unhappy with HDH’s demanding vocal keys, but he later acknowledged their rigorous approach pushed him to become a more versatile and skilled vocalist. HDH’s demanding studio sessions, pushing for take after take, honed his vocal agility, forcing him to balance roughness and softness, control and power.
Despite Gaye’s solo success, Motown’s focus, mirroring broader industry trends in 1963-64, shifted towards groups, particularly in the wake of the British Invasion led by The Beatles. While HDH continued working with Gaye, their priorities increasingly centered on The Supremes and The Four Tops, impacting Gaye’s prominence within the label’s hierarchy.
Mary Wells: Motown’s First Queen and a Cautionary Tale
While groups gained momentum, the groups themselves often admired solo performers. Just before the Beatles’ American breakthrough, George Harrison and Ringo Starr publicly lauded Motown artists, specifically mentioning Mary Wells.
[Excerpt: George Harrison and Ringo Starr talking about Motown ]
Of the three artists Harrison mentioned, Mary Wells was arguably the most significant at that time. Wells, Motown’s first major female star, received a substantial boost from the Beatles’ endorsement. Wells’ ambition was evident from a young age. Initially aspiring to be a scientist, she shifted her focus to songwriting. At 17, she penned a song intended for Jackie Wilson and sought out Berry Gordy at a nightclub, knowing he wrote for Wilson. Gordy, initially dismissive, asked her to sing to politely brush her off but was surprisingly impressed.
Instead of giving her song to Wilson, Gordy signed Wells as a performer, releasing “Bye Bye Baby” as the third single on the nascent Motown label. Recognizing a unique quality in her voice, Gordy pushed Wells through eleven takes, resulting in a raw, almost unintentional roughness that became her signature.
[Excerpt: Mary Wells, “Bye Bye Baby”]
“Bye Bye Baby” was a landmark release, becoming Motown’s first hit distributed independently, reaching the R&B Top 5 and the pop Top 50. Subsequent releases, penned by Smokey Robinson, achieved even greater success, including the string of Top 10 hits like “You Beat Me to the Punch.”
[Excerpt: Mary Wells, “You Beat Me to the Punch”]
Wells’ popularity was such that she headlined the inaugural Motortown Revue tour in 1962, the tour where Marvin Gaye developed his stage presence. However, following this initial peak, Wells’ career began to plateau. Her first husband, Herman Griffin, a struggling singer who had briefly recorded for Motown, became her manager. His erratic behavior and demands on Motown, coupled with a string of singles performing below her initial hits, created tension.
Simultaneously, Marvin Gaye’s star was rising, creating an opportune moment to pair them. A duet partnership seemed strategically sound, offering mutual career boosts and capitalizing on the growing popularity of duos amidst the group-centric music landscape.
Marvin and Mary recorded a duet album, yielding the single “Once Upon a Time” with the B-side “What’s the Matter with You Baby?”. DJs quickly favored the B-side, written by Clarence Paul and Mickey Stevenson, propelling it to chart success.
[Excerpt: Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells, “What’s the Matter with You Baby?”]
Both sides charted within the Top 20, hinting at a promising duo career. However, Mary Wells’ individual trajectory took a dramatic turn. Between the duet album’s recording and release, Smokey Robinson penned “My Guy” for her, which soared to number one.
[Excerpt: Mary Wells, “My Guy”]
“My Guy” sold a million copies and became a significant UK breakthrough for Motown, reaching the Top 5. The Beatles invited her to be a support act on their UK tour. Wells seemed poised for superstardom. However, beneath the surface, discontent brewed. Wells felt underappreciated at Motown, believing The Supremes received preferential promotion. She resented the royalty structure and harbored film aspirations. Furthermore, she questioned the validity of her Motown contract, signed when she was underage.
On her 21st birthday, Wells announced her departure from Motown, intending to sign with Twentieth Century Fox Records, lured by promises of a film career. She threatened legal action against Motown, alleging funds from her recordings were used to promote other acts, notably The Supremes. A settlement was reached: Motown paid Wells a lump sum, securing her waiver of future royalties and paving her way to Twentieth Century Fox with a substantial advance.
Tragically, the move proved detrimental. Without Motown’s machinery, Wells’ career faltered. She managed one final Top 40 hit on her new label, but real success eluded her. The promised film career never materialized. Before her death from cancer in 1992, she faced financial hardship, eventually selling her home due to lack of health insurance. In her final months, some celebrity friends offered financial assistance.
Mary Wells’ story became a cautionary tale within Motown, a stark example of the perils of believing oneself bigger than the label, a tool used to maintain artist compliance. Her journey from Motown’s brightest star to obscurity served as a sobering lesson.
Kim Weston: The Unsung Half of “It Takes Two”
While Mary Wells’ departure created a void, Marvin Gaye’s rebellious spirit remained undeterred. He resisted Motown’s artist development programs, skipping dance lessons with Cholly Atkins, singing lessons from Maurice King, and deportment classes from Maxine Powell. His aversion to live performance was profound. On one occasion, he refused to take the stage at a nightclub despite Berry Gordy’s presence. Gordy resorted to physically confronting Gaye backstage, a testament to Gaye’s recalcitrance and Gordy’s determination. Gaye performed, but his stage fright persisted.
Despite his discomfort with live performance, Gaye’s vocal prowess ensured his popularity as a live act. He would often include standards from his less successful albums like “Hello Broadway” and “A Tribute to the Great Nat ‘King’ Cole,” even as late as 1965.
[Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “The Days of Wine and Roses (Live)”]
Motown tolerated Gaye’s eccentricities because he consistently delivered hits in the studio. Lamont Dozier recounted a session where Gaye arrived late, golf clubs in tow, having played golf while the studio waited. Despite complaining about the high key of the backing track, Gaye listened once, recorded a single take, declared “You’ve got what you need,” and left. Dozier’s anecdote highlights Gaye’s confidence and studio efficiency.
And indeed, they had what they needed: “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” became Gaye’s biggest hit to date, reaching number six on the charts.
[Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “How Sweet It Is”]
This solo success temporarily sidelined the duet concept. However, Mary Wells’ departure reignited Motown’s interest in pairing Gaye with a duet partner. Numerous singers were considered, including Brenda Holloway and Carolyn Crawford. Gaye even recorded with Oma Heard from Motown’s West Coast branch, though this material remained unreleased for years.
[Excerpt: Marvin Gaye and Oma Heard, “Your Kiss Kiss”]
The singer ultimately chosen was Agatha Weston, a gospel-trained vocalist formerly of The Wright Specials. Recommended to Motown by a Holland brothers’ cousin, she was rebranded as Kim Weston and married Mickey Stevenson, who co-wrote her debut single “It Should Have Been Me” with Norman Whitfield.
[Excerpt: Kim Weston, “It Should Have Been Me”]
Weston joined Marvin Gaye’s touring revue, a common practice where established stars showcased up-and-coming artists. She was also initially considered for a song co-written by her husband, Gaye, and Ivy Joe Hunter, but when she passed on it, it became “Dancing in the Street,” a hit for Martha and the Vandellas, featuring Gaye on drums.
[Excerpt: Martha and the Vandellas, “Dancing in the Street”]
Before Mary Wells’ exit, plans were underway for a second duet album with Gaye. Weston stepped in as Wells’ replacement, and an album was recorded. The intended lead single, “What Good Am I Without You,” co-written by Stevenson and Alphonso Higden, a Baltimore-based songwriter, was released.
[Excerpt: Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston, “What Good Am I Without You”]
While “What Good Am I Without You” reached the R&B Top 30, it failed to break into the pop Top 40. Given Gaye’s consistent solo success in both R&B and pop charts, the duet album’s future seemed uncertain, particularly after the massive success of “How Sweet it Is.” The album was shelved.
Gaye’s collaboration with HDH was also short-lived, partly due to creative friction and HDH’s increasing focus on The Four Tops and, especially, The Supremes, whose explosive success in 1964 reshaped Motown’s priorities. However, Gaye, as a top-tier artist, was assigned to Smokey Robinson, a close friend and a prolific writer-producer for The Temptations, one of Gaye’s favorite groups.
Their first collaboration, “I’ll Be Doggone,” was commercially successful but not among their best work. “Ain’t That Peculiar,” however, became a classic, another R&B number one and a pop Top 10 hit.
[Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “Ain’t That Peculiar”]
Following “Ain’t That Peculiar,” Gaye’s next three Robinson-produced singles underperformed on the pop charts, though they remained R&B hits. By late 1966, Gaye’s momentum had slowed as The Supremes, Four Tops, Miracles, Isley Brothers, Stevie Wonder, and Temptations all surpassed him in popularity. His attempt to solidify himself as an R&B artist had inadvertently alienated the white pop audience, crucial for mainstream success. Change was needed.
And change arrived in the form of a shelved album and a song that would become synonymous with duet perfection: “It Takes Two.”
[Excerpt: Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston, “It Takes Two”]
The Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston duet album, recorded in 1964, had languished for two years. Kim Weston felt equally shelved. Despite touring with Gaye, releasing solo singles (including the future classic “Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While)”), Weston felt her career was neglected, even sabotaged, by Berry Gordy.
[Excerpt: Kim Weston, “Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While)”]
Weston voiced her frustrations, believing Gordy was actively hindering her career, allegedly telling her she overshadowed the main stars during Motortown Revue shows. Her husband, Mickey Stevenson, Motown’s A&R head, shared her discontent. Stevenson felt undervalued, believing his contributions to Motown’s success warranted greater recognition, including stock ownership.
To address these intertwined issues – placating Weston and Stevenson and revitalizing Marvin Gaye’s career – Motown unearthed the shelved duet album in late 1966. “Take Two,” combining earlier recordings with newer tracks (though even the “newer” tracks were mostly over a year old), was released. The lead single, “It Takes Two,” written by Stevenson and Sylvia Moy, became a massive hit, reaching number four on the R&B chart, Top 20 on the pop chart, and notably, their first UK hit. “It takes two song,” as it was becoming known, resonated universally.
[Excerpt: Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston, “It Takes Two”]
The Dawn of the Gaye-Terrell Era and the Tragedy that Followed
For the next two years, Marvin Gaye’s career was redefined. While his solo singles performed respectably on R&B charts but moderately on pop charts, his duet career exploded. He became a duet phenomenon, scoring a string of major pop hits. However, these hits wouldn’t be with Kim Weston. The attempt to appease Weston and Stevenson backfired. Much like Mary Wells, Weston left Motown after “It Takes Two” became a hit, following Stevenson first to MGM Records and then to his own label, People. Sadly, Weston, like Wells, experienced no further chart success, and Stevenson’s career also waned after leaving Motown.
Kim Weston’s departure paved the way for a new duet partner: Tammi Terrell. Terrell had been with Motown for nearly two years with limited solo success. However, in many ways, she seemed destined for Motown. Born Thomasina Montgomery, she changed her name to Tammy at age twelve, inspired by the Debbie Reynolds song that also influenced Berry Gordy’s initial label name, Tammy Records (before it became Tamla).
[Excerpt: Debbie Reynolds, “Tammy”]
Around the same time, she began performing in talent shows and on local TV, notably as the only Black girl in a children’s show cast. At sixteen, she made her first records, signing with Scepter Records under Luther Dixon. Her Scepter recordings were primarily demos for Shirelles songs, but she released a couple of singles, including “If You See Bill.”
[Excerpt: Tammy Montgomery, “If You See Bill”]
“If You See Bill” was unsuccessful, as was her follow-up on Scepter’s Wand subsidiary, “Voice of Experience,” featuring The Shirelles on backing vocals.
[Excerpt: Tammy Montgomery, “Voice of Experience”]
In late 1962, a significant opportunity arose. She joined The Red Caps, a vocal group with a long history dating back to the 1930s. The Red Caps, while more renowned for their live performances than recordings, were still influential enough to bring Tammy to wider attention. Buddy Nolan, James Brown’s road manager based in Philadelphia, noticed her. Nolan introduced Tammy to Brown in August 1962, just before Brown’s famous Apollo Theater stint. Immediately after the Apollo shows, Yvonne Fair, Brown’s main female vocalist and duet partner, left the tour due to pregnancy with Brown’s child. Brown needed a replacement, and Tammy Montgomery stepped in.
James Brown also signed Montgomery to his Try Me record label, writing and producing “I Cried,” which briefly charted on the Hot 100, her first taste of chart success.
[Excerpt: Tammy Montgomery, “I Cried”]
Tragically, Tammy Montgomery’s personal life took a dark turn. Her relationship with James Brown was marred by abuse. While Brown, in his autobiography, presented a romanticized version of their separation, the reality was far grimmer. Accounts suggest Brown’s violent abuse led to Tammy’s departure. Gene Chandler reportedly intervened, contacting Tammy’s family and ensuring her safety after witnessing Brown’s brutality. Other sources mention Tammy’s manager, Babe Chivian, finding her hospitalized due to Brown’s violence.
James Brown, sadly, would not be the last abusive figure in Tammy’s life. After leaving Brown, Tammy signed with Chess Records’ Checker subsidiary. Chivian, also Solomon Burke’s manager, enlisted Bert Berns to produce her only single for Checker, “If I Would Marry You,” co-written with Berns.
[Excerpt: Tammy Montgomery, “If I Would Marry You”]
After “If I Would Marry You” flopped, Tammy briefly quit music to attend university, pursuing pre-med studies. However, after a year, Jerry Butler, then a successful solo artist, convinced her to return to music, offering her a support slot in his show and promising to accommodate her studies.
It was while opening for Butler at the 20 Grand club – the same venue where Gordy had punched Marvin Gaye – that Berry Gordy saw Tammy Montgomery perform. Impressed, he offered her a Motown contract. Gordy, however, wanted a name change. Inspired by then-WBA heavyweight boxing champion Ernie Terrell (in a period when Muhammad Ali had been stripped of the title), Gordy adopted Terrell’s surname for Tammy. (Ironically, Ernie Terrell was also a singer, with a sister, Jean Terrell, who would later replace Diana Ross in The Supremes).
Thus, Thomasina Montgomery became Tammi Terrell (with a slight spelling change to her first name). Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol wrote and produced her Motown debut, “I Can’t Believe You Love Me.”
[Excerpt: Tammi Terrell, “I Can’t Believe You Love Me”]
“I Can’t Believe You Love Me” and its follow-up, “Come On And See Me,” both reached the R&B Top 30. Then, the decision was made to pair Tammi Terrell with Marvin Gaye as his new duet partner. The song chosen for their debut was “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” penned by the newly-formed songwriting duo Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson. Ashford & Simpson, a married couple, had initially performed as “Valerie and Nick” before transitioning to songwriting.
[Excerpt: Valerie and Nick, “I’ll Find You”]
As songwriters, they teamed up with Josephine Armistead, formerly of the Ikettes and a James Brown backing vocalist. The trio wrote for The Shirelles, Chuck Jackson, and Aretha Franklin, who recorded their “Cry Like a Baby” during her Columbia Records period.
[Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, “Cry Like a Baby”]
One of their songs for The Coasters, “Let’s Go Get Stoned,” was famously recorded by Ray Charles upon his release from prison in 1966, becoming an R&B number one hit.
[Excerpt: Ray Charles, “Let’s Go Get Stoned”]
Charles also recorded another Ashford, Simpson, and Armistead song, “I Don’t Need No Doctor,” which became a minor R&B standard. However, by the time Charles popularized their songs, the trio was dissolving. Armistead pursued a solo career in Chicago before returning to New York as a sought-after backing vocalist, working with artists like Bob Dylan and Nina Simone. Ashford and Simpson moved to Motown, attracting attention after the success of “Let’s Go Get Stoned.” They brought “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” initially conceived as a response to Ike and Tina Turner’s “River Deep, Mountain High.” Fuqua and Bristol produced it as a Tammi Terrell solo track.
[Excerpt: Tammi Terrell, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”]
However, “It Takes Two” intervened. Its success prompted Fuqua and Bristol to bring Gaye into the studio to overdub some of Terrell’s lead vocals, transforming “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” into a duet. It became another hit, reaching the pop Top 20 and R&B Top 3. “It takes two song” momentum was carrying over.
[Excerpt: Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”]
When Gaye’s next solo single, the Holland-Dozier-Holland track “Your Unchanging Love,” only reached number 33 on the pop charts, despite already being featured on his album “Moods of Marvin Gaye,” his duet path was solidified. For the remainder of 1967 and 1968, Marvin Gaye became Tammi Terrell’s dedicated duet partner. “Your Unchanging Love” became Gaye’s sole solo single release in an 18-month period.
However, fate could have taken a different turn. “Your Unchanging Love” was initially favored by Motown’s Quality Control department over “I Heard it Through the Grapevine.” “Grapevine” remained unreleased, despite Gaye’s personal connection to the song. His marriage to Anna Gordy was strained, filled with jealousy and suspicion on both sides. Gaye later confessed, “I believed every word of the song. It was happening to me. The doubting, the friends whispering in my ear, the suspicions.”
The isolated vocal track of Gaye’s “Grapevine” performance reveals the raw emotion and power he invested in the song, even without the orchestral arrangement.
[Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine (a capella)”]
However, “Grapevine” was deemed commercially unviable. Motown prioritized “Your Unchanging Love” and redirected Gaye towards duets. In the early 1960s, Gaye averaged two solo albums per year. Between May 1966 and August 1968, he released only two solo singles and no solo albums, focusing instead on three duet albums: “Take Two” with Kim Weston and “United” and “You’re All I Need” with Tammi Terrell.
The focus on duets exacerbated tensions in his marriage. Anna Gordy reportedly grew jealous of his on-stage chemistry with his duet partners. However, these concerns were unfounded. Kim Weston was married to Gaye’s friend Mickey Stevenson, and Tammi Terrell was in a relationship with David Ruffin of The Temptations, who were enjoying their own success with Norman Whitfield-produced hits like “(I Know) I’m Losing You.”
[Excerpt: The Temptations, “(I Know) I’m Losing You”]
Ruffin was a singer Gaye admired, but his personal character was deeply flawed. He began his relationship with Terrell while still married and even announced their engagement onstage on the same day another woman was giving birth to his child. Ruffin reportedly sought to exploit Terrell financially, believing she would inherit a fortune. Terrell, however, seemed genuinely in love with him.
Their relationship was turbulent. Terrell, burdened by a traumatic past and severe headaches, turned to drugs. Ruffin’s friends often blamed her for his cocaine use. While Terrell had her complexities, she was generally remembered fondly. Kim Weston recalled Terrell’s loyalty and defiance of Motown’s alleged attempts to ostracize Weston after her departure.
Ruffin, in stark contrast, was often described as devoid of empathy, a terrifyingly empty person. He became violently jealous of Terrell’s rising fame. While he was one member of a group, she was known by name, fueling his insecurity and rage. His abuse of Terrell was shocking, even within the context of a more normalized era of violence against women. His behavior was considered extreme even by Motown’s standards.
Terrell’s migraines worsened, initially attributed to Ruffin’s beatings. Despite her pain, the duo continued to produce hits, primarily written by Ashford & Simpson and produced by Fuqua and Bristol, including “Your Precious Love.”
[Excerpt: Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, “Your Precious Love”]
Then, on October 14, 1967, just six months after “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” Tammi Terrell collapsed on stage during a duet performance with Marvin. Her headaches were not migraines or a result of abuse, but symptoms of a malignant brain tumor. While many attributed the tumor to Ruffin’s violence, medical evidence doesn’t support this link.
While Terrell underwent treatment, Gaye toured with other female singers filling in for her and released the solo single “You,” which underperformed compared to the duets. In early 1968, “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” another Ashford & Simpson duet recorded before Terrell’s collapse, was released and became another major hit.
[Excerpt: Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing”]
By this point, Ruffin had left Terrell, unwilling to care for a sick girlfriend. Terrell, however, temporarily improved after brain surgery and returned to the studio, recording another hit with Gaye, “You’re All I Need to Get By.”
[Excerpt: Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, “You’re All I Need to Get By”]
“You’re All I Need to Get By” became another massive hit. However, Terrell’s health continued to decline, requiring more surgeries. Studio appearances became infrequent. The second Marvin and Tammi album was completed by Gaye overdubbing new vocals onto six unreleased Tammi solo tracks, a strategy similar to how “It Takes Two” had emerged.
With Terrell’s illness, Gaye continued solo performances, though increasingly unenthusiastic. His 1968 solo single “Chained” mirrored the moderate success of “You” and “Your Unchanging Love.” In August 1968, the album “In The Groove” was released, compiling Gaye’s solo singles and album filler tracks. One of these filler tracks began gaining significant radio airplay.
That track was “I Heard it Through the Grapevine.” Recorded in February 1967 and initially deemed unsuitable for release, it became an instant radio sensation upon the album’s release. Despite Gladys Knight & The Pips’ recent hit version, Gaye’s rendition was rush-released as a single. It sold four million copies, surpassing Knight’s version and becoming Motown’s biggest hit single. Gladys Knight’s “Grapevine” was the first R&B number one of 1968, and Marvin Gaye’s became the last, also topping the pop and UK charts.
[Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”]
Tragedy and Transformation
Despite the monumental success of “I Heard it Through the Grapevine,” Gaye was deeply troubled. He recorded two darker, more introspective albums with Norman Whitfield in 1969, yielding million-selling hits “Too Busy Thinking ‘Bout My Baby” and “That’s The Way Love Is.” Ironically, the duets with Tammi were now only moderate hits. His marriage was disintegrating, and Tammi Terrell was gravely ill.
In an interview, Gaye reflected, “Tammi is still very ill, she had to have brain surgery. And both Mary and Kim left the company after we’d done duets together. We did duets because we thought they’d be a novelty, but after a while they became a necessity. I don’t anticipate doing any more in the near future.… I don’t think I’m very lucky for whoever I’m doing duets with.”
Alongside the Whitfield albums, a third “duet” album with Tammi was released. However, its authenticity is debated. According to Gaye and other sources, tracks like “The Onion Song” might not feature Tammi Terrell’s vocals at all.
[Excerpt: Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, “The Onion Song”]
By mid-1969, Tammi Terrell was losing her hair, blind, and wheelchair-bound. She underwent eight brain surgeries, all ultimately unsuccessful. Marvin Gaye claimed that Valerie Simpson ghost-sang some of Terrell’s vocals on later “duets,” impersonating her voice to ensure Terrell received royalties for medical expenses.
Simpson denies this, stating she only sang guide vocals, and Terrell later re-recorded her parts. The controversy among Motown scholars persists, questioning whether the vocals are Simpson’s imitation or Terrell closely mimicking Simpson’s guide vocals.
[Excerpt: Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, “The Onion Song”]
Regardless of the vocal authenticity, Gaye was deeply affected, spiraling into depression. He felt his success was undeserved, that he was a puppet controlled by Berry Gordy and Anna Gordy, stifling his artistic agency. He witnessed the industry’s destructive impact on colleagues and feared a similar fate, prompting him to withdraw and question commercialism.
Tammi Terrell’s final live performance was at the Harlem Apollo in 1969. Wheelchair-bound in the front row, she joined Marvin onstage for a duet of “You’re All I Need to Get By,” receiving a standing ovation in her only performance since her collapse. Engaged to one of her doctors, she never reached her wedding day. Tammi Terrell died in March 1970, after weeks in a coma, at just 24 years old.
Gaye was devastated, abandoning live performance for years and nearly leaving music altogether. He was the only Motown representative at her funeral, as Terrell’s mother felt Motown had exploited her daughter. Gaye delivered her eulogy as “You’re All I Need to Get By” played.
Tammi Terrell’s death marks a turning point in Marvin Gaye’s career, a tragic event that profoundly impacted his artistry. Her life and legacy are often reduced to a catalyst for a man’s artistic evolution, although Gaye, unlike other men in her life, genuinely cared for her. In a poignant twist, Tammi Terrell’s last words before her coma were not about Gaye or her fiancé, but about David Ruffin, the abuser many blamed for her suffering: “Take care of David.”
“It takes two song,” initially a celebration of partnership, became intertwined with these complex and often tragic personal narratives, forever linked to the interwoven lives of Marvin Gaye, Kim Weston, and Tammi Terrell.
