Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she entered the music business at the age of 13, regularly performing live. In 1961 she was signed to the fledgling Scepter Records (later Wand Records), recording under the name "Tammy Montgomery". After coming to the attention of James Brown she recorded one single apiece for Brown's own Try Me record label and, in 1964, Checker Records. The year after that, she was spotted by Berry Gordy Jr. while playing live, and signed to his Motown label. Attractive and talented, she became romantically linked with both James Brown and David Ruffin, lead singer of The Temptations.
Tammy Montgomery changed her name to "Tammi Terrell" at the time of her Motown signing, and was teamed with producers Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol. After releasing a pair of minor R&B chart hits, "I Can't Believe You Love Me" and "Come On and See Me," Terrell was chosen to replace Kim Weston as Marvin Gaye's duet partner. The duo recorded a number of successful hits which remain popular today: "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Your Precious Love," "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing," and "You're All I Need to Get By", all written (and in the case of the latter two, produced by) Ashford & Simpson.
While on tour with Gaye in Virginia in mid-1967, Terrell fainted on stage, and was later diagnosed as having a malignant brain tumor. While Terrell endured several operations and continued to record new material, her health steadily deteriorated. Fuqua and Bristol resorted to having Gaye overdub archived Terrell solo tracks to fill out the Gaye/Terrell duets albums. The final album attributed to Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, "Easy" (1969), actually features co-producer Valerie Simpson subbing for Terrell on all but two of the tracks.
Twelve of Tammi Terrell's solo Motown recordings, including "I Can't Believe You Love Me", "Come On and See Me," and a minor hit cover of The Isley Brothers' "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)", were issued as Terrell's only solo album, "Irresistible," in January 1969. Terrell died of brain cancer at age 24 on March 16, 1970.
Little Ole Boy Little Ole Girl
Tammi Terrell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I'm lookin' for a little ole boy
'Cause I need someone, did you hear me say someone, someone to love
Oh, oh, I'm a little ole boy
Oh, lookin' for a little ole girl
And I hope I'm that someone, oh baby, you're lookin' for
Oh, oh, baby, did you hear me say maybe, baby
Oh, but you gotta hug me every mornin'
Kiss me every night
And love me all night long
Oh, I'm a little ole boy
And oh, I'm just a little ole girl
Now we've found someone
Uh-uh yeah, someone to love
Who-oh-oh oh-oh-oah
Who-o-oah, I say maybe, did you hear me say maybe, baby
We two, we two can get along
Oh you got to hug me every mornin'
Kiss me every night
Love me all night long
I'm just a little ole girl
I'm, I'm a little ole boy
Now we've found someone, uh-huh yeah, someone to love
Uh-huh, I'm so glad that I've found me someone to love
Won't you put your lovin' arms around me?
Someone to love, whoah, whoah
The song 'Little Ole Boy Little Ole Girl' by Tammi Terrell is about two people who are looking for love and affection from each other. The song is in the form of a call and response, with the first stanza sung by a girl who is looking for a boy to love, and the second stanza sung by a boy who is looking for a girl to love. Both of them hope that they could be the ones for each other. In the later stanzas, both the boy and the girl express their desire to be loved and cared for through affectionate touch, and throughout the song, there is an underlying hopefulness that they will find the love that they are looking for.
The lyrics of this song are catchy and straightforward, and they capture the essence of young romance. The song's message is universal, making it relatable to everyone, especially those who are in the early stages of a relationship. It conveys a sense of innocence and sincerity in its portrayal of this feeling that is common to all of us.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm just a little ole girl
I'm a woman who is still young and inexperienced.
And I'm lookin' for a little ole boy
I am searching for a young man who is also inexperienced.
'Cause I need someone, did you hear me say someone, someone to love
I am looking for someone special to form a loving relationship with.
Oh, oh, I'm a little ole boy
I'm a young man who is also inexperienced.
Oh, lookin' for a little ole girl
I am in search of a young woman who is also inexperienced.
And I hope I'm that someone, oh baby, you're lookin' for
I want to be the person you are looking for to form a loving relationship with.
Oh, oh, baby, did you hear me say maybe, baby
I want to express my feelings about the possibility of us being together.
We two can get along
I believe that we can have a harmonious relationship.
Oh, but you gotta hug me every mornin'
I need physical affection and comfort from you every day.
Kiss me every night
I want to feel loved and desired by you every night.
And love me all night long
I want to be physically intimate and feel loved by you all night long.
Now we've found someone
We have found someone special to love.
Uh-uh yeah, someone to love
We have each other to form a loving and meaningful relationship with.
Who-oh-oh oh-oh-oah
Our love for each other is a beautiful and wonderful thing.
I say maybe, did you hear me say maybe, baby
I am hoping that we can form a romantic connection, but it is not certain.
Oh you got to hug me every mornin'
Physical affection from you is important to me every day.
Love me all night long
I want to be physically intimate and feel loved by you all night long.
I'm, I'm a little ole boy
I am a young and inexperienced man.
Uh-huh, I'm so glad that I've found me someone to love
I am ecstatic to have found someone to form a loving relationship with.
Won't you put your lovin' arms around me?
I want you to hold me tightly and show me affection.
Someone to love, whoah, whoah
We have each other, and our love for each other is a wonderful thing.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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