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.
Sinner's Devotion
Tammi Terrell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We'll have our play
A sinner's devotion
But if I give into temptation
In the moonlight
Let your lips excite me
And invite me
How long will it be
'Till you want somebody new
And we'll be through?
Because
That's how it must turn out
For those who play
A sinner's devotion
I know you belong to another
And you want me
Only for the moment
But for the moment
The price is too tall
I'd rather listen to your call
For a sinner's devotion
Is no devotion at all
That's how it must turn out
For those who play
A sinner's devotion
I know you belong to another
And you want me
Only for the moment
But for the moment
The price is too tall
I'd rather listen to your call
For a sinner's devotion
Is no devotion at all
No no, not at all, not at all
Let me tell you not at all . . .
In Tammi Terrell's song "Sinner's Devotion," she sings about the temptation and struggle that comes with partaking in a love affair that goes against societal norms and moral values. Tammi is fully aware that engaging in such behavior is wrong, yet she cannot resist the pull of desire that draws her towards her lover. She calls this desire a "sinner's devotion" - a love that is sinful and goes against the traditional idea of devotion. Despite knowing that her lover belongs to someone else and that their love is temporary, Tammi questions how long it will be until her lover tires of her and moves on to someone new, leaving her alone in the end.
Tammi's lyrics speak to a universal experience - the push and pull of temptation that is hard to resist, even when it goes against one's better judgment. She captures the complex emotions that come with engaging in such behavior: desire, guilt, fear, and ultimately, the realization that this kind of love is not true devotion. Tammi's song reminds us that sometimes we get caught up in the moment, but we must remember that the price for a "sinner's devotion" is too high, and true devotion lies in loyalty and commitment.
Line by Line Meaning
I know it's wrong and yet
Even though I know it's wrong, we're still going to do it
We'll have our play
We'll indulge in our sinful activity
A sinner's devotion
Our devotion to sin
But if I give into temptation
If I give in to the temptation of sinning with you
In the moonlight
Under the romantic moonlight
Let your lips excite me
Let your lips arouse my desire
And invite me
And invite me to engage in sinful acts with you
How long will it be
How long will you keep doing this with me?
'Till you're tired of me?
Until you get bored of me and want someone else
'Till you want somebody new
Until you desire someone new
And we'll be through?
And our sinful relationship will be over?
Because
That's just how it always ends for those who engage in sin
I know you belong to another
I know you're already committed to someone else
And you want me
But you still desire me
Only for the moment
Only for the temporary pleasure of sinning with someone else
But for the moment
But the consequences of our actions are too great
The price is too tall
The cost of sinning is too high
I'd rather listen to your call
I'd rather obey your call to abandon sinning with you
For a sinner's devotion
Being devoted to sin is not really devotion at all
Is no devotion at all
Devotion to sin is not real devotion
Contributed by Brooklyn Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@daverobertswales
It's a beautiful song, great to hear her singing one written by Burt Bacharach, definitely recognisable as one of his. I've got a 2 CD collection of his music but this was new to me.
@clareons
Thanks Dave, I'm glad you liked it and it was new to you. Yes, I've got that CD too, it's a good collection of his songs.
@denisedivelbliss5581
I absolutely could not agree more.This happens to be my fav:)
@clareons
Tammi is the QUEEN of Motown, I don't care what anyone says lol. To die so young and to be such a LEGEND, it says IT ALL. No no no not at all xxx
@ctruth6185
Mary Wells was the Queen of Motown whether you like it or not. Tammi was a unique talent though but not the queen.
@clareons
@@ctruth6185 Tammi was the queen for me.
@guygrip2120
@@clareons wow MARY DIED AT 42 YEARS OLD. NEVER GOT IN ROCK N ROLL HALL OF FAME. I LIKE TAMMIS BABY DONTCHA WORRY. TWO MUCH TO HOPE FOR. SHE WAS GREAT. THE SECOND LP WITH MARVIN WAS KILLER.
@joshuadurham1257
Tammi Terrell was incredible and intense like a smooth adorable voice of R&B queen in motown
@miketheshanmanmangan
Truly Classic Tammi along with the harmony of THE SHIRELLES
@lordred4116
Beautiful tune, never heard it before.