Your Precious Love – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#5) and R&B (#2 for 5 weeks); 1967
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Had it not been for her untimely death and the overshadowing presence of singing partner Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell might be as renowned as Diana Ross, Martha Reeves, and Mary Wells.
Tammi started her recording career at 16; releasing some singles as Tammy Montgomery. In 1963, the James Brown written-and-produced single I Cried – billed to Tana Montgomery – spent one week at #99; marking her chart debut. She released one more 45 on Checker before joining Motown, where her debut disc reached #27 R&B in 1966.
Now known as Tammi Terrell, she finally hit the big time with Gaye and Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, written by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson. The two also penned the follow-up single, Your Precious Love, on which Valerie Simpson sang backup. Tammi was flying high on the charts, yet, she was gravely ill.
After a long struggle, Tammi died on March 16th, 1970. Fittingly, Marvin’s current chart single was Gonna Give Her All The Love That I’ve Got.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Harvey Fuqua
- Johnny Bristol
Lyrics Written by:
- Nickolas Ashford
- Valerie Simpson
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).