Quote Originally Posted by SatansBlues View Post
Let me clarify, at the beginning of the song, I believe that it's Tammi singing, but at the 1:20 mark, it sounds like Valerie Simpson to me for the rest of the song. I know this topic has been talked about in the past, but here are a couple other reasons why I think VS subbed in for an ailing TT.
1. Between the time TT collapsed on stage with Marvin until the time of her death TT had NINE different brain operation. NINE. I cannot imagine what that was like, but what condition would she have been in to travel to Detroit to record?
2. If you listen to all of TT's solo material then you have a great sense of her voice and the nuances of her voice. According to her Motown Anthology Tammi stopped recording solo material in Oct/November 1967, there are no solo recordings after that date.
3. In an interview with Ebony magazine published in late 1969 TT states that she had not been in Detroit for over a year in a half!
4 Why would Marvin lie about TT not being on the recordings? What would he have to gain?
5. Look at the number of solo songs that TT recorded that later were made into duets with Marvin, especially on the Easy album.
6. Valerie Simpson has been very cagey about subbing in for an ailing TT, saying that she only provided a vocal guide for TT, but again I ask the question, why would Marvin Gaye lie about what happened? What would he stand to gain from this?
1. TT NEVER mentioned not having recorded in 18 months. The article mentioned she had 6 of her 8 operation over a span of 18 months. She had one prior to the session for YAINTGB and 5 more throughout 1968.

2. Even when Tammi Terrell was healthy, they still dubbed Marvin Gaye on a couple of songs [[including “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”) the reduce the amount of studio time.

3 Again Marvin had beef with Berry Gordy and was furious about him having Tammi continue to work. [[Even if Tammi was all for it. After all she was anxious to continue her music career) And as I mentioned before, Marvin would smoke weed during the sessions and likely had a blurry memory about most of his recordings.

A few more tidbits which might be helpful.

1. According to Jackie Jackson, Tammi Terrell was present at the Jackson 5’s performance at the Gordy mansion. Which occurred in March of ‘69 the same time most of “Easy” was recorded.
2. Tammi also made a brief appearance with James Brown, also in March of ‘69.

Marvin Gaye was a complicated man, so I’m sure in his own way, he was trying to defend Tammi. Given the album’s poor sales, they might have made an “it never happened” pact that Nick & Val wasn’t in on. Just something to think about.