Your favourite Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell album?

[bradsupremes]

I'm not sure why the Valerie Simpson vocal in the final released recordings persist. She's been really clear that as Tammi became more and more ill they had to record line by line and even word by word.
It makes sense that Valerie would sing the guide.
It seems Tammi wanted to complete all the songs and the love they all had for her meant they took as long as it took.
It's very doubtful Marvin was in the studio the whole time as there would be little he could do, so I think his words on the matter have been misinterpreted.

Personally, I think it's disengenous to Nick and Valerie and direspectful and harmful to Tammi's tenacity and legacy to keep the unfounded rumour going.

Tammi was very very ill and in a wheelchair. It's obvious her voice would sound different. She was facing death from a brain tumour and not the same singer as she was in 1966.

I really hope this rumour goes away and Tammi can be heralded for the incredible artist and vocalist she was right to the end, and Ashford and Simpson can be thanked for making sure Tammi's voice was on ALL the recordings.

Tammi was an incredible artist but the fact is she's not singing on the Easy album and that doesn't take away from her talent. It's not an unfounded rumor. It's very much a well known truth now. Ashford and Simpson are looking out for Tammi and wanting to protect her and her legacy. That's very much the reason for why they deny Valerie is singing. Valerie Simpson is not someone who is going to come out and say "Hey, remember that last Marvin & Tammi album? Well, that's not Tammi. That's me." Tammi had a gone through multiple brain surgeries by 1969. Brain surgery is going to cause changes in one's ability to function especially singing. If Tammi herself said in late 1969 that she hadn't been to Motown in over a year and half then the dates of when the tracks and vocals were recorded don't add up.

If Tammi had recorded each song, line by line and word for word then you'd hear it on the tape. It would be heavily spliced and edited. You would hear a noticeable change in vocal phrasing, pace, volume, etc. That's not what we hear on the album. The vocals you hear are one smooth consistent vocal with no edits - it's Valerie.

[SatansBlues]

Tammi was an incredible artist but the fact is she's not singing on the Easy album and that doesn't take away from her talent. It's not an unfounded rumor. It's very much a well known truth now. Ashford and Simpson are looking out for Tammi and wanting to protect her and her legacy. That's very much the reason for why they deny Valerie is singing. Valerie Simpson is not someone who is going to come out and say "Hey, remember that last Marvin & Tammi album? Well, that's not Tammi. That's me." Tammi had a gone through multiple brain surgeries by 1969. Brain surgery is going to cause changes in one's ability to function especially singing. If Tammi herself said in late 1969 that she hadn't been to Motown in over a year and half then the dates of when the tracks and vocals were recorded don't add up.

If Tammi had recorded each song, line by line and word for word then you'd hear it on the tape. It would be heavily spliced and edited. You would hear a noticeable change in vocal phrasing, pace, volume, etc. That's not what we hear on the album. The vocals you hear are one smooth consistent vocal with no edits - it's Valerie.

Motown recorded not just in Detroit, but also Chicago, Los Angeles and NYC. If Motown really wanted Tammi's vocals then why wouldn't Berry send A&S to Philadelphia to record Tammi's vocals? And recording was an expensive proposition, and Motown would not have wasted their resources[[$) [[billed to M&T) to have the producers have her sing multiple songs line by line. Think about how time consuming that would have been with a weakened Tammi. And Valerie basically admitted to being able to sing and sound like Tammi by saying that they wove a "rich tapestry", or something along those lines.