Although Marvin Gaye dueted with several other female vocalists, none were able to create the chemistry he shared with Tammi Terrell. At first the two, who got together in 1967, recorded their parts separately, even for their famous recording of the Ashford & Simpson song “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” which appeared on their first joint album, United. Beginning with the song “Ain’t Nothing like the Real Thing,” which appeared on their second album, You’re All I Need, Terrell and Gaye started recording jointly. Although Gaye was notoriously shy and reticent to do live performances, he sang onstage several times with Terrell, and audiences quickly adored the singers as a pair. A live performance, in Virginia, however, foreshadowed trouble for them: Terrell collapsed onstage and had to be carried away by Gaye. At a nearby hospital, she was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. After eight operations and six weeks in the hospital, Terrell returned to record the rest of the songs for the second album, including the hit single “You’re All I Need to Get By.” In 1969, the duo released one final duet album, Easy, before Terrell died in March 1970.
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