Pod Insights DISGRACELAND The Temptations Pt 2: The Tammi Terrell Tragedy About this episode When Motown singer Tammi Terrell died at the age of 24, Marvin Gaye was the only one from her label allowed at her funeral. The rest – especially her former boyfriend, the Tempations’ David Ruffin – were banned. So what happened between them? The answer lies in a story of fame, furs, cocaine, and a scandal that still casts a shadow over soul music.
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Sadly, there is a long list of mistreated women throughout music history - was Tammi Terrell the most mistreated of them all? What do you think? Tell Jake at 617-906-6638, [email protected] , or on socials @disgracelandpod.
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Transcript Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:01 Speaker 00 This is exactly right.
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1:22 Speaker 02 Report if you have a parasitic infection, common cold, sinus infection, inflammation in the nose, blue or flue-like symptoms, joint pain, or sore throat may occur. Carry on with fewer attacks and ask your doctor about Extenture. Learn more at extenture.com or call 1-833-393-3678.
1:42 Speaker 03 This episode contains content that may be disturbing to some listeners. Please check the show notes for more information. Disgrace Land is a production of Double Elvis.
2:06 Jake Brennan? This is a story about voices. Voices that were meant to sing in perfect harmony, but instead lied and betrayed. It's about believing in the lie and burying the lie, and about what happens when the lie can no longer be silenced. It's a story about suits, furs, a pair of Dobermans with gangster names, and a star, Tammy Terrell, who lit up every room she walked into and whose voice made Marvin Gaye cry. It's also a story about the man who nearly destroyed her, a walking, talking, coked-up time bomb in horn rims and sequins. This is a story about The Temptations and the disgrace they never sang about.
2:50 Jake Brennan? And since we're talking about The Temptations, of course, this is also a story about great music. Unlike that music I played for you at the top of the show, that wasn't great music. That was a preset loop from my Mellotron called "Detroit Schlock City MK1." I played you that loop because I can't afford the rights to "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel. And why would I play you that specific slice of choirboy cheese? Could I afford it? Because that was the number-one song in America on March 16, 1970, and that was the day that rising Motown star Tammy Terrell died at the age of 24.
3:32 Jake Brennan? A death that instantly cast suspicion on her abusive ex, David Ruffin, who it was whispered was to blame for one of the most shocking scandals in R&B and pop music history. On this special Part II episode, voices, lies, suits, furs, Dobermans, a coked-up time bomb, Tammy Terrell and The Temptations. I'm Jake Brennan, and this is Disgrace Land.
4:27 Jake Brennan? February 6th, 1967, the Houston Astrodome. The bell signaling the start of the 7th round rang out. The roar of the crowd was deafening. Ernie Terrell lumbered from his corner of the ring, gloves up, game face on. But that's all it was at this point, a brave face. The one-time heavyweight champ was struggling. His left eye was swollen shut, his legs were wobbly, and the only thing he was about to punch was a one-way ticket to his own private Palookaville. He met his opponent in the middle of the ring, the mat feeling as spongy as a slab of rotted hardwood under his feet. A left hook came in like a wrecking ball and sent Ernie to the ropes.
5:12 Jake Brennan? He clung to them in a desperate attempt to stay upright, and for the moment, it worked. His one good eye watched those two giant fists come at him over and over, raining down on him, trying to pummel him into nothingness. And then, in addition to the non-stop barrage of punches, came a flurry of shit-talking from his opponent's mouth, which he was now shouting hoarsely through the teeth clenched around a wet mouth guard. What's my name? What's my name? Ernie absorbed each blow, the physical ones and the verbal ones, as he looked up at his opponent, Muhammad Ali. His eyes burning red like hellfire, like the devil himself.
5:57 Jake Brennan? A manifestation of Ernie's reckoning, standing at a sweaty 6'3", a man who wasn't going to stop until Ernie Terrell was flat on the mat.
6:09 Jake Brennan? Before the fight, during a press interview, Ernie had called Ali not by his Muslim name, but by his given name, Cassius Clay. Nothing disrespected or pissed off Muhammad Ali more. For Ernie, it was an honest mistake. At least, that's what Ernie was saying. But it was a mistake that he was paying dearly for now. After 15 rounds, Muhammad Ali won by unanimous decision. And neither Ernie Terrell nor the world would ever get his name wrong again. Two years earlier, in 1965, when Ernie Terrell was still the World Boxing Association champ, his name was the one that meant something. Or at least it did to Thomasina Montgomery.
6:52 Jake Brennan? An aspiring R&B singer who had shortened her first name to Tammy and took Ernie Terrell's last name for her own. It was rumored that Tammy had married Ernie, but there's no record of this. So it stands to reason that the surname was simply a strong, recognizable choice for a little-known singer on the come-on. But Tammy Terrell shared more than just a name with the WBA boxing champ. She shared Ernie's pain and humiliation. And she too got the shit kicked out of her. Not by Muhammad Ali, of course, but instead by the so-called hardest-working man in show business, James Brown, who'd hired her as a backup singer and then put those hardest-working hands all over her.
7:37 Jake Brennan? In 1965, when Tammy left James Brown's review, when she left her hometown of Philadelphia and went to Detroit, where the sound of young America was being created, where there was swinging, swaying, and records playing, she put on Ernie Terrell's brave face. But on the inside, she was a woman fractured. And not just by the godfather of soul. She'd suffered abuse from men and boys since she was 11 years old. But no one could see this woman. Or should I say, people chose not to see this woman. This was 1965, after all, one year after Time Magazine published an article about a study in a medical journal in which doctors, actual doctors, described male physical abuse toward women as, quote, "temporary therapy," unquote.
8:24 Jake Brennan? So when most people looked at Tammy Terrell, they looked past the telltale signs of abuse, instead focusing on her breathtaking beauty. She walked into a room, she sat down at your table, and all eyes were on Tammy. Women were jealous and men were ready to throw it all away if she asked them to. Men like Motown's Barry Gordy, who was so smitten, he forgot all about Diana Ross for a hot minute when he saw Tammy perform at a Detroit nightclub. And it didn't take long for Gordy to sign her to his label, which he did on her 20th birthday, April 29th, 1965.
9:04 Jake Brennan? The timing of Tammy's official signing was fortuitous. It happened just weeks after Motown finally crossed over from R&B to the pop chart, thanks to a number one hit by one of their most reliable vocal groups, The Temptations. "My Girl", it had a heartbeat bass guitar, finger snaps, an ascending guitar line, and swelling strings and bright brass, and of course, those striking vocal harmonies. All hallmarks of the trademark Motown style. "My Girl", was, by anyone's estimation, a monster tune, and it was designed to be so.
9:43 Jake Brennan? At Motown, one of the steps in Barry Gordy's auto industry-inspired studio factory system was quality control. He would play a newly-recorded song for a cross-section of employees in order to determine if it was good enough to release. Part of this process was to ask the group of people the same bulletproof question every time. If you had $1, would you spend that dollar on this record? Or would you buy a hot dog? Pretty much every time, people chose one of those Detroit-style Coney Dogs over the song, but that wasn't the point. The point was how long it took everyone in the room to opt for the hot dog. The longer the pause, the harder the decision, the better the song.
10:24 Jake Brennan? And while "My Girl" didn't make everyone in that quality control meeting pass on the hot dog, it did make their deliberation an arduous one. And well, any song that could compete with basic human sustenance like that was a surefire hit.
10:41 Jake Brennan? But the other thing that My Girl had going for it was that it was the first Temptations song to be sung by the newest member of the group. Until this point, David Ruffin had been holding down harmony vocals with Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin while Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams got all the glory on lead. But Smokey Robinson, Motown's resident Shakespeare and one of My Girl's songwriters, saw something in David that no one else did. David's voice was mellow, but it was also gruff. A two-sided coin that could make the ladies swoon and then make them cry. Smokey called him "a sleeping giant." So Smokey woke the giant up.
11:25 Jake Brennan? And once the giant got his first taste of success, right off the bat, he wanted more. The finest white boots and softest suede vests. The sleekest, loudest bike rolling down West Graham Boulevard. Sequin silk pants and diamond-encrusted horn-rimmed glasses. To underscore his newfound status, he got a pair of Dobermans and he gave them gangster names, Bonnie and Clyde. Because the giant was not just a singer and a hitmaker, he was a straight-up gangster. And like all gangsters, he wanted the most desirable women in town draped across his arm.
12:07 Jake Brennan? The giant wanted none other than Tammy Terrell. And on the first night they met, in a Murder City nightclub, he got her. And neither of their lives would ever be the same again.
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13:17 Speaker 02 Sponsored by GSK, the makers of Extenture, Depamocumab ULAA. If your asthma keeps interrupting, it may be time to try something else. Extenture is an ultra-long-acting prescription maintenance treatment for severe asthma, eosinophilic type, ages 12 and older. It isn't for sudden breathing problems. Extenture is the first and only add-on treatment that can help deliver protection from asthma attacks with two doses a year. Just one dose every six months. That's a lot of time for everything in between. Serious allergic reactions can occur. Get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. Don't change or stop medicines, including steroids, unless told by your doctor.
13:58 Speaker 02 Report if you have a parasitic infection, common cold, sinus infection, inflammation in the nose, flu or flu-like symptoms, joint pain or sore throat may occur. Carry on with fewer attacks and ask your doctor about Extenture. Learn more at extenture.com or call 1-833-393-3678.
14:20 Jake Brennan? In late July, the fourth consecutive day that racially charged riots set fire to the streets of Detroit over on Woodward Avenue. The Algiers Motel became a particularly infamous spot when three white police officers shot and killed three innocent black teenagers there. In the weeks and months and years before this tragedy, however, The Algiers was already well-established as an infamous locale in town, seeing as it was a magnet for sex workers, drug dealers, and the Detroit PD's vice squad. It's also said to be the first place David Ruffin took Tammy Terrell, just hours after they met, and their immediate sexual attraction demanded equally immediate privacy and action.
15:03 Jake Brennan? A sort of joint like The Algiers was custom-made for moments like these. It was cheap. It was the last place two successful entertainers would be expected to frequent, and it was only a mile and a half down the road from where David and Tammy were now both working, at Hitsville, USA.
15:22 Jake Brennan? It wasn't long, however, until David decided that he wasn't content to just hide Tammy away at The Algiers. He wanted the world to know that she was, just like the song said, his girl, and he spared no expense in doing so. He bought the two of them matching mink and sable threads, as well as rings and watches made of gold and diamonds. They traveled in a stretch limo when they weren't riding on David's motorcycle, and he got them an apartment on the west side of town with bear and leopard skin rugs in the sitting room, an octopus in formaldehyde positioned under a lavish glass coffee table in the living room, and a giant painting of a black stallion that he hung over the bed.
16:03 Jake Brennan? David Ruffin lived as excessively as any of Motown's stars, perhaps driven by a desire to make up for lost time, that time being the years he spent living in poverty, growing up with no running water in rural Mississippi. And so, as The Temptations scored four more number-one R&B singles in 1966 and two number-one R&B albums the following year, with the hit songs "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" and "I Wish It Would Rain" featuring David Ruffin on lead vocal, for The Temptations' new superstar, excess became part of the ongoing celebration.
16:41 Jake Brennan? It was a celebration fueled by cocaine and women. Because Tammy Terrell wasn't David Ruffin's one and only. There was Jenna, the former go-go dancer that David knocked up and stepped out on. And then there was Sandra, his wife back home. The one David cheated on with the go-go dancer. And who, as David told the dancer, had died in childbirth. But in reality, was very much alive and busy raising his two other infant children. Tammy was oblivious to the existence of these other women. At least for a while. So oblivious, in fact, that she said yes when David proposed to her. But to those not blinded by gaudy diamond rings and even gaudier furs,
17:24 Jake Brennan? to those on the outside looking in, all the showy clothing and the cocaine, the multiple women, it painted a very clear picture. Shelley Berger, The Temptations' longtime manager, put it this way bluntly, and I quote, "I think David dreamed of being a pimp." Even David's older brother Jimmy, who's ballad "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" cracked the Billboard Top 10 in the summer of 1966, used the word pimping to describe how David used and disposed of the women around him. But Tammy Terrell wasn't one to be played by any of this pimp shit. Neither was she the type who was gonna let herself get tossed by the wayside. She was a Terrell.
18:08 Jake Brennan? She was a born fighter. The window sash was thrown open and the balmy Detroit air came flooding in. Tammy was already hot, her heart racing, her head pounding, the tears running down her face. And the warm blast from outside did her no favors. Just like David did her no favors. Not anymore. Not since she'd discovered the truth, that he was a liar and a cheat. She was just another spoil that the giant reaped. She stuck her head out the open window and then the upper part of her torso followed. She half-contemplated going all the way, just to piss David off. Wouldn't that be something?
18:53 Jake Brennan? It would give a whole new meaning to his song, "I Know I'm Losing You." And that motherfucker would be sorry, once and for all, when he looked down from the apartment to see her lifeless body splayed out on the sidewalk below, as passersby stopped, panicking, screaming in shock.
19:11 Jake Brennan? She couldn't help but see the irony of her situation. On the radio, her duets with young America's beloved Marvin Gaye, songs like "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Your Precious Love", the songs that were making her famous, Temptations famous actually, were a stark contrast to the bitter drama playing out in her real life. It's a common misconception that Tammy and Marvin were lovers, because the classic duets they cut are some of the greatest love songs ever. But theirs was a collaborative musical love. It existed on the microphone and on the records. The love that Tammy had experienced with David, or what she thought was love, maybe what she fooled herself into believing was love, that love hurt.
19:55 Jake Brennan? Marvin's love didn't hurt like that, which made her wonder, was it even real?
20:01 Jake Brennan? Right then, David came storming out of the bedroom in his underwear, coked up as usual, squeezing his running nose in between his fingers. "Go ahead," he yelled to Tammy, "do it." He got closer, close enough now that she could smell his sweat and his cologne. It was a combination that she once found undeniable, but now it just made her angry. She was also angry that she was failing to elicit the desired response. She knew that what David was doing at this moment was exactly what she was doing, trying to hurt him. "Go ahead," he yelled, "jump." Tammy's head was throbbing. She'd endured headaches her entire teenage and adult life, but her time with David made them even worse.
20:43 Jake Brennan? She pulled herself back inside the apartment and slammed the window shut.
20:50 Jake Brennan? "Fuck you, David. All you care about is yourself. Eddie and Otis and the other guys told me all about your bullshit, how you want to change the name of the band to David Ruffin and the Temptations, like you're Diana fucking Ross. Bitch, you're not even Mary fucking Wilson. Why don't you take your stupid country ass and fuck off back to whatever backwater hole you crawled out of? Or better yet, go crawling back to the latest and greatest whore you just fucked." "Yeah, I know all about that shit, David. It takes two, babe, just like Marvin said. You want to talk about a real man, David? Marvin's a real man. Marvin's a class act. He's not like you, and he's not like James Brown. He doesn't need to beat a woman to feel like a real man. In fact, he's twice the man that you are, and he's got twice the voice, too."
21:38 Jake Brennan? At that, David's eyes went so wide it looked like the horn rims would pop right off his face. He walked away into another room, rambling, and then, moments later, was back, still pissed off, still in his tighty-whities, still coked out of his gourd. Only this time, in his hand, he held a large and heavy object. And he proceeded to use that very large and heavy object to inflict maximum pain and do maximum damage to the face of Tammy Terrell. Tammy would later tell multiple people that David Ruffin hit her in the head with his motorcycle helmet. She also said that after all the previous instances of physical abuse she'd endured
22:22 Jake Brennan? while with him, this one, the motorcycle helmet incident, that this was the one that ended their relationship for good. By the time that Tammy walked away from David, everyone at Motown knew what was going on. Even studio head Barry Gordy knew this score. And this was a guy who Tammy had come to see the way she saw Marvin Gaye, as a man who wasn't like the rest, but was something of a protector. But the protectors had all gone silent, and the damage had been done. It was there, in the cold light of day, written all over her petite body, the welts, the bruises, the golf ball-sized knot that she showed to the temptations of Otis Williams.
23:04 Jake Brennan? Otis is the last surviving member of the group, and the only one to write a book. In his memoir, originally published in 1988, Otis had this to say about it all, quote, "David's thing with Tammy was intense and quite tumultuous. Their relationship was definitely a rocky one." Unquote. Rocky? Tumultuous? David's thing?
23:28 Jake Brennan? Why was David Ruffin's violent and destructive behavior still being swept under the rug two whole decades after the fact? Was it to protect a legacy? To protect that squeaky clean money-making image? Even the popular Temptations miniseries that was released 10 years after Otis's book, while it didn't portray David in the greatest light, it failed to admit a deeper truth. A truth that was known to everyone who spent any time inside the walls at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit. A truth that was the first thing on everyone's minds when the worst fate imaginable befell Tammy Terrell. The day the death came calling.
24:15 Speaker 05 We'll be right back after this word, word, word.
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24:52 Speaker 02 Sponsored by GSK, the makers of Extenture. Depamocumab ULAA. If your asthma keeps interrupting, it may be time to try something else. Extenture is an ultra-long-acting prescription-maintenance treatment for severe asthma, eosinophilic type, ages 12 and older. It isn't for sudden breathing problems. Extenture is the first and only add-on treatment that can help deliver protection from asthma attacks with two doses a year. Just one dose every six months. That's a lot of time for everything in between. Serious allergic reactions can occur. Get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. Don't change or stop medicines, including steroids, unless told by your doctor.
25:33 Speaker 02 Report if you have a parasitic infection, common cold, sinus infection, inflammation in the nose, flu or flulike symptoms, joint pain or sore throat may occur. Carry on with fewer attacks and ask your doctor about Extenture. Learn more at extenture.com or call 1-833-393-3678.
25:56 Jake Brennan? When David Ruffin's on and off again girlfriend Jenna, the former go-go dancer he'd had an affair with while still married to his first wife, a woman who had given birth to one of his children, heard about David's affair with Tammy Terrell, she became distraught. She tried to take her own life, first by slashing her wrist with a razor, and then by drinking bottles of eye drops that contained high levels of mercury. Neither did the job, instead landing her on the floor of her apartment, bloody and sick, where a friend found her shortly after. The first phone call the friend made was to David Ruffin. She expected David to drop everything and haul ass to take care of the mother of his child. David's response, however, was quite the opposite. "Why are you calling me?" he asked.
26:40 Jake Brennan? "Call the police." But when Tammy Terrell collapsed onstage while performing with Marvin Gaye on October 14, 1967 in Virginia, after the alleged motorcycle helmet incident, and after her presumed breakup with David Ruffin, David came running. He found Tammy back in her hometown, in a Philadelphia hospital. At first, her dramatic collapse was chalked up to exhaustion. Her grueling tour with Marvin, performing every night, seven days a week, meant popping aspirin every night, seven days a week, to keep her persistent headaches at bay. Doctors ran a few tests and sent her home for bedrest, but before too long, she was back,
27:22 Jake Brennan? after her dentist noticed that half of her face was sagging. This time, doctors discovered a tumor in the lower posterior part of her brain. They operated and removed the tumor, but the malignant growth had, for who-knows-how-long, blocked drainage of spinal fluid which had built up around her brain. "This," the doctor said, "was why she experienced such debilitating headaches."
27:48 Jake Brennan? So a few months later, a second surgery was performed to insert a small tube in her head to drain the fluid. But then the tube stopped working properly, so additional surgeries were needed. Tammy would go on to have eight surgeries in total over the next few years. It was a long, drawn-out ordeal during which the once stunning beauty would lose her hair, her sight, and drop down to just over 90 pounds. And when the going got tough for Tammy Terrell, however, David Ruffin was nowhere to be found. He left her bedside. He stopped calling. He stopped thinking of her. In fact, he was on to his next mark: Barbara Gale Martin, daughter of Frank Sinatra's right-hand man, Dean Martin. Whether David truly missed Tammy
28:33 Jake Brennan? Terrell, we'll never know. But we do know that at this time, in early 1968, there was plenty that David Ruffin was missing.
28:45 Jake Brennan? Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, and Otis Williams were standing around backstage at the Versailles Hotel in Cleveland, looking F-I-N-E in their neatly pressed matching suits, all of them wondering the same thing: Where the fuck was David? It was June 22, 1968, and the Temptations were preparing to perform the second-to-last show of a 10-night run at the Versailles. For the first time since their inception, all members of the Tempts were honest-to-God millionaires. Their latest single, "I Wish It Would Rain," had recently topped the R&B chart in March and made it all the way to number four of the Billboard Hot 100. But then, just a month later in April, shots rang out in the Memphis sky. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated while standing on the
29:30 Jake Brennan? balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel, a hotel that the Tempts had stayed at recently while on tour. The gold-star glow of success was suddenly tinged with the bloody shadow of fear. For Eddie, Paul, Melvin, and Otis, the simple act of stepping out onto a stage in front of a largely white audience, the lights blinding your eyes, it felt like you were presenting yourself as a target. And if that wasn't bad enough, David Ruffin, the voice of that latest number-one R&B single, was once again M.I.A.
30:06 Jake Brennan? It wasn't unusual for David to miss rehearsal. He'd been spending more time in L.A. than Detroit these days, and in general, his MO was this: drive around in his fancy-ass car, peacock around in his fancy-ass clothes, get off with one of his fancy-ass women, and make it to the show in dramatic, last-minute fancy-ass fashion. He was big time in the mall, putting forth an unsolicited bid to be the leader of a band that wanted nothing to do with leaders. What they all wanted was their fifth member here with them right now. But David was 200 miles away, in Buffalo, watching from the crowd as his latest flame, the rap pack Progeny, tried to get her own career off the ground. So they went on without him. And halfway through the show, there was a commotion.
30:51 Jake Brennan? Someone made their way through the audience and up onto the stage. It was David. He slid right into the dance moves the group was in the middle of, his voice blending in perfectly with the mall, as if the first half of the set had just been a warm-up for this: for David's triumphant return, for the show to start, for real. The audience ate it up. The Temptations, on the other hand, had long since had their fill of David Ruffin. They made sure they got Barry Gordy's blessing, and when they had it, they told the one-time sleeping giant that he was being cut down to size. David was out, and his replacement, Dennis Edwards, was in.
31:34 Jake Brennan? But David wasn't about to go quietly. He showed up at the next gig, and the next, wired on cocaine. He made a beeline for the stage. He was a man possessed, he was a man scorned, he was a man who didn't take no for an answer. The Temptations' road manager, Don Foster, stepped out of the shadows and got directly in front of David, blocking his path. Don put his hands up. "The fuck are you doing, Dave?" David didn't slow down. He raised his hand and slapped Don hard across the face, and Don recoiled backward, and the path was cleared. Seconds later, David was back on stage, microphone in hand, singing alongside his replacement.
32:18 Jake Brennan? And this went on for the next month. David's stage bombing and upstaging until Motown hired a bodyguard and placed him at the foot of the stage. The big dude took the macho fucko energy emanating from David Ruffin and sent it back out into the universe where David received it, acknowledged it, and finally stopped showing up.
32:37 Jake Brennan? The Temptations' next few studio albums took a giant step away from David Ruffin, away from the traditional Motown sound, and into the realm of a post-Jimmy Hendrix, post-Sly Stone psychedelic soul sound, full of fuzzed-out guitar tones and harder "Wanna Take You High" rhythmic edges. Albums like "Cloud Nine," "Puzzle People," and "Psychedelic Shaq" represented a bold new phase in the life of one of Motown's most successful vocal groups. "Psychedelic Shaq," in particular, was the number-one R&B record in America for four straight weeks, beginning in mid-April of 1970, until it was dethroned from the top spot by Isaac Hayes's new long player on May 16th.
33:18 Jake Brennan? The very same day that Tammy Terrell, who'd been in a coma during The Temptations' entire run at the top, died at the age of 24.
33:47 Jake Brennan? Tammy Terrell's funeral was held a few days after her death at the Jane Methodist Church in Philadelphia. According to an article in Jet Magazine at the time, thousands of mourners were in attendance. That number would have been much higher, however, had Tammy's mother let just anyone walk through the church's front doors, but not just anyone was welcome that day. There was a very specific and very large group of people that were forbidden from attending Tammy Terrell's funeral. Anyone who worked for or was affiliated with Motown Records was not welcome. Not Berry Gordy, not any of The Temptations, and certainly not David Ruffin. None of those people were welcome, except for one, that is, Marvin Gaye.
34:29 Jake Brennan? And Marvin Gaye fought back tears as he delivered the ceremony's emotional eulogy, while one of his duets with Tammy, "You're All I Need to Get By," played softly in the background.
34:41 Jake Brennan? Marvin's speech moved the entire room, and that song of theirs was perhaps never more powerful than it was in that moment. The fact that Marvin Gaye was the only Motown artist present at the funeral spoke volumes, and it also amplified what was now being heard through the grapevine, that David Ruffin had, in some way, played a part in Tammy's death. And that the Temptations, Berry Gordy, Motown at large, Marvin excluded, they were all complicit because they did nothing about it. The grapevine said that the abuse Tammy sustained during her time with David, being hit with a motorcycle helmet, and perhaps even worse, only compounded her existing medical condition
35:23 Jake Brennan? and ushered her faster toward the end of her short life. If Tammy's days were numbered from the start, then David removed a few weeks here and there from the calendar. At least, that was the grapevine talking. Back in Detroit, David Ruffin was holed up in his place on Parkside. The doorbell rang. He opened the front door to see his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Jenna, standing there. He let her in and then led her to his bedroom. If David wasn't mourning, he was doing a great job hiding it. But then David was always in control of what everyone else saw. If only he could have kept control of the Temptations. Jenna got nosey and started poking around one of the drawers of his dresser, which was slightly open,
36:08 Jake Brennan? and stuffed inside were photos of Tammy, letters from Tammy, newspaper articles about Tammy. Jenna looked at David. "Are you gonna keep all these?" she asked. "Why do you care?" David said. "She's dead." Maybe it was the thought of Tammy, six feet under. Maybe it was Jenna poking through his shit, or maybe it was just David being David, as they used to say around the Motown offices, whenever Tammy showed up, black and blue. Whatever it was, before Jenna left that day, David broke her nose with his fist.
36:45 Jake Brennan? Marvin Gaye meanwhile was dealing with a broken heart that would never be whole again. Tammy's death crushed him. It sent him spiraling into cocaine addiction, a path that had been blazed by a certain David Ruffin long before him. Marvin used coke and later PCP to self-medicate and to dull himself to the reality of a world without Tammy in it. It was a world that was beyond fucked up. Marvin didn't recognize it anymore. Far too many people were dying and while he never got over losing Tammy, Marvin took that pain, that heartbreak, and put it into his next record, What's Going On? The first Motown album that was more than just a collection of songs and one of the
37:29 Jake Brennan? greatest albums ever made. It was an album made for a new decade, a new America, inspired by one of Motown's greatest talents, a woman the great label had so wrongly let down. And the fact that Tammy Terrell didn't get to hear her friend Marvin's masterpiece, well, that's just a disgrace. I'm Jake Brennan and this is DisgraceLand.
38:12 Jake Brennan? All right, discos, thanks for listening to this episode of DisgraceLand, our part two episode on The Temptations. Listen, if you're an Apple Podcast listener, get auto downloads turned on so you don't miss any of our stories. Guys, the question of the week that I want to hear from you on is, was Tammy Terrell the most mistreated woman in music history? It's a long list, I know, but this story, my god damn, just let down all over the place from so many different people. 617-906-6638 with your answers. Hit me up on voicemail, send me a text, [email protected] . If you want to email me at disgracelandpod on the socials, you're going to be able to hear your answers, some of your answers anyways, on the next episode coming up in your feed, the after-party episode where we play your answers to our question of the week again.
38:57 Jake Brennan? Was Tammy Terrell the most mistreated woman in the history of music? Yeesh, that's a tough one, I know. Get at me, we'll get into it on the after-party, all right?
39:07 Jake Brennan? Disgrace Land was created by yours truly and is produced in partnership with Double Elvis. Credits for this episode can be found on the show notes page at disgracelandpod.com. If you're listening as a Disgrace Land All Access member, thank you for supporting the show. We really appreciate it. And if not, you can become a member right now by going to disgracelandpod.com/membership. Members can listen to every episode of Disgrace Land ad-free. Plus, you'll get one brand new exclusive episode every month, weekly unscripted bonus episodes, special audio collections, and early access to merchandise and events. Visit disgracelandpod.com/membership for details. Rate and review the show and follow us on
39:48 Jake Brennan? Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook @disgracelandpod and on YouTube at youtube.com/disgracelandpod. Rockerola.
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40:34 Jake Brennan? Hey guys, time to dust off your detective skills while unwinding in the Caribbean on Virgin Voyages' second true crime voyage. It's back by popular demand. This five-night, adults-only escape sets sail March 20, 2027, to Grand Turk in the Beach Club at Bimini. The difference between this year and last will be that I will be on the cruise this year, along with Zeth, and he and I will be taping a live version of Disgrace Land along with podcast hosts from Exactly Right's Buried Bones, Podcast of the Year Award winners Wisecrack, and other fan favorites. Get on this cruise with us, guys, and enjoy live podcast recordings, behind-the-scenes storytelling, exclusive meet-and-greets, and immersive
41:15 Jake Brennan? true crime programming throughout this one-of-a-kind voyage. Head over to www.virginvoyages.com/truecrime to secure your spot.
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Previous Bonus Episode: The Culture Changed Every Ten Years… Until It Didn’t Next Bonus Episode: Suspicious Deaths, Small-Town Myths, and the Record Store That Helped Make Me Page updated November 1, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated