Vickie Wright Loves Motown

With the help of writer Vickie Wright, Tammi Terrell's only remaining immediate relative, sister Ludie Montgomery, tells the story of the fallen songstress.  In their book, ‘My Sister Tommie,' Vickie and Ludie bring Tammi vividly back to life through rare photos, interviews and family recollections to finally address the many issues about the short lifetime of one of pop's most celebrated, and elusive, female vocalists.


While growing up in Long Beach, California, Vickie somehow always knew she would be writing the story of her favorite singer, but she didn’t know she would also be telling the story of the famous background singers, The Andantes.  Vickie is the Author of ‘Motown from The Background, The Andantes Biography.’  Written with Marlene Barrow-Tate, Jackie Hicks, and Louvain Demps.  Vickie coaxed the stories, the memories, the emotions and the truth from The Andantes themselves.  Both books are available on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com. 


I met with Vickie in Studio City, California for a wonderful conversation and a few casual photos.  We had a great time and I learned a lot about Motown and Vickie!!!


A BIG thanks to Wedigo Watson for arranging this blog!



AM:  How did a girl like you become an authority on Tammi Terrell and the Andantes?


VW:  I was born in 1966 and I had two older sisters so I must have heard this music on the radio.  I loved the Supremes, The Four Tops and Marvin Gaye.  Now I think back and I realize these people raised me.  I just loved Motown.


AM:  But Tammi stood out for you.


VW:  Tammi’s voice just touches you.  Many other people say the same thing.  She sings with such emotion.  It’s beyond just liking a good singer.  There was just something about her, that as I got older, I wanted to know more about her.


AM:  Is this why you wrote the book?


VW:  When I was a teenager in high school I always thought in the back of my mind that I was going to write a book about Tammi.  It had been percolating inside me for a very long time.


AM:  Did you know you were a writer?


VW:  No, I just wanted to tell her story and I felt drawn to her.  There wasn’t that much written about her and what I did learn would rub me the wrong way.  I would read about how Marvin Gaye lost his friend and he was never the same.  As I got older and really started to be able to appreciate the music, I wanted to know the person Marvin Gaye knew.


AM:  Did you start doing research?


VW:  A few years went by and I was working long hours in show business, but this book was always tapping at me.  I decided to look her up.  I thought maybe someone had written a book about her by this time and I could read about her.  When I saw that there still wasn’t anything, I decided to do it.


AM:  What was the first thing you did?


VW:  I contacted some people that I knew could help me find her sister.  I sent Tammi’s sister, Ludie Montgomery, a letter and she was ready to tell the story.  She told me if I had tried to find her before, she wouldn’t have been ready.


AM:  Why not?


VW:  She had a lot of healing to do before she was ready.   During this writing process with Ludie, I discovered the Andantes.   They were heavily featured in Tammi’s work.  So it was really telling the same story as part one and part two.


AM:  So you decided to take on another writing project?


VW:  I wanted to honor the work they had done too.  It was a natural progression.  They are all still alive to tell their story.  It turned out to be really great for them.


AM:  That is why I love the Internet.  It really brings about many opportunities to learn about people from the past.


VW:  Look what ‘Walk The Line’ did for Johnny Cash.  He gained so many young fans when it was released.  Tammi Terrell is like that.  Her music is timeless.  People know her voice and her songs.  Her songs are part of the soundtrack in so many big movies and are featured on ‘American Idol.’  Teenagers love Tammi Terrell.  Michael McDonald recorded three of her songs.  Michael Bolton has just recorded 'Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing’ for his new album.  That’s a testimony of her talent.  She died so young and still has this legacy.


AM:  I like stories like yours where you have a strong calling and you manifest and fulfill it.


VW:  It was very strong.  It really wouldn’t leave me alone.


AM:  It gives you a strong sense of destiny.


VW:  I thought I was just writing a music biography, but once I got into the inner workings of her relationships with her family and friends, it was a mirror to many different aspects of my life.  Her Mom was just like mine.


AM:  So it became therapy didn’t it?


VW:  It was very therapeutic for her sister and me.  It’s the same with the Andantes.  They have their memories locked away.  Since they are not Internet savvy, it is great fun to bring their fans to them.  It was a little overwhelming for them.  


AM:  When did the Andantes book come out?


VW:  It came out in 2007.  Tammi’s came out in 2005. I wrote them back to back.


AM:  Are you planning to write any more books?


VW:  I have other books I want to write I just haven’t been able to concentrate on them.  I don’t sit and write like I used to, but I want to get back to it.




AM:  Writing this kind of biography is the hardest.


VW:  Yes, with Tammi especially.  There is a lot of controversy with her life.  I think it’s because it all happened so fast.  She got to Detroit in 1965 and she collapsed in 1967.  She didn’t have very long.  When you interview as many people as I did, I went with what had consistency.


AM:  Did you use your intuition?


VW:  Yes I did.  If someone who met her in an elevator had the same impression that Nick Ashford, who really knew her, did, that was powerful.   Nick spent quality time with her and was a real friend.  So if you could spend a few moments with her and get the same impression, her essence really came through.  She walked through life a certain way and everyone got good vibes from her.  Tammi loved life and had a lot of integrity.  She was a very easy person to read.


AM:  Did you learn a lot about Motown in general from writing these books?


VW:  I had read many of the other books including Marvin Gaye and Mary Wilson, so I knew a little.  Tammi’s story is not really a Motown story, but the Andantes is!  Those ladies were there for everything.  They were flies on the wall.  I learned a lot about the inner dynamics and the workings there.


AM:   Has the Motown story been fully documented now with all the books from the different people involved?


VW:  I think there’s still pockets out there that havn’t been shared.  The bulk of it is out there but everyone has a slice of it that is a little different.  It’s a very complicated story with many layers.  There was a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes the public doesn’t know about.  They all went to church together.  


AM:  Do you ever get tired of talking about all this?


VW:  Never.  I love it too much.  It’s inspiring.  Look at the Andantes who were just three women going to their job every day.  They were not thinking about being on the radio every day forty five years later.  It’s surreal that it happened in a hap hazard way.  It’s now a part of history.


AM:  Were they well paid for their time and talent?


VW:  I think for what they did, yes.  They could have done it forever but Motown moved to Los Angeles and that ended it for them.  They loved what they were doing.


AM:  What else do you want to do with your life Vickie?


VW:  I’d like to one day own a bed and breakfast place.  I want it to be a spiritual retreat for artists of all kinds.  I had a motivational coach when I wrote both these books.  I have since coached a couple of people who got their books published.  I want a space where people can come for a weekend and map out their goals or work on anything they need to.


AM:  Do you pay close attention to your spiritual side?


VW:  Yes, it’s grown quite a bit in the last ten years.  I think it’s from being involved in this and using my intuition.  I do feel pulled and guided to listen to a higher part of myself.  The Andantes are all in their seventies.  These women have so much wisdom.  They became my spiritual Moms.  I have so many wonderful feelings for them.  They are like mothers to me.  I had access to them for two years and they gave me the greatest advice.  This is separate from the book.  This was my personal gift and a way that I got paid back.


AM:  So you were rewarded.


VW:  That’s why I tell people to do whatever is in their heart because you don’t know what’s in it for you.  Anybody who knew me in my twenties knew I wanted to write a book about Tammi and I didn’t know how.  I wasn’t a writer.  I just knew I wanted to do it very badly.  I just applied myself, but look what was in it for me, her family and her legacy.  It turned out to be a very good, positive and spiritual story.