Tami Lynn (born Gloria Jean Brown; January 25, 1939 – June 26, 2020) was an American

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

. She scored a Top Ten hit on the UK Singles Chart in 1971 with the

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

"I'm Gonna Run Away From You".

Career

Gloria Brown was born in Gert Town,

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. She attended school with

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descr ...

and Ellis Marsalis Jr.,Tony Burke, "Obituary: Tami Lynn", ''Blues & Rhythm'', No.353, October 2020, p.18 and sang in church choirs, and with visiting groups such as the Clara Ward Singers, as well as in a school production of ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the per ...

''. She also sang

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

on WMRY radio shows, and after substituting for an absent performer and being discovered by local musician Alvin "Red" Tyler, began performing

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

songs in local clubs. Dan Phillips, "Tami Lynn's Unlikely Hit Had A Funky Flip"
''Home of the Groove'', February 23, 2008. Retrieved 30 June 2020 Taking the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Tami Lynn, she was heard by Allen Toussaint and Harold Battiste, signed for AFO Records, and toured with other company artists, before singing in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

as an opening act for

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

and

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

. "Tami Lynn, Chart-Breaking Soul Singer From New Orleans, Has Died"
''Offbeat'', July 8, 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020 "Tami Lynn", ''The AFO Foundation''
Retrieved 11 November 2019 Geoffrey Clarfield, "In Exile on Main Street"
''The Brooklyn Rail'', October 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2019

Jerry Wexler Gerald Wexler (January 10, 1917 – August 15, 2008) was a music journalist turned music producer, and was a major influence on American popular music from the 1950s through the 1980s. He coined the term "rhythm and blues", and was integra ...

heard Lynn sing at a convention in 1965. Wexler had her record the Bert Berns penned and produced song, "I'm Gonna Run Away From You", for

Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the com ...

, but the song was not released at the time, although it was released in the UK on Atlantic (AT.4071). In 1971, "I'm Gonna Run Away From You" was released as a single, with "The Boy Next Door" as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

, on

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

and

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, where it became a hit in the UK among devotees of

Northern soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

. The tune hit number 4 in the UK Singles Chart in 1971. A full-length album, ''Love Is Here and Now You're Gone'', followed in 1972, produced by John Abbey, and was reissued on CD in 2005 by DBK Works. Lynn occasionally worked as a

backup singer A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

. She sang on many of Dr. John's albums, and the musician put her in contact with

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

with whom she sang on '' Exile on Main St.''. She also recorded with King Floyd,

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded more than 50 songs that made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the '' ...

, and

Sonny & Cher Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of spouses Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as rhythm and blues, R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector. ...

, and performed with other musicians including Miles Davis,

Irma Thomas Irma Thomas ( Lee; born February 18, 1941) is an American singer from New Orleans. She is known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans". Thomas is a contemporary of Aretha Franklin and Etta James, but never experienced their level of commercial succ ...

and

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances featuring expressive body movements. Most of his best-known singles, such as "Feelin' Alright ...

. "I'm Gonna Run Away From You" returned to the UK Singles Chart in 1975 after being reissued, hitting number 36 the second time around. Following the song's success, Lynn toured with Dr. John. Another album was the 1992

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

CD, ''Tamiya Lynn''. In 2008, she appeared at the

Ponderosa Stomp The Ponderosa Stomp is an annual American roots music festival dedicated to "recognizing the architects of rock-n-roll, blues, jazz, country, swamp pop and soul music." It was founded in New Orleans in 2002 and produced by the non-profit Mystic K ...

. Lynn lived in New York City for many years, before moving to Florida. In 2014, she performed in concert at

New Port Richey, Florida New Port Richey is a city in Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is a suburban city included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was counted at 16,728 in the 2020 census. History By ...

, with guitarist Matthew Colthup. Elyse Lewis, "Tami Lynn, Matthew Colthup team up for NPR concert", ''Suncoast News'', December 17, 2014
Retrieved 11 November 2019 She died in Florida on June 26, 2020. "Tami Lynn R.I.P."
''Soul-Source.co.uk'', 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020

Discography

* ''Love Is Here and Now You're Gone'' (1972, reissued 2005) * ''Tamiya Lynn'' (1992)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynn, Tami 1939 births 2020 deaths American soul singers American women singers 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers Northern soul musicians Rhythm and blues musicians from New Orleans Atlantic Records artists Singers from Louisiana Mojo Records (UK) artists Atco Records artists 21st-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American women