Tami Lynn’s story is an interesting one that highlights the up and downs of seeking a career in the music industry. Tami Lynn (or Tammy, as it was sometimes spelt) was the stage name of Gloria Brown. She was born in the Gert Town area of New Orleans in 1942, where Allen Toussaint had been born just a few years earlier. Their paths crossed at school! Like many of her contemporaries, Gloria grew up surrounded by music. She developed an interest in singing Gospel and had her first break as a teenager, when Alvin “Red” Tyler needed a singer at short notice for his regular gig at the Joy Tavern. The owner of the club suggested that he contact Gloria, who lived nearby. Alvin took his advice and was impressed enough to book Gloria for more shows.
When AFO Records was formed in 1961, Tami, as she was now known, joined the co-operative, cutting her first single “Baby” that same year. She became lead vocalist for the AFO Executives, making a strong contribution to their 1963 album “A Compendium”. So far so good, but then AFO ran into difficulties and the team moved to Los Angeles. Tami went too, but things didn’t work out and she moved on.
In 1964, she was working in New York, when Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records offered her a contract with the company. Her first recording there was a song written and produced by Bert Berns, who was responsible for a string of pop hits. Suddenly everything was looking rosy again. The single “I’m Gonna Run Away From You” was released in 1965 on the ATCO label, an Atlantic subsidiary, and Tami must have been dreaming of success. Unfortunately, the record made little impression and the dream died. The B-side is, however, worth a listen. It was written by Tami (credited as Gloria Brown) and Melvin Lastie (an AFO Executive) and is recognisably New Orleans: “The Boy Next Door”.
A few years later Tami moved back to the West Coast and teamed up again with Harold Battiste. She found work as a backing singer, supporting performers that Battiste was producing, including Sonny and Cher, Dr. John and King Floyd. She sang backing vocals on Dr. John’s “The Sun, Moon & Herbs” album, which was recorded at Atlantic’s Criteria Studios in Miami in 1971 and crossed paths with Jerry Wexler once more! He asked her to record a new version of the song “Mojo Hanna” that he liked, from the AFO Executives 1963 album. The resulting Cotillion Records single is strong and funky, but it failed to sell.
Tami had been working for over ten years and still the big break hadn’t come. Then, out of the blue, her luck changed.
In the UK, in 1971, record producer John Abbey listened to “I’m Gonna Run Away From You” and thought that it might appeal to the Northern Soul scene in England. John suggested to Atlantic that he would like to release the single on Mojo Records (a subsidiary of Polydor Records) in the UK. Atlantic went along with the idea and the single climbed to number four, spending over a year on the UK Pop chart. At last!
The success of the single may well have opened the door to another opportunity that came along in 1971. Tami was hired to sing backing vocals on the Rolling Stones album “Exile On Main Street”.
John Abbey wasn’t finished yet. He wanted to build on Tami’s UK break-through and decided to go to the USA to organise the recording of an album. He chose Malaco Studios in Jackson, Mississippi, and enlisted the help of producer Wardell Quezergue. The songs range from Soul to pure Pop and include the UK hit single and the Wexler-inspired “Mojo Hanna”. The album entitled “Love Is Here And Now You’re Gone” was released in 1972 on the Cotillion label, but Tami’s luck had changed again. The album failed to make an impact.
Tami never gave up. She continued working as a session singer and performing live for many years. She made one more album, “Tamiya Lynn”, released in 1992, which gives a real flavour of her talent, mixing Soul and Jazz. She died in Florida in 2020.
There were very few solo female artists in the history of New Orleans R&B. There weren’t many in other places either. It was tough for a young female to break into the industry, and it was even harder to maintain a high level of success. Both Irma Thomas and Tami Lynn had many ups and downs, but they stuck with it, each making a lasting contribution to the music of their city.
