New Orleans native and the voice behind the 1971 Top 10 hit “I’m Gonna Run Away From You” Tami Lynn died on June 26, 2020. A longtime collaborator and co-vocalist on Dr. John albums and signee to AFO Records, Lynn worked with the likes of the Rolling Stones, Sonny & Cher and Wilson Pickett, and shared stages with Miles Davis and John Coltrane.
Below is a biography of Tami Lynn, provided by her family. Look for a full obituary in a future issue of OffBeat.
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Tami Lynn was a singer known throughout New Orleans and the world, recently passed away on June 26, 2020. She attended R.T. Danneel #2 Elementary School, where she studied music and learned to sing with the likes of former classmates and greats, Allen Toussaint, and Ellis Marsalis, Jr. As a youngster, she sang spirituals with groups like the Clara Ward Singers, and appeared on WMRY Radio,” Dr. Daddy-O’s Sunday Gospel Show,” where she was heard by legendary gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, who predicted Lynn would grow up to be a “fine singer” one day. While in High School, she landed a part in the Broadway musical “Showboat” but actually wanted to grow up to be a speech therapist for children with special needs.
Lynn’s career in R&B started quite by coincidence. She began her professional career singing at the Joy Tavern when a regular singing artist didn’t show up for a few gigs. Red Tyler, the manager of the performing band at the Joy Tavern requested Lynn to audition. After some encouragement by her mother, Tami auditioned, got the gig, and began singing nightly with Red Tyler’s band. After successfully packing the house night after night with her soulful singing, Lynn signed a contract with the A.F.O. (All For One) record company and recorded Baby, a song written for her by Red Tyler. Tyler, Harold Battiste, and Melvin Lastie, A.F.O.’s Founders became her mentors. Taking her under their wings, Tami began touring with the band, A.F.O. Lynn then went on to New York to perform at the famous Birdland (a New York jazz club) in the 60’s where she opened on several occasions for John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Ella Fitzgerald. During the 70’s she sang a few gigs at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood.
Soon after Lynn met Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records, when she sang at a DJ convention, who immediately upon hearing her sing signed her on Atlantic’s recording label. Lynn occasionally worked with A.F.O. executives on projects, including King Floyd’s first album, as a backup singer for Sam Cooke, and several of Dr. John’s albums. She also did some background session work for television shows like” Starsky and Hutch” and a few commercials such as for the Plymouth car company’s Road Runner advertisements. She had a breakthrough in the early 1970s when John Abby at Mojo Records in England discovered “I’m Gonna Run Away” and re-released the song, which went to the top of the charts in Britain, where she once opened for Al Green. “In 1971, “I’m Gonna Run Away” was released as a single, with “The Boy Next Door” as the B-side, on Mojo and Atlantic, where it became a hit in the UK among devotees of Northern soul. 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.
Lynn’s I’m Gonna Run Away” remains a hit and is still played throughout the UK. She went on the road with Mac Rebennack (Dr. John) and his then bass guitarist, Randy Jackson of “American Idol.” She sung at several New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festivals, and was the featured backup singer on the Rolling Stones album, “Exile on Main St., which was later voted “Best Album of All Time.”
During her career, Tami Lynn shared the stage, sung, or recorded with Wilson Pickett, Sonny and Cher, Billy Joel, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Lionel Hampton, Irma Thomas, Ernie K-Doe, Eric Clapton, George Benson, Ringo Starr, Joe Cocker, Willie Bobo, Mark Isham, and many, many others.
Tami sings 9 of the 15 tracks on AFO 92-10- A Compendium
