Tami Lynn (January 25, 1939 – June 26, 2020) – The Boy Next Door (1965)

This heartfelt jam was co-written by the unsung singer/songwriter and released as the B-side to her biggest hit, recorded after Atlantic's Jerry Wexler heard her sing.

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Tami Lynn was a soul singer whose sole hit was the 1971 UK top-ten single “I'm Gonna Run Away From You.”

Born in New Orleans, Gloria Jean Brown went to school with Allen Toussaint and got her start singing gospel in church choirs. While filling in for a missing singer during a local gospel radio broadcast, she was discovered by bandleader Alvin Tyler who helped her get booked into the city’s nightclubs. She chose the stage name Tami Lynn and went on to open for jazz greats Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Ella Fitzgerald.

Tyler wrote one of her first singles, the heartfelt soul-jazz love song “Baby,” released in 1963 on the independent New Orleans label A.F.O. (All For One) Records.

The upbeat jam “Where Can I Go?” was on the flip, co-written by Daniel Brown and Warren Lee Taylor.

After Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler heard her sing in 1965, he arranged for her to record “I'm Gonna Run Away From You,” written and produced by Bert Berns.

Its B-side was the heartfelt “The Boy Next Door,” which Lynn co-wrote with A.F.O. Records co-owner Melvin Lastie. In 1971, the single was re-released in the UK and became a top-ten hit.

Rest in Peace, Tami Lynn.

#soul #funk #NewOrleans #TamiLynn