Ain't No Mountain High Enough
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| "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell | ||
| from the album United | ||
| Released | April 20, 1967 | |
| Format | 7" single | |
| Recorded | Hitsville USA (Studio A); 1966 | |
| Genre | Soul | |
| Length | 2:28 | |
| Label | Tamla T 54149 |
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| Writer(s) | Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson | |
| Producer(s) | Harvey Fuqua Johnny Bristol |
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| Chart positions | ||
| Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell singles chronology | ||
| "Little Darling (I Need You)" (Gaye, 1966) "I Can't Believe You Love Me" (Terrell, 1966) |
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (1967) |
"Your Unchanging Love" (Gaye, 1967) "Your Precious Love" (Terrell, 1967) |
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is an R&B/soul song written by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson in 1966. The composition was first successful as a 1967 hit single recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell for the Tamla (Motown) label. The song became a hit a second time in 1970, when a cover by fellow Motown artist Diana Ross became a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell original
The original 1967 version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" was the first Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell duet to be recorded. According to Gaye, Ashford, and Simpson, Terrell was a little nervous and intimidated during recording because she hadn't rehearsed the lyrics. During her first verse, she looked at the lyrics as she sang "no matter where you are", but eventually became comfortable because of Gaye's lead. "Ain't No Mountain" peaked at number nineteen on the Billboard pop charts, and went to number three on the R&B charts.
This original version of "Ain't No Mountain", produced by Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol, was a care-free, danceable, and romantic love song that became the signature duet between Gaye and Terrell. Its success led to a string of more Ashford/Simpson penned duets (including "You're All I Need to Get By" and "Your Precious Love").
The Gaye/Terrell version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, and is regarded today as one of the most important records ever released by Motown.
[edit] Diana Ross version
| "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by Diana Ross | ||
| from the album Diana Ross | ||
| Released | July 16, 1970 | |
| Format | 7" single | |
| Recorded | 1970 | |
| Genre | Soul | |
| Length | 3:08 (single edit) 6:06 (album version) |
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| Label | Motown M 1169 |
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| Producer(s) | Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson | |
| Chart positions | ||
| Diana Ross singles chronology | ||
| "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" (1970) |
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (1970) |
"Remember Me" (1970) |
Three years later, things had changed. Terrell had died due to a brain tumor, Gaye was going through a personal change, and Diana Ross had left The Supremes to begin her solo career. After the mild success of her first single, "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)", Ashford and Simpson had Ross re-record "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". The cover reimagined Gaye and Terrell's love duet as a dramatic six-minute opus, primarily comprised of spoken word passages from Ross, with The Andantes, Jimmy Beavers, and Ashford and Simpson as backup singers.
Motown chief Berry Gordy didn't like the record upon first hearing it, but Ashford and Simpson were eventually able to get him to release an edited three-minute version as a single, Ross' version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" rose up to number one on both the pop and R&B singles charts, and Ross received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
[edit] Notable covers
Ironically, Diana Ross recorded a different version of this song, which was pretty much faithful to the Terrell-Gaye '67 version, while Diana was still in The Supremes. The Supremes covered a duet version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" also with The Temptations. The song was an album cut from a joint LP released by Motown Records in 1968 on the two superstar groups, entitled "Diana Ross & The Supremes Join The Temptations."
1981 saw the recording by Inner Life of the underground dance classic "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", produced by Patrick Adams and Greg Carmichael, remixed by Larry Levan, and released on the Salsoul label. Australian Rock legend Jimmy Barnes released a Motown-styled album, titled Soul Deep, in 1991 with twelve covers; one of them was his rock version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".
In 1993, at the end of the film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, Whoopi Goldberg and most of the cast of the movie, including future neo-soul superstar Lauryn Hill, mixed both versions of the song together for a performance of "Ain't No Mountain" at the climax of the film. The Gaye/Terrell version also frequently turns up, often as part of a sing-along, in "feel-good" movies, such as Remember the Titans and Stepmom.
Former Doobie Brother Michael McDonald recorded the song as part of his "Motown" album in 2003. He also performed the song in a commercial for MCI.
Swedish pop band Play recorded the song for their 2003 album Replay. This version appeared in the trailer for the 2006 film Last Holiday.
Amy Winehouse recently re-wrote the song as "Tears Dry On Their Own" for her latest album Back to Black.
Allie Schulz and Chad Doreck, contestants on the show Grease: You're The One That I Want performed this song as a duet.
American Idol finalist Sanjaya Malakar performed this song in the sixth season of American Idol.
[edit] External links
[edit] Credits
[edit] Gaye/Terrell version
- All vocals by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
- Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers
[edit] Ross version
- Lead Vocals by Diana Ross
- Background Vocals by Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson, Jimmy Beavers, and The Andantes: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps
- Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers
| Preceded by "War" by Edwin Starr |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single (Diana Ross version) September 19, 1970 |
Succeeded by "Cracklin' Rosie" by Neil Diamond |
