AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH

"'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

History

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell original

Diana Ross version

Notable covers

External links

Credits

Gaye/Terrell version

Ross version

History

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 duo 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.

Diana Ross version

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". At first Diana was apprehensive since she had already covered the song while still a member of the Supremes (see below). The cover re-imagined 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. He hated the spoken-word vocals and wanted to cut right to the climatic chorus/bridge. It wasn't until radio stations around the country were editing down their own versions and adding it to their playlists that Ashford and Simpson were eventually able to convince 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.

Notable covers

Ironically, Diana Ross recorded a different version of this song, which was more 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. The same year saw an upbeat disco version by The Boys Town Gang who recorded it as a medley with another song by Ashford & Simpson: "Remember Me". The full version of this song is 13:53 and can be found on their album "Cruisin the Street".
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 '', 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''.
The Amy Winehouse song "Tears Dry On Their Own" for her latest album ''Back to Black'' uses the same background music arrangement as the original recording, along with a new melody and lyrics.
Allie Schulz and Chad Doreck, contestants on the show performed this song as a duet.
The song has also been sung numerous times on the television show American Idol. Most recently, it was performed by Sanjaya Malakar on the Top 12 show.

External links

Lyrics (Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell Version)
Lyrics (Diana Ross Version)

Credits

Gaye/Terrell version

★ All vocals by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

★ Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

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