“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” is one of those rare songs with two definitive hit versions. The song, written by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson in 1966 became a hit in 1967 as a duet for Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. Then, the tune climbed the charts again in 1970 in a solo version by Diana Ross.
“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” features typical pop love song lyrics about loving someone using hyperbole and grand images. But the lyrics work, especially lifted by the music going from the verse into the rousing joyful chorus.
Remember the day I set you free,
I told you, you could always count on me darling;
From that day on, I made a vow;
I’ll be there when you want me,
Some way, some how.
‘Cause baby there ain’t no mountain high enough,
Ain’t no valley low enough,
Ain’t no river wide enough,
To keep me from getting to you babe.
The Gaye-Terrell version hit the top twenty on the pop charts on the Tamia label, which was a division of Motown. Originally, Dusty Springfield wanted to record the song, but Ashford and Simpson held out because they wanted to be on Motown. They got their wish when Gaye and Terrell recorded the song.
Interestingly, Gaye and Terrell did not record this classic duet together. Terrell recorded her part by herself, and Gaye’s vocals were added later. The two, however, did get together for the video.
For fans of sports movies, you might remember that this version appears in Remember the Titans (2000). I have seen that movie so many times, I no longer can hear the song without thinking of the Titans.
The Gaye-Terrell version also appears in Stepmom (1998). Below, Susan Sarandon introduces her movie kids to the beauty and joy of the recording.
As an uplifting duet, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” makes a great movie bonding song.
Before making her own solo hit recording of the song in 1970, Diana Ross in 1968 recorded a version of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” with the Supremes on a crossover group recording with the Temptations.
The 1968 version with the Supremes and the Temptations features a production very similar to the hit version by Gaye and Terrell. Check it out.
Supposedly, Ross was reluctant to record the song again when asked to do so as a solo artist. But she did so anyway for Motown in March 1970, giving the song a new sound. Her gospel-sounding recording also featured the songwriters Ashford & Simpson singing background vocals.
Ross’s 1970 solo version also features a segment of Ross talking instead of singing. Reportedly, Motown head Barry Gordy was not a fan of the talking part of the song, but listeners loved the recording. It went to number one on the pop and R&B charts in the United States.
Other artists have since covered “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” And Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye had great success with other songs that everyone knows. Yet, you might wonder why you may not know much about Tammi Terrell.
Terrell did have other successful songs, such as another duet with Gaye on “Your Precious Love.” But on October 14, 1967, the same year “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” was released, she collapsed onstage into the arms of her friend Gaye. She was subsequently diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, and she died on March 16, 1970, the same week Diana Ross was recording her version of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”
Regarding the mountain of the song, TMZ recently caught up with Valerie Simpson to ask her if she had a certain mountain in mind when she wrote the song. She replied, perhaps with tongue in cheek, that she was thinking of tall buildings in Manhattan.
What is your favorite version of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough? Leave your two cents in the comments. Photo via Fair Use.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
and with various performances on YouTube. Below, James Brown performs “Please, Please, Please.”
before being released as a single in 1993.
