"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is a song written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson in 1966 for the Tamla label, a division of

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

. The composition was first successful as a 1967 hit single recorded by

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

and Tammi Terrell, and became a hit again in 1970 when recorded by former Supremes frontwoman

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

. The song became Ross's first solo number-one hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and was nominated for the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Background

The song was written by Ashford and Simpson prior to joining

. British soul singer

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop mus ...

wanted to record the song but the duo declined, hoping it would give them access to the Detroit-based label. As Valerie Simpson later recalled, "We played that song for her (Springfield) but wouldn't give it to her, because we wanted to hold that back. We felt like that could be our entry to Motown. Nick called it the 'golden egg'." Springfield recorded a song with a similar verse melody in "I'm Gonna Leave You" on '' Dusty''.

and Tammi Terrell recorded "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" in December1966. The session marked their first together. Work on the recording finished at Hitsville USA in Detroit on February 1, 1967. The original 1967 version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" was a top-20 hit. According to record producers, Terrell was a little nervous and intimidated during the recording sessions because she did not rehearse the lyrics. Terrell recorded her vocals alone with producers Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol, who added Gaye's vocal at a later date.Chin, Brian (2001). Liner notes for ''Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell: The Complete Duets''. New York: Motown Records/UMG Recordings. "Ain't No Mountain" peaked at number 19 on the ''Billboard'' pop charts, and went to number three on the R&B charts. ''Billboard''s original review of the single stated: "Chalk up another pulsating fast smash for Gaye with his new partner Tammi Terrell. The electricity of the duo combined with the blockbuster rhythm material grooves all the way." This original version of "Ain't No Mountain", produced by Fuqua and 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", " Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing", and " Your Precious Love"). In 1999, the Gaye/Terrell version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The Gaye/Terrell version was included in the soundtrack for the 1998 film '' Stepmom'', the 2000 film '' Remember the Titans'' as well as the 2014 film '' Guardians of the Galaxy''.

Personnel

* All vocals by

and Tammi Terrell * Instrumentation by

the Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

and Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Charts

Certifications

The Supremes and Temptations version

Diana Ross & the Supremes recorded a version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", which was more faithful to the Terrell-Gaye original version, as a duet with The Temptations. That song was an album cut from a joint LP released by Motown Records in 1968 on the two superstar groups, titled '' Diana Ross & the Supremes Join the Temptations''.

Diana Ross solo version

In early 1970, after the Top 20 success of her first solo single, " Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)", Ashford and Simpson had Ross re-record "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". Initially, Ross was apprehensive, but was convinced to make the recording. The remake was a complete reworking of the song, featuring a style similar to

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

with elements of classical music strings and horns, and spoken-word passages from Ross.

The Andantes The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by M ...

, Jimmy Beavers, Jo Armstead, Ashford & Simpson and Brenda Evans and Billie Calvin of the Undisputed Truth were used as backing singers, giving the song a

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and gospel vocal element. Ross' version of the song was released on July 19, 1970, as the second and final single from her solo self-titled 1970 debut album by

. Motown chief Berry Gordy did not like the record upon first hearing it. He hated the spoken-word passages and wanted the song to begin with the climactic chorus/bridge. It was not until radio stations nationwide were editing their own versions and adding it to their playlists that Ashford and Simpson were able to convince Gordy to release an edited three-minute version as a single. Ross' version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" rose to number one on both the pop and R&B singles charts, higher than Gaye/Terrell's version. Ross received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The song is performed in the key of C minor for most of the song, changing to D# minor towards its conclusion. In 2017, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" was remixed by Eric Kupper, StoneBridge and Chris Cox, amongst others, on Motown/

UMe ''Prunus mume'', the Chinese plum or Japanese apricot, is a tree species in the family Rosaceae. Along with bamboo, the plant is intimately associated with art, literature, and everyday life in China, from where it was then introduced to Kor ...

. The remix peaked at number one on ''Billboards Dance Club Songs chart. This song is featured in the soundtrack of the 2005 Disney animated movie '' Chicken Little'', in which the titular character goes to watch an in-universe movie at the cinema in the climax. This version is also featured in the fifteenth season of ''

RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the Drag Race (franchise), ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder (company), World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, ...

'' as a

lip sync Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , like the word ''sink'', despite the Hard and soft C, spelling of the participial forms ''synced'' and ''syncing''), short for lip synchronization, is a technical term for matching a Speech, speaking or singin ...

battle between the bottom two of the week, Princess Poppy and

Amethyst Amethyst is a Violet (color), violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek from - , "not" and (Ancient Greek) / (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from Alcohol into ...

, resulting in the former's elimination. This version was also featured in the eleventh episode of the fifteenth season on

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...

Personnel

* Lead vocals by

* Background vocals by Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson, Jo Armstead,

the Andantes The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by M ...

, Jimmy Beavers, Brenda Evans, and Billie Calvin * Instrumentation by

* Brass and strings by New York session musicians *Arranged by Paul Riser.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other notable covers

* In 1981, American

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

band Inner Life released their version, which reached No. 20 on the U.S. Dance chart. It is particularly noted for the 10 minute Larry Levan remix. * In 1981, Boys Town Gang recorded a medley of the song " Remember Me" together with "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". The single was a No. 5 U.S. Dance hit and a top 20 hit in Belgium and the Netherlands. * In 1991, Australian singer Jimmy Barnes released an album of soul remakes titled '' Soul Deep'', including his rock version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". His version reached No. 28 in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in 1992. * In 2003, Michael McDonald recorded his version for his studio album ''

''. The song was also released as a single, charting at No. 5 on the US Adult Contemporary chart. * In 2004, Jimmy Somerville recorded his version for his studio album '' Home Again''. The song was also released as a single, charting in Germany at number 88. * In 2018, a remix of the Diana Ross version reached No. 1 on the US Dance Club Songs chart. * In 2021, American singer Jennifer Hudson released a cover version, produced by fellow singer will.i.am. * In 2024, German Eurodance trio

Cascada Cascada (, Spanish language, Spanish, 'Waterfall'), is a German dance music act founded in 2004 by singer Natalie Horler and DJs/composers/ producers DJ Manian and DJ Yanou. They functioned as a trio from 2004 to 2021, with their last track ...

recorded a cover version for their studio album "Studio 24".

References

Sources

External links

Ain't No Mountain High Enough Lyrics
* (radio edit) * (album version) {{Authority control 1966 songs 1967 singles 1970 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Diana Ross songs Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Jimmy Barnes songs Male–female vocal duets Marvin Gaye songs Michael McDonald (musician) songs Motown singles Song recordings produced by Ashford & Simpson Song recordings produced by Harvey Fuqua Song recordings produced by Johnny Bristol Songs about mountains Songs written by Nickolas Ashford Songs written by Valerie Simpson Tamla Records singles Tammi Terrell songs

Background

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

The Supremes and Temptations version

Diana Ross solo version

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other notable covers

See also

References

Sources

External links