"River Deep – Mountain High" is a song by
Ike & Tina Turner
Ike & Tina Turner was an American musical duo consisting of husband-and-wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocalists, the Ikettes. ...
released on
Philles Records as the title track to their
1966 studio album. Produced by
Phil Spector
Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...
and written by Spector,
Jeff Barry and
Ellie Greenwich. ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' ranked "River Deep – Mountain High" No. 33 on their list of the
500 Greatest Songs of All Time. ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' ranked it No. 37 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
added it to the list of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.
[
] The song was inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
The single did not perform well upon its original release in the US, but it was successful in Europe. Spector claimed to be pleased with the response from the critics and his peers,
but he then withdrew from the
music industry
The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...
for two years, beginning his personal decline. After a revival of the song from covers by
Eric Burdon and the Animals and
Deep Purple in 1968, the original version was reissued by
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...
in 1969.
Background
Phil Spector had seen the
Ike & Tina Turner Revue perform at a club on the
Sunset Strip and invited them to appear on ''
The Big T.N.T. Show''. Spector was impressed by
Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...
and wanted to use her voice with
the Wrecking Crew, and his "
Wall of Sound" production technique. He went to the Turners' house, and struck a deal with
Ike Turner to produce Tina. Ike agreed, but wanted the recordings to be credited to Ike & Tina Turner.
At the time, they were signed to
Loma Records (a subsidiary of
Warner Bros.). Spector negotiated a deal with Ike & Tina Turner's manager Bob Krasnow, who was also head of Loma. He offered $20,000 ($ in ) to have them released from their contract.
After Mike Maitland (then president at Warner Bros.) gave them their release, they signed with Spector's
Philles Records.
Recording
"River Deep – Mountain High" was the first recording that Tina Turner did for
Philles at
Gold Star Studios
Gold Star Studios was an independent recording studio located in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, California. In its entire history, Gold Star was one of the most successful commercial recording studios in the world.
Founded by David S. Gold ...
. It was written by Phil Spector,
Jeff Barry and
Ellie Greenwich. The track cost a then unheard-of $22,000
($ in ), and required 21 session musicians.
After several rehearsals, and two sessions for the musicians to lay down a backing track, Spector got Tina Turner into the studio on March 7, but she was unable to provide what he wanted. The following week she returned to the studio with Ike Turner.
Due to Spector's perfectionism and tendency to abuse workers in the studio, he made her sing the song over and over for several hours until he felt he had the perfect vocal take for the song. She recalled, "I must have sung that 500,000 times. I was drenched with sweat. I had to take my shirt off and stand there in my bra to sing."
It was reported that
the Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...
'
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...
attended the session, where he sat "transfixed" and "did not say a word".
When Spector inducted Ike & Tina Turner into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
in 1991, he revealed in his speech that he had invited Ike Turner to play guitar in the session for "River Deep – Mountain High", but Turner did not show up.
The recording of the song was later dramatized for Tina Turner's 1993 biographical film, ''
What's Love Got to Do with It''.
Personnel
*Lead vocals:
Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...
*Background vocals:
Darlene Love,
Fanita James,
Jean King, Gracia Nitzsche,
Clydie King
*Composer lyricists:
Phil Spector
Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...
,
Jeff Barry, and
Ellie Greenwich
*Producer:
Phil Spector
Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...
*Arranger:
Jack Nitzsche
*Musicians:
Leon Russell (keyboards),
Michel Rubini (piano),
Jim Horn (saxophone),
Barney Kessel (guitar),
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...
(guitar),
Earl Palmer (drums),
Carol Kaye (bass guitar),
Frank Capp (percussion)
Release and reception
Reviewing the single, ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' wrote: "Exciting dance beat production backs a wailin' Tina vocal on a solid rock tune penned by Barry and Greenwich." ''
Record World'' predicted that "this will be known as the classic Phil Spector record," stating that "everything goes on while Tina screams her love lyric." It entered the lower end of the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and stopped at No. 88 on the pop chart. The disappointing chart performance resulted in the album being shelved in the US. Spector was so disillusioned that he ceased involvement in the recording industry totally for two years, and only intermittently returned to the studio after that. He effectively became a recluse and began to self-destruct.
Ike Turner remarked that "if Phil had released the record and put anybody else's name on it, it would have been a huge hit. But because Tina Turner's name was on it, the white stations classified it an
R&B record and wouldn't play it. The white stations say it was too black, and the black stations say it was too white, so that record didn't have a home."
Writer
Michael Billig speculated that although earlier records which had mixed black singers with a white pop sound had sold well, by 1966 the black political movement was encouraging African Americans to take pride in their own culture, and "River Deep – Mountain High" was out of step with that movement.
The single, released on
London Records
London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
in Europe, was a hit overseas. It peaked at No. 3 in the UK, No. 9 in the Netherlands, and it reached No. 1 in Spain.
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...
praised the record,
declaring it "a perfect record from start to finish. You couldn't improve on it."
Reissues
After "River Deep – Mountain High" was revived by other bands, Ike & Tina Turner's original version was reissued by
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...
in 1969. It has since gained the recognition Spector wanted for the record. Reviewing the single, ''
Record World'' called it a "classic, perhaps the greatest single of all time."
Ike & Tina Turner recorded different renditions of the song without Spector's "Wall of Sound" production style. A version on the 1973 album ''
Nutbush City Limits'' was released as a single titled "River Deep, Mountain High 1974" on
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B.
History Genres
In 1958 ...
in France. Another version from an undetermined year was released on the 1991 compilation ''
Proud Mary: The Best of Ike & Tina Turner.''
Tina Turner recorded a few solo versions, in 1986, 1991 and 1993. Tina included live performances on her albums, ''
Tina Live in Europe'' and ''
Tina Live''.
Chart performance
Certifications
The Supremes and the Four Tops version
In 1970, their post-Diana Ross era,
the Supremes
The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...
and
the Four Tops released a version. Produced by
Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, the single was one of several recordings that paired the two
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 ...
groups. The Supremes and Four Tops cover, included on the 1970 LP ''
The Magnificent 7'', with its soaring vocals and string section, peaked at No. 7 on the soul chart and No. 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1971, making it the highest-charting version of the song in the United States. Their version also peaked No. 11 on the
UK Singles Chart, No. 23 in Belgium, and No. 25 on Netherlands'
MegaCharts
Dutch Charts, GfK Dutch Charts, MegaCharts is a chart company responsible for producing a number of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Single Top 100 and the Album Top 100 are the most known ones. It is owned by German market researc ...
.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Other notable covers
A ten-minute version was recorded by
Deep Purple for their 1968 album, ''
The Book of Taliesyn''. An edited version was released as a single in the United States and reached number 53 in early 1969 and number 42 on the Canadian ''
RPM'' charts. It had a progressive rock sound to it, as Deep Purple had not yet adopted the
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
sound for which they are most famous.
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...
covered the song on her 1996 album ''
Falling Into You''. At first, Phil Spector showed interest in producing the album track, but left the project;
Jim Steinman took over as producer. Spector was unimpressed by Steinman's efforts, calling Steinman a "bad clone" of himself. Dion had previously performed the song in some of her concerts, as included in her live album ''
Live à Paris
''Live à Paris'' (English: "live in Paris") is the third live album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released on 21 October 1996 by Sony Music. It features primarily French-language songs, mainly from '' D'eux'' (1995), but also includes " The P ...
'', recorded in 1995.
Amber Riley and
Naya Rivera covered the song on episode four ("
Duets") of the second season of Fox television show ''
Glee
Glee may refer to:
* Glee (music), a type of English choral music
* ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy
* ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album)
* ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album)
* Gle ...
''. Their version peaked at number 41 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...
performed the song at the 2021
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
induction ceremony in tribute to Tina Turner.
References
External links
List of cover versions of songBBC.co.uk: Sold on Song - "River Deep - Mountain High"Ralph MacLean
{{DEFAULTSORT:River Deep - Mountain High
1966 songs
1966 singles
1968 singles
1969 singles
1970 singles
1971 singles
Ike & Tina Turner songs
Songs written by Ellie Greenwich
Songs written by Jeff Barry
Songs written by Phil Spector
Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements
Song recordings produced by Phil Spector
The Supremes songs
Four Tops songs
Tina Turner songs
The Animals songs
Deep Purple songs
Song recordings produced by Tom Wilson (record producer)
MGM Records singles
Motown singles
Philles Records singles
A&M Records singles
London Records singles
Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
Number-one singles in Spain
Songs about rivers
Songs about mountains