Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

I may have just bitten off more than I can chew this month, but I’ve decided to toss my hat in the rink and join in the ever-so-much-fun A2Z Blogging Challenge this year.  


I first joined the annual A2Z challenge in 2015, but had to sideline myself in 2020 due to my health issues.  Technically, I am currently between treatment stages, so I said to myself - Why Not?


The theme I chose for this year is  

 

Greatest Hits as suggested by AI


It’s important to note that AI was only used for the song suggestion, not in the actual putting together of the post. 


With all that being said… let’s get this challenge started!




Today our suggested Greatest Hit is:  Ain’t No Mountain High Enough



Wikipedia tells us this about the song:


The song was written by Ashford and Simpson prior to joining Motown. British soul singer Dusty Springfield 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 similar verse melody in "I'm Gonna Leave You" on Dusty.

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. "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.






Be sure to check out today's Song of the Day as well!

Enjoy!




Comments

  1. Lovely. And wish you all the best. Please do take a look at my blog too: https://www.sundarivenkatraman.in/

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    1. Thank you! Looking forward to a great month of music.

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  2. Such a fun theme. You are off to a good start.

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  3. Best of luck to you in the A2Z challenge, dear Mary! AI picked a great song to start the blogfest off. I'm skipping the event this year again but I hope you have loads of fun! xo

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    1. Thanks Cathy! AI gave me a good list and I'm glad that I can share it.

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  4. Clever idea, using AI to select the songs. I always enjoy the back stories you provide, Mary. Good luck with the rest of the challenge!

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    1. Thanks Debbie! I stumbled across the AI list by accident, but it definitely made the process much easier.

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  5. A great choice for A. It will be interesting to see what AI selects for the other letters
    Debbie
    #AtoZChallenge

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    1. I was pleasantly surprised by the AI selections. I think you will be too.

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  6. Great choice for A. This one will be a lot of fun.
    Looking forward to seeing what you do all month long!
    --
    Tim Brannan, The Other Side blog
    2024 A to Z of Dungeons & Dragons, Celebrating 50 Years of D&D

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    1. Thanks Tim! I had a fun time putting together the posts for the month. Hope to have you visit the blog again!

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  7. Good song. https://uniquelymaladjustedbutfun.blogspot.com/

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  8. I like this song and there have been many versions of it, but I think my favourite is by Australia's Jimmy Barnes.

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    1. Not sure that I have heard that version. I will check it out. Thanks stopping by!

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  9. One of my all time favorite songs!

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    1. It really is a great song! Thanks for stopping by.

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  10. You're doing the A to Z?! Yay, you! Good one - right out of the gate! As I read about the songfacts, all I could think of was the movie (Stepmom) starring Julia Roberts and Susan Serandon, but I could NOT think of the name. Thanks for providing it ;-) Good song!

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    1. I went in search for possibilities for the theme and this AI list popped up. It made scheduling so much easier - especially with everything else going on in my life. Thanks for stopping by!

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  11. Can't do much better than Marvin and Tammi...

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    1. They really do a great job! Thanks for stopping by.

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  12. I love this song - it's in my Let's Sing game, so I get to have fun and sing it myself.
    Be interesting to see how many you've got that I can sing ;)

    My AtoZ rundown (updates daily) https://kaiberie.com/a-to-z-of-me-and-my-inspiration-atoz-2024/
    Kai

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    1. Let's Sing Game sounds intriguing. I may have to check it out. Thanks for stopping by!

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  13. One of my fav songs Mary.. and I am glad to see on the A-Z challenge as well..
    My A post is here

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    1. Thanks Vidya! It's good to be back in the challenge. Thanks for stopping by!

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  14. This is a cool way to choose. I would have thought they would have more hits because they sound so good. Did Dusty ever do a cover version of this song? Love the history you write about

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