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!