"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is an R&B/soul song written by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson in 1966. The composition was first successful as a 1967 hit single recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell for the Tamla (Motown) label. The song became a hit a second time in 1970, when a cover by fellow Motown artist Diana Ross became a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award. Rhythm and blues (or R & B) is a musical marketing term introduced in the United States in the late 1940s by Billboard magazine. ... For other uses, see Soul music (disambiguation). ... This article is about the musical composition. ... Nickolas Ashford (born May 4, 1942, in Fairfield, South Carolina) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946 in The Bronx, New York) are a successful songwriting/ production team, as well as being recording artists in their own right. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... Marvin Gaye (born Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. ... Tammi Terrell (born Thomasina Montgomery) (April 29, 1945 – March 16, 1970) was an American Motown singer in the 1960s, best known for her duets with Marvin Gaye. ... Motown Records, Inc. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the author-illustrator, see Diana Ross (author). ... “Hot 100” redirects here. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

History

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell original

The original 1967 version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" was a top twenty hit. According to Gaye, Ashford, and Simpson, Terrell was a little nervous and intimidated during recording because she hadn't rehearsed the lyrics. Terrell recorded her vocals alone with producers Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol, who added Gaye's vocal at a later date. ^[1] "Ain't No Mountain" peaked at number nineteen on the Billboard pop charts, and went to number three on the R&B charts. Harvey Fuqua, born July 27, 1929 in Louisville, Kentucky is an African-American soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive. ... Johnny Bristol (born John William Bristol; February 3, 1939 - March 21, 2004), was an African American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s. ... Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry. ...

This original version of "Ain't No Mountain", produced by Harvey Fuqua and Johnny 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" and "Your Precious Love"). Harvey Fuqua, born July 27, 1929 in Louisville, Kentucky is an African-American soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive. ... Johnny Bristol (born John William Bristol; February 3, 1939 - March 21, 2004), was an African American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s. ... Youre All I Need to Get By was a 1968 hit for soul music legends Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. ... Your Precious Love was a 1967 hit by soul music legends Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. ...

The Gaye/Terrell version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, and is regarded today as one of the most important records ever released by Motown. The Grammy Hall of Fame Award is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old and that have qualitative or historical significance. Alphabetical listing by title: List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients A-D List of Grammy Hall... Events of 2008: (EMILY) Me Lesley and MIley are going to China! This article is about the year. ...

Diana Ross version

Three years later, things had changed. Terrell had died due to a brain tumor, Gaye was going through a personal change, and Diana Ross had left The Supremes to begin her solo career. After the mild success of her first single, "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)", Ashford and Simpson had Ross re-record "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". At first, Ross was apprehensive as she had already covered the song while still a member of the Supremes (see below), but was eventually convinced to make the recording. The new cover re-imagined Gaye and Terrell's love duet as a dramatic six-minute opus, primarily comprised of spoken word passages from Ross, with The Andantes, Jimmy Beavers, and Ashford and Simpson as backup singers. A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... For the author-illustrator, see Diana Ross (author). ... Although later retitled Aint No Mountain High Enough to get buyers into it thanks to the song of the same names absolute success, 1970s Diana Ross album was the ultimate test to see if the former Supremes frontwoman could make it as a solo act and with... is the 197th day of the year (198th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Soul music (disambiguation). ... In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Motown Records, Inc. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... For the author-illustrator, see Diana Ross (author). ... Reach Out and Touch (Somebodys Hand) was the debut solo single for Motown legend Diana Ross, released in 1970. ... A brain tumor is any intracranial tumor created by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division, normally either in the brain itself (neurons, glial cells (astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, ependymal cells), lymphatic tissue, blood vessels), in the cranial nerves (myelin-producing Schwann cells), in the brain envelopes (meninges), skull, pituitary and pineal gland, or... For other uses, see Supremes (disambiguation). ... Reach Out and Touch (Somebodys Hand) was the debut solo single for Motown legend Diana Ross, released in 1970. ... The Andantes were a prolific female session singing group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. ...

Motown chief Berry Gordy didn't like the record upon first hearing it. He hated the spoken-word vocals and wanted to cut right to the climactic chorus/bridge. It wasn't until radio stations around the country were editing down their own versions and adding it to their playlists that Ashford and Simpson were eventually able to convince him to release an edited three-minute version as a single. Ross' version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" rose up to number one on both the pop and R&B singles charts and Ross received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Berry Gordy, Jr. ... The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance is the latest in a series of awards recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. ...

Notable covers

Diana Ross had recorded a different version of this song, which was more faithful to the Terrell-Gaye '67 version, while Diana was still in The Supremes. The Supremes covered a duet version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" also with The Temptations. The song was an album cut from a joint LP released by Motown Records in 1968 on the two superstar groups, entitled "Diana Ross & the Supremes Join the Temptations." Diana Ross & the Supremes Join the Temptations is, as the title implies, a collaborative album combining Motowns two best selling groups, Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations. ...

1981 saw the recording by Inner Life of the underground dance classic "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", produced by Patrick Adams and Greg Carmichael, remixed by Larry Levan, and released on the Salsoul label. The same year saw an upbeat disco version by The Boys Town Gang who recorded it as a medley with another song by Ashford & Simpson: "Remember Me". The full version of this song is 13:53 and can be found on their album "Cruisin the Street". This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Patrick Peter Owen Adams, March 17, 1950, Harlem, New York City, New York State, U.S.A. is an American musician and music producer. ... Greg Carmichael Greg Carmichael (born January 1, 1953) is a long standing member of smooth jazz group Acoustic Alchemy. ... Larry Levan (born Lawrence Philpot, July 20, 1954 – died November 8, 1992, of AIDS) stands at the crossroads of disco, house music and garage music. ... Salsoul Records is a New York based record label co-founded by Joe Bataan. ...

Australian Rock legend Jimmy Barnes released a Motown-styled album, titled Soul Deep, in 1991 with twelve covers; one of them was his rock version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". Jimmy Barnes is a popular Australian rock singer. ...

In 1993, at the end of the film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, Whoopi Goldberg and most of the cast of the movie, including future neo-soul superstar Lauryn Hill, mixed both the Gaye/Terrell and Diana Ross solo versions of the song together for a performance of "Ain't No Mountain" at the climax of the film. The Gaye/Terrell version also frequently turns up, often as part of a sing-along, in "feel-good" movies, such as Remember the Titans and Stepmom. Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit is a 1993 movie starring the singer Whoopi Goldberg, and directed by Bill Duke. ... Whoopi Goldberg (born November 13, 1955) is an American actress, comedian, radio presenter, host, and author. ... Neo soul (also known as nu soul) is a music genre and an umbrella term for current soul music. ... Lauryn Noel Hill (born May 25, 1975) is an American singer, rapper, musician, record producer and film actress. ... Remember the Titans is an American drama film released in 2000. ... Stepmom is an American film made in 1998. ...

Former Doobie Brother Michael McDonald recorded the song as part of his "Motown" album in 2003. He also performed the song in a commercial for MCI. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Michael McDonald (born February 12, 1952, in St. ... MCI logo MCI, Inc. ...

Swedish pop band Play recorded the song for their 2003 album Replay. This version appeared in the trailer for the 2006 film Last Holiday. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Replay is an album by Play. ... Last Holiday is a film directed by Wayne Wang and starring Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Timothy Hutton and Alicia Witt and was filmed on-site in New Orleans, Louisiana and at Barrandov Studios, in the Czech Republic. ...

The Amy Winehouse song "Tears Dry On Their Own" for her latest album Back to Black uses the same background music arrangement as the original recording, along with a new melody and lyrics. Amy-Jade Winehouse (born 14 September 1983) is an English soul, jazz, R&B singer and songwriter. ... Because of Winehouses huge success with Rehab in the US, Tears Dry on Their Own was scheduled to be released from Amy Winehouses second album Back to Black on August 13, 2007 but it released date was pushed up to July 31, 2007. ... This article is about the album. ...

Allie Schulz and Chad Doreck, contestants on the show Grease: You're The One That I Want performed this song as a duet. Allie Schulz Allie Schulz (born c. ... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ...

The song has also been sung numerous times on the television show American Idol. Most recently, it was performed by Sanjaya Malakar on the Top 12 show. For the current American Idol season, see American Idol (season 7). ... Sanjaya Joseph Malakar (Bengali: সঞ্জয় মালাকার , IPA pronunciation: )[1] (born Sanjaya Shekar Malakar on September 10, 1989) was a finalist on the sixth season of American Idol. ...

Recently, Will Young and Kelly Clarkson recorded for the American Idol CD a duet of this song. William Robert Young BA (Exon) (born 20 January 1979) is a British singer and actor. ... Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American pop rock singer, songwriter, and occasional actress. ... For the current American Idol season, see American Idol (season 7). ... CD may stand for: Compact Disc Canadian Forces Decoration Cash Dispenser (at least used in Japan) CD LPMud Driver Centrum-Demokraterne (Centre Democrats of Denmark) Certificate of Deposit České Dráhy (Czech Railways) Chad (NATO country code) Chalmers Datorförening (computer club of the Chalmers University of Technology) a 1960s...

Musical

On November 5, 2007, the New York Daily News reported that Berry Gordy is pressing ahead for a Motown musical to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the label using the song's title. Smokey Robinson said that he hoped Gordy's musical will help convey Motown's true story, because "Dreamgirls was a pure fabrication."^{[citation needed]} is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... Daily News Building, John Mead Howells and Raymond Hood, architects, rendering by Hugh Ferriss. ... William Smokey Robinson, Jr. ... Dreamgirls is a Broadway musical, which opened on December 20, 1981 at the Imperial Theatre. ...

Credits

Gaye/Terrell version

• All vocals by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
• Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

Marvin Gaye (born Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. ... Tammi Terrell (born Thomasina Montgomery) (April 29, 1945 – March 16, 1970) was an American Motown singer in the 1960s, best known for her duets with Marvin Gaye. ... The Funk Brothers were the house band at Detroits Motown Records from 1959 to 1972, when the company moved to Los Angeles. ...

Ross version

• Lead Vocals by Diana Ross
• Background Vocals by Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson, Jimmy Beavers, and The Andantes: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps
• Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

For the author-illustrator, see Diana Ross (author). ... The Andantes were a prolific female session singing group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. ... The Funk Brothers were the house band at Detroits Motown Records from 1959 to 1972, when the company moved to Los Angeles. ...

Notes