It was some of the wonderful achievements in 60s music, rising from a fragile opening to a shattering climax. If the 60s gave us the love technology, right here was an anthem full of affection. If soul was about bodily ardour in a gospel context, this track is its apex. Stuffed with artistry, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” is, fittingly, a pop pinnacle.
Although its roots lie in gospel, the track was impressed by a stroll via Central Park, Manhattan, and the mountain of the title was town’s skyscrapers, representing the ambition of songwriter Nick Ashford. He’d met his spouse and composing companion, Valerie Simpson, in 1964 at a Harlem church, and, alongside fellow-writer Jo Armstead, made a significant breakthrough with 1966’s “Let’s Go Get Stoned,” a smash for Ray Charles. However Ashford and Simpson had an eye fixed on a contract at Motown, and believed {that a} new composition, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” was what Ashford referred to as “the golden egg.” Dusty Springfield heard it and favored it, however the canny tunesmiths held on to it, believing this shifting track may present leverage at Motown. It did.
“We thought it was fantastic”
Tammi Terrell was Marvin Gaye’s third feminine duet companion at Motown. He’d already loved hits with Mary Wells and Kim Weston, however each give up the corporate, leaving Marv to pursue solo success. And Marvin actually did see himself as a solo artist, saying, “I didn’t start with a group. I started as a singular performer. There was a group of us in church, and my [preacher] father used to call me up singularly… which was rather frightening at first. I guess I came on.”
Motown signed Tammi Montgomery in 1965; previously of James Brown’s revue, she’d recorded a couple of singles at different labels. Motown renamed her Tammi Terrell and, after some moderate-selling solo releases, determined to strive her as Gaye’s feminine foil, beginning with “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” Gaye stated: “That was a good beginning because I had no idea Tammi was as good a singer as she turned out to be. I hadn’t had a chance to hear her. Some people [at Motown] who were on their toes dug her sound and realized we may possibly make a good duet. Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson wrote “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and we thought it was incredible. An incredible piece of fabric.”
Materials is the proper phrase. The singers recorded their components individually, producers Johnny Bristol and Harvey Fuqua stitched them collectively. At the moment, sound recordsdata ping throughout the web and collaborations occur with out artists even assembly, however in 1967, duets have been usually recorded collectively. Even so, the document appears like Marvin and Tammi have been united within the studio, urging one another larger and better. Pop by no means felt extra intimate or ecstatic.
Insurmountably very good
Launched on April 20, 1967, the track made a disappointing No.19 within the US, although it’s now considered a traditional. Marvin shortly realized Tammi was his excellent vocal counterpart and Motown marketed them as a gorgeous younger couple, according to late-60s beliefs. However tragedy struck when Tammi collapsed onstage alongside Marvin on October 14, 1967; she was recognized with a mind tumor. Aged simply 24, she handed away on March 16, 1970, forsaking a number of the most uplifting data ever recorded, regardless of her debilitating decline. Her demise is claimed to have contributed to Marvin Gaye’s battle with melancholy, which fed his fretful masterpiece, What’s Going On.
“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” continued to soar. In 1968, The Supremes and The Temptations recorded it collectively, with Diana Ross and the Tempts’ highly effective new lead singer, Dennis Edwards, fronting it. Ashford and Simpson, by now Motown backroom royalty, created an bold symphonic reimagining for Ross, which made No.1 in 1970. The track has been recorded and sampled quite a few occasions since, most notably by Amy Winehouse, who used Marvin and Tammi’s model to create her sensible however bleak ballad “Tears Dry On Their Own.” However for a lot of followers, the unique stays insurmountably very good.
Hearken to the perfect of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell on Apple Music and Spotify.
