(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
Diana Ross - "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"
Hit Number 1: September 19, 1970
Stay at Number 1: 3 Weeks
The more that I go along in this blog, the more I realize that Motown's founder Berry Gordy must have been difficult to work with. If there is one thing he should've known, it was that Diana Ross was a hit machine - the golden girl of Motown Records. Still, Gordy needed to be sold on one of Ross' first solo records, and initially he wasn't. Songwriters Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson wrote the song "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" for Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, who surprisingly only took it to #19 on the Hot 100. (Their version is an 8) Gaye and Terrell, of course, were fellow products of Motown. It's possible that Ashford and Simpson weren't satisfied with Gaye and Terrell's version failing to make the top 10, and turned to Ross to perhaps take it higher.
Gordy wasn't as convinced that that was a good idea, and neither was Ross at first. Ross eventually changed her mind, and agreed to record the song. Her version is a lot different from the original, where as the original was a classic upbeat Motown stomper, Ross' version is gospel-like. It's the kind of thing you'd expect to hear in the middle of a church sermon. Funny enough, Ross already recorded the song once while she was a member of the Supremes, and it was a collab with the Temptations. That song was an album cut from Diana Ross & the Supremes Join the Temptations, and was never released as its own single. That version still sounded a lot like the Gaye and Terrell original. It's understandable why Gordy wasn't sold on the reworked gospel version, but you would think that he would have more trust in his most successful artist to that point. (Obviously Michael Jackson would eventually pass her)
Gordy said that he hated the spoken-word dialogue and wanted the song to start with the same chorus/bridge that Gaye and Terrell's version did. Gordy was stubborn, and only agreed to finally release it when radio stations edited the song and played it. His hand was forced, and after it became a #1 hit, he probably wanted to slap himself in the face for not wanting to release it at first. In a way, I can actually see Gordy's hesitation. I prefer the Gaye/Terrell version. Ross' version is a little too glitzy for me, and I feel like it's been "overproduced." However, it's still a quality record, and the backing choir does give it a grand gospel feel. One that is still enjoyable. Ross also continues to show off her voice, and doesn't overdo it. At the end of the day, I appreciate the newer version for what it is, but give me the Gaye/Terrell version any day.
GRADE: 6/10
JUST MISSED:
CCR's 5th and final #2 hit, the fun country rock sing-along "Lookin' Out My Back Door", peaked at #2 behind "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". It's an 8. (Seriously, I can't believe how unlucky these guys were)
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