If you’ve never sung Ain’t No Mountain High Enough at the top of your lungs, you’re either lying or don’t know what you’re missing. The song written in 1966 is an anthem of encouragement and unconditional love, perfectly and iconically recorded by Tami Terrell and Marvin Gaye, later covered by Diana Ross, and to this day a classic beloved by generations. That’s why it’s always effective when it appears in movies or series, without fail, in The Morning Show.

Written by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, it was almost recorded by Dusty Springfield, but was first successful in 1967, in the version recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, three years before Diana Ross‘ version put it at number one on the Billboard charts. and being nominated for a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough was born out of a moment of strong emotion for Nickolas, feeling overwhelmed by the buildings of New York and determined to get ahead in life: Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Ain’t Valley Low Enough, To Keep Me From Getting to You.

Maybe because they were married and composed duets, but their material was perfect for Motown’s main duo, Marvin and Tammi, so the quartet worked together with several hits until the singer’s premature death in 1970. The original version from 1967 was an immediate top-20 hit and forever marked an already unforgettable musical duo. Transformed into a carefree, danceable, and romantic love song, it paved the way for other classics such as You’re All I Need to Get By, Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing and Your Precious Love. What makes it perfectly pop is the combination of what appears to be a physical passion, but in a gospel context, a reflection of how Valerie and Nickolas met: in a Harlem church.

The duo had already written a hit for Ray Charles in 1966, and were eyeing a contract with Motown, at that time singers were rarely songwriters, and had faith that Ain’t No Mountain High Enough would be, as he called it, “ the golden egg.” So much so that star Dusty Springfield liked the song (who doesn’t?) and wanted to record it, but the duo declined when they learned there was greater potential in Tammi’s voice. I already wrote about her here in Miscelana, an emotional story. She, who was Marvin Gaye’s third female duet partner at Motown, was undoubtedly the most memorable of all, much more than Mary Wells and Kim Weston. Tammi was being groomed to be one of the label’s biggest stars, starting with Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.

Being in the top 20, but not number 1, was not what was expected, but it showed the potential. It was Marvin, who was already a star, who identified her as his perfect vocal counterpart, and because they were beautiful, Motown marketed them as a couple, even if they were just friends. The brain tumor identified in 1967 cut a dream into pieces, and she died at the age of 24, a promise never fully realized. Unsurprisingly, her death impacted Marvin Gaye who released his masterpiece in the year of her death, none other than the album What’s Going On.

Today the original version of Ain’t No Mountain High Enough is even bigger than the Diana Ross version, although both are classics and used in cinema. Amy Winehouse sampled it for her spectacular Tears Dry On Their Own, which confirms its power of influence. In The Morning Show, Corey (Billy Crudup) sings it by surprise, on the piano, in an emotional moment with her mother (Lindsay Duncan), revealing a side to Bradley (Reese Witherspoon) that touches her. Like us. Until his mother warns: “It’s all thought out, the song, everything. It’s him manipulating you.” Wow, it worked because he has me in his pocket. And thanks to one of the greatest classics of all time. A song that always makes us sing and dance. And believe in the impossible.

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