Diana Ross - Ain't No Mountain High Enough (1970)

August 8, 1970 - 51 Years Ago Today: Diana Ross had the Hot Shot Debut at No. 46 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with her single, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." This dramatic power ballad version of the Top 20 1967 hit by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell was an instant smash at radio and retail and was Ross's 2nd solo chart entry and first solo No. 1 when it began a 3-week run at the top of the Hot 100 on September 19, 1970. The Nick Ashford/Valerie Simpson-penned song also enjoyed a single week atop the Billboard R&B Chart and peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard AC Chart. The single almost didn't happen due to Motown president, Berry Gordy, Jr., dislike of the spoken intro and felt the song wasn't commercial enough to release. The original album version had a running time of over six minutes. After radio DJ's began playing the long version of the song and creating their own edits, Ashford & Simpson were able to convince Gordy to release an edited version of the song. He finally had his label release a 45 rpm version with a running time of three and a half minutes. The single has arguably become Ross's most famous solo signature song and the single was certified Gold for sales in excess of one million copies sold in the U.S. alone. It also earned Ross a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal but she lost to Dionne Warwick for her hit, "I'll Never Fall In Love Again." Diana Ross was the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2007 and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. Please click the following link to view the accompanying video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpJxBw40kfU



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