“River Deep – Mountain High” is a 1966 single performed by Tina Turner and credited to Ike & Tina Turner. Written by Spector, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich, and considered by producer Phil Spector to be his best work, the single was successful in Europe, peaking at number 3 in the United Kingdom, and peaking at number 16 in Australia though it flopped on its original release in the United States. After Eric Burdon and the Animals covered the song in 1968, it was re-released a year later, and has since become one of Tina Turner’s signature songs, though it charted even lower, “bubbling under” at number 112. In 1999, “River Deep – Mountain High” was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame. (More from Wikipedia)
Phil Spector perfected his renowned “Wall of Sound” technique while making girl group records, where massive amounts of music were recorded together with a subtle echo effect. “Sleigh Ride” by the Ronettes and “Da Doo Ron Ron” by the Crystals are cited as being prime examples of this technique. Phil Spector himself says that he reached his peak with the recording of “River Deep, Mountain High” by Ike and Tina Turner; George Harrison has called that song “a perfect record from start to finish”.
(October 2013)
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Wikipedia reports: “[Carol Kaye]’s intense solo bass line, reverberating in quiet moments in [Phil] Spector’s production of [Ike and Tina Turner’s] ‘River Deep, Mountain High’, lent drama to the song’s ‘Wall of Sound’ and helped lift the record into the Grammy Hall of Fame.”
(February 2015)
