Album: River Deep - Mountain High (1966)

Charted: 3 88

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• When I was a little girl
  I had a rag doll
  Only doll I've ever owned
  Now I love you just the way I loved that rag doll
  But only now my love has grown
  
  And it gets stronger, in every way
  And it gets deeper, let me say
  And it gets higher, day by day
  
  And do I love you, my oh my
  Yeah, river deep, mountain high, yeah, yeah, yeah
  If I lost you would I cry
  Oh how I love you baby, baby, baby, baby
  
  When you were a young boy
  Did you have a puppy
  That always followed you around?
  Well, I'm gonna be as faithful as that puppy
  No, I'll never let you down
  
  'Cause it grows stronger, like a river flows
  And it gets bigger baby, and heaven knows
  And it gets sweeter baby, as it grows
  
  And do I love you, my oh my
  Yeah, river deep, mountain high, yeah, yeah, yeah
  If I lost you would I cry
  Oh, how I love you baby, baby, baby, baby
  
  I love you baby, like a flower loves the spring
  And I love you baby, like Robin loves to sing
  And I love you baby, like a school boy loves his pet
  And I love you baby, river deep, mountain high
  
  Do I love you, my oh my, oh yeah
  River deep, mountain high, yeah, yeah, yeah
  If I lost you would I cry
  Oh, how I love you baby, baby, baby, baby Writer/s: Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, Phil Spector
  Publisher: BMG Rights Management, Songtrust Ave, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, TuneCore Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 33

• AnonymousDid they record a slow version of river deep mountain high?
• Mr. Nelson from TexasI still can’t believe this wasn’t a hit in the United States.
• Unknown from PhiladelphiaHeard river deep album when was ten years old in the sixties we had to sneak hearing it only adults allowed to hear it. Tina Turner and even Ike were way ahead of there time.
• Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn this day in 1967 {March 25th} Dobie Gray performed his covered version of "River Deep, Mountain High"* on the Dick Clark ABC-TV Saturday-afternoon program, 'American Bandstand'...
  The month before Capitol Records released "River Deep, Mountain High", it was backed with another cover version, "Tennessee Waltz", neither side made Billboard's Top 100 chart...
  Between 1963 and 1978 the Texas native had eight records on the Top 100 chart, one made the Top 10, "Drift Away", it peaked at #5 {for 1 week} on May 6th, 1973...
  Mr. Gray, born Lawrence Darrow Brown, passed away at the age of 71 on December 6th, 2011...
  May he R.I.P.
  * "River Deep, Mountain High" was originally released by Ike & Tina Turner, the duo's version peaked at #88 in 1966. Two covered versions have made the Top 100 chart, Deep Purple's version reached #53 {for 2 weeks} in 1969 and the Supremes and Four Tops' duet version peaked at #14 {for 3 weeks} in 1971...
• Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn May 22nd 1966, "River Deep - Mountain High" by Ike and Tina Turner entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #98; the next week it was at #94, then to #93, and on its 4th and final week on the chart it peaked at #88...
  Between 1960 and 1975 the duo had twenty Top 100 records; with one making the Top 10, a covered version of "Proud Mary" which peaked at #4 in 1971...
  They had better success on the Billboard R&B Singles chart; on that chart they had six Top 10 records with two reaching #2, "A Fool in Love" in 1960 and "It's Gonna Work Out Fine" in 1961.
• Randy from Fayettevile, ArFantastic song with the great vocals of Tina Turner. I cannot understand why this wasn't a hit in the US while it became a big hit in the UK and other countries. I wasn't born when it was released in '66, but I heard of it later on. It was on a CD compilation of hits produced by Phil Spector & I went absolutely bazookas over it! The production was top quality by Spector. It's puzzling why it wasn't a hit in the USA, unless it was sabotaged by Spector's music business enemies. Perhaps? What a great sounding ending too!
• Bubblesk from Memphis, TnIn 1966, I was working in L.A. and heard this grand song and loved it right away. I loved Spector's Wall of Sound records anyway! But my relatives back home in Memphis told me they never heard it on the radio station in the area in '66, even though Spector's records back then were normally popular there. Then, I heard that Spector's recording industry enemies had something to do with influencing radio stations not to play the record. I never learned whether this was true or not. I do know that Phil had a reputation of being very difficult in the music industry. But his production work genius usually balanced things out. In the early 1980's, I got a cassette compilation "Phil Spector's Greatest Hits" on International Records, London, England that contained this song. It sure brought back good memories of 1966 and Los Angeles' music scene! Since then, I hear that Rolling Stone magazine voted the song by Tina Turner as #32 on their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Fantastic. This song gets in your blood because of the intense build-up and then the climactic ending. WOW!
• Elmer H from Westville, OkI still love this song from 1966. In 1969, while with the US Army in Vietnam, I had my R&R in Singapore & bought a cassette of "Phil Spector's Greatest Hits" released on a British label and it included this song. It was on chrome tape & sounded absolutely fantastic and had crisp sound (considering it was mono) that just brought out the Wall of Sound like I've never heard before. Tina's powerful vocals were spine-chilling! I still have the cassette,but it has been retired to my memorabilia boxes. It was much later that I learned that the sad reason this song didn't chart higher in the USA was due to the self-centered, corrupt DJs across the USA who, for their own reasons, held grudges against Phil Spector so they either refused to play it or played it very little in 1966. The radio DJs from the Sixties ranged from good to damned rotten disgraces. I loved Tina's work released earlier in the Sixties on Sue Records (A Fool In Love, It's Gonna Work Out Fine) and her fantastic work on Liberty Records in the 1970s just sent me to the moon. What a woman! Shut mah mouth..........
• Matthew from Toronto, OnIt's scary to think that this song was relegated to the garbage heap while junk like "Wild Thing" and "Hanky Panky" soared to the top. Whatever you think of Phil Spector personally (then or now), there is no doubt this was an audacious, dynamic production and deserved to be heard. The reason it bombed is because DJ's refused to pay it, either 'cause they hated Spector or because they weren't being paid to promote it. Either way, it just shows that hits were picked not by the public, but by the guys in the backrooms. A shame. George Harrison loved it.
• Bruce from Dallas, TxI feel RIVER DEEP bombed in the US precisely BECAUSE of Tina Turner's overwhelming vocals and guttural style. YES, a great rendition, but to be accepted when released in '66 it needed more of a POLISHED delivery, the kind that the RONETTES used. If the RONETTES had released RIVER DEEP I think it would have been the hit Phil Spector wanted!
• Jack Taylor from Maumee, OhPhil believed very strongly in this song and part of his dispair/depression when it only hit #88 had to do with his already having presssed a few of the River deep Mountain high lps on his own Philles label that he was going to send out to his favorite radio stations and then release commercially once this 45 took off as he was sure it would!!!of course when it tanked in the US he cancelled production of an lp cover and apparently destroyed all but a couple of the lps...hard for his ego to accept this failure
• Teresa from Mechelen, BelgiumSurely the best song of the songwriting team of Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. When Ellie died on August 26? I felt very sad. Thank you for all your beautiful songs. R.I.P.
• Teresa from Mechelen, BelgiumMessage to Kristin : normal that the original version of Ike and Tina Turner only arrived at place 88, they didn't want to play this song on the radio. In the UK, the Netherlands, the Flanders(the north of Belgium where people speak Dutch) we could hear it all the time; that's why in the UK it went up to the 3th place. It's just a great song from super producer Phil Spector.
• Kristin from Bessemer, AlEven though I have never heard much of the Ike and Tina Turner version, The(New)Supremes and the Four Tops charted better with their version, reaching #14 on the Hot 100 in 1970-1971 - Ike and Tina Turner's version only made it to number 88 in mid 1966.
• Madison from Norway, MeYes, he's an eccentric, crazy guy but you can't deny Phil Spector's genius in the studio....
• Teresa from Mechelen, BelgiumRight Susan, it's "I love you baby like a robin loves to sing"; a very good song with strong lyrics.
• Susan from New York, NyWrong bird mentioned in these lyrics--It's a robin loves to sing, not a bluebird
• David from Youngstown, OhThe late George Harrison once described this song as "a perfect record from start to finish."
• Teresa from Mechelen, BelgiumI can't understand this song flopped in the US, in Europe it was a superhit; never heard a better song than this. Phil Spector can be proud of his masterpeace, he just did it, it's super, it's Spector, it's Spectorcular!!!!!!
• Elias from Oost-souburg, NetherlandsOn the 1998 album Absolutely The Best there is a new version of this. Anyone knows when this was made?
• Lisa from Alabaska, AlAlthough his song is listed as Ike and Tina Turner, Ike had nothing to do with the song. Phil Spector specifically wanted Tina. Ike had a hidden jealousy about this.
• Maxi from Gold CoastJimmy Barnes does a fantastic version of this song on his Soul Deep album. Tina and him should do a duet. It would rock.
• Brad from Cleveland, OhThe Supremes & The Four Tops' version of this song in 1971 charted at #14 on the Pop charts in the U.S. It charted higher than the original version by Tina Turner.
• Justine from Paris, FranceCÃ?line Dion did well record this song, anyway for France. But no other interpretation can equal this from Tina Turner. This is one of the best songs ever recorded.
• Dee from Indianapolis, InI heard this song done by Erasure off The Innocents album, which is a great musical experience. I was unaware who originally did it until now. Interesting to say the least, but I will always know it as an Erasure tune.
• Ross from Independence, MoThis is #32 in Rolling Stone's list of 500 greatest songs.
• Teresa from Mechelen, BelgiumAlthough I love all the songs of Phil Spector,
  "River deep, mountain high" can be considered his masterpiece. It's a great song, a perfect harmony between Tina Turner's voice and Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound". I already liked the song in 1966, but I was too young to appreciate its real value. I just love it, it's very perfect, very Spector. Waaah!
• Chris from Bluffton, ScMy personal favorite version of this is by Bob Seger from his 1970 album Mongrel. One of his best performances. As the CD is out of print and is ridiculously expensive to buy, you'll probably have to download the song (legally, of course :D).
• Mel from Hokitika, New ZealandOf all the people that have ever sung this song, you cannot beat Tina Turner. With the exception of Jimmy Barnes.
• Kirsty from Glasgow, ScotlandHarry Nilsson recorded this on his album "Pandamonium Shadow Show
• Dave from Cardiff, WalesErasure covered this on the 1988 album "The Innocents".
• Piggy from Ns, CanadaThat would be: I love you like a schoolboy loves his pie
• Gayle from Sydney, AustraliaI love you baby like a school boy loves his??????

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