Ike and Tina Turner – River Deep, Mountain High

I’ve never been a huge fan of Phil Spector. He did produce some classic songs that I really like but sometimes he went crazy with the Wall of Sound and reverb a little too much. This one to me, is one of his greatest recordings.

The song has an epic and massive feel to it. It was written by Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, and Phil Spector. Greenwich and Barry were married from 1962-1965 but kept working together after their divorce. They were one of the most successful songwriting teams of the sixties. The song was written for Tina Turner because her strong-as-hell voice would cut through.

Phil Spector put everything he could into this song. The song was, Spector thought, destined to be his masterpiece. He didn’t want Ike Turner around trying to change things so he gave Ike 20,000 dollars to NOT show up at the studio. Phil wanted to hand-pick the musicians that backed Tina Turner. The song would still have his name but Ike happily counted his money and stayed at home. Ike Turner knew he won either way. If it was a hit he would prosper and if not…he would take charge again…which he did.

Spector hadn’t had a hit for eighteen months and he was obsessed with the production of this one song for around six months. It was going to be his masterpiece. Some thought it was. George Harrison called it a perfect record. Brian Wilson was floored. But the masses had moved on. “River Deep Mountain High” was a hit in England — and a total flop in America.

The song peaked at #88 on the Billboard 100, #3 in the UK, and #62 in Canada in 1966.  After the failure of the song in America, Phil Spector was devastated and went into seclusion and didn’t produce anything for a few years.

Phil Spector:  “I just wanted to go crazy for four minutes on wax.”

River Deep – Mountain High

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 strong, 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 a 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

Baby baby baby oh baby
Awh awwwwwwwwwww

Do I love you my oh my, yeah
River deep, mountain high
If I lost you would I cry
Oh how I love you baby, baby, baby, baby

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

47 thoughts on “Ike and Tina Turner – River Deep, Mountain High”

  2. Re-issued @ January 1969 in UK, this is one of the early songs I remember vividly. Other than the Beatles of course. I’d have been 11 years old and I recall NOT the original version, but it being on one of these cheap ‘Top of the Pops’ compilations where the songs are performed by session musicians.
    I’m puzzled though as I the original had release dates in 1966 and 1969, but I’m pretty sure the compilation I’m thinking of was from the early ’70s with likes of ‘T Rex’ and other ‘Lobo’ on it.
    Gonna bug me all day, now. 😀 😀

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  3. Normally I like musicians and think producers should be more or less invisible, but this was his masterpiece. As for Ike & Tina, I really liked their Blue Thumb album featuring Albert Collins “The Master of the Telecaster”. Some classic blues songs on that album, with the title track by Booker T & the MGs (“The Hunter”). I didn’t know the story about Ike being paid to stay home.

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  4. Another great disconnect between a great song and the charts. Like you said it was a matter of timing. Some good stuff in this today, I too didn’t know about the Ike dismissal I guess you could call it. You look at that live clip and are reminded that there was no one like her. Amazing.

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  5. i can’t believe this is the first time i’ve ever heard this song. so, it is tina– and sure, there’s better, but it’s tina!– so how could you not love it? the intro dancing, alone, makes it worth watching. thanks so much for sharing! ❤

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  7. Well he didn’t miss entirely, it was big in Britain which is something. I like his production but his gift (if it was his) was having the right artists for it… it wouldn’t have fit a lot of groups or singers but in this case, or say the Righteous Brothers or Ronnettes, it worked perfectly.

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    1. Yea it’s still a mystery on why this song wasn’t big over here…it had everything you would want. This may be where is break down began…but no it probably started earlier.

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    1. I agree…I just never liked that at all. He made some of those Righteous Brothers sound like they were in a bathroom recording…. it worked with the Ronettes but not with others.

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    1. I read stories of him shooting a pistol in the studio and things like that…I can’t believe people still worked with him…since he didn’t have a hit in years after this.

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    1. Perhaps a bit over-produced, but I think he was trying to make his ‘STATEMENT.’ It is OTT, but it’s definitely the one you can say of Crazy Phils work, ‘here’s a prime example…’

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      1. For sure, Ob. There is a song he does on All Things Must Pass that makes me cringe. IIRC at some point George said, “enough” for Phil and either he or someone else produced the rest. I’m sure you or Max or somebody else knows the skinny on that.

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  12. I can’t imagine why this recording flopped here in the US. It has knocked my socks off since the first time I heard it. I think that was in the early days of Youtube, or on UK’s Radio Caroline. But I can’t watch those old clips of Tina performing. They are too haunting, knowing what Ike did to her life offstage. I wonder if the public was finding out about Ike by then and not comfortable listening and watching.

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    1. I do like it also…it makes no sense at all over here. This is one that I liked Spector’s production.
      Well later on they had a huge hit with Proud Mary…but yea Ike was awful. Ironic…Ike and Phil Spector treated Tina and Ronnie Spector terrible.

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  15. It’s interesting that the recording was listed as being by Ike & Tina Turner when Ike had nothing to do with it. The Four Tops and the later iteration of The Supremes had more success with their collaboration of the song a few years later in 1970, with their version reaching #14 on the Hot 100 and #7 on the R&B charts.

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    1. I need to listen to that version.
      Yea he probably thought he needed the pair’s name to sell it…I’m still puzzled that it didn’t hit over here. Tina did a great job on it.

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  17. classic. Hard to understand why this flopped in the US and even harder to believe a fairly MOR cover by The Supremes & The Four Tops (both icons, otherwise) got the big hit 5 years later. The song works in other genres, so it’s not as if that is the problem. Legend has it US DJ’s didn’t like it being so long…?

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    1. I’m totally lost on why this flopped over here. It was/is a great song. The others hitting with it didn’t make sense to me either. I guess wrong timing but that doesn’t really make sense.

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