“River Deep, Mountain High” (Ike & Tina Turner)

In honor of Tina Turner’s passing, today’s classic song of the day is the Wall of Sound classic, “River Deep, Mountain High.” Produced by the legendary Phil Spector for Ike & Tina Turner, this one was released in May of 1966 but only rose to #88 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Everybody, Phil Spector included, expected “River Deep, Mountain High” to do a lot better. Spector regarded this track as his magnum opus, the culmination of everything he’d been working towards since his first recording session back in 1959. The fact that it tanked, at least relevant to expectations, pretty much put an end to the Wall of Sound and a lid on Spector’s career—at least until he hooked up with the Beatles for their Let It Be album in 1970.

“River Deep, Mountain High” was written by Brill Building songwriters Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, with an official assist by Mr. Spector. Jack Nitzsche did the Wagnerian arrangement and the backing musicians included members of the Wrecking Crew, including Leon Russell on keyboards, Michel Rubini on piano, Jim Horn on saxophone, Barney Kessel and Glen Campbell on guitars, Carol Kaye on bass, Frank Capp on percussion, and Earl Palmer on drums. The final instrumental track featured 21 musicians, took two sessions to record, and cost a then-unheard-of $22,000.

Tina Turner laid down her vocals a few days after the instrumental tracks were recorded. As was his want, Spector made her sing the song over and over and over until he got the take he wanted. As Ms. Turner recalls:

“I must have sung that 500,000 times. I was drenched with sweat. I had to take my shirt off and stand there in my bra to sing.”

Interestingly, even though Ike Turner is credited along with his then-wife Tina as the main artist, he didn’t play on the record. Legend has it that Mr. Spector paid Ike, a notorious control freak (much like Spector himself), to stay out of the studio that day. Spector later refuted that account, saying he’d invited Ike to play guitar but he failed to show up for the session, which apparently wasn’t uncommon.

The track itself is a marvel. “River Deep, Mountain High” is wonderfully over-the-top from start to finish, using those 21 musicians to create the ultimate Wall of Sound over which only Tina Turner’s vocals could ascend. Ms. Turner pulls out the all the stops, giving a bravura performance that matches or exceeds the instrumental backing, the whole thing playing out like the “little symphonies for the kids” that Spector always aspired to create.

The public’s tepid reaction to “River Deep, Mountain High” was probably due to the Wall of Sound no longer being the hip new thing. Spector had his greatest hits before the British Invasion; after the Beatles (and Bob Dylan) hit big, the sound of popular music changed. Spector’s Wall of Sound was old hat by 1966—it didn’t sound at all like all the four-piece pop and rock groups (or the classy Motown sound) emanating from teenagers’ transistor radios two years after the Fab Four invaded the stage of the Ed Sullivan Theater. No matter how good “River Deep, Mountain High” was, it sounded stale.

(Interestingly, the post-Diana Ross Supremes and the Four Tops collaborated on a recording of “River Deep, Mountain High” in 1970. Their version scored better than the original, hitting #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 on Billboard’s R&B chart.)

As noted, the failure of the original “River Deep, Mountain High” put Spector’s career on hold for several years. It didn’t seem to affect Ike & Tina that much, however, partly because the song was a surprising #3 hit in the UK. That led to them touring with the Rolling Stones on their 1966 tour of the UK and booking bigger venues for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the United States. They finally achieved mainstream success with their wildly successful cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary,” a #4 hit in 1971.

Throughout it all, the Ike & Tina Turner Revue captivated audiences worldwide. Tina was a dynamic, high-energy performer who set the stage on fire with her fiery, sexily raging dance moves. And, somehow, the Ikettes always kept up with her. It was amazing to watch.

After years of physical and emotional abuse from her partner and her tolerating Ike’s increasing drug use, Tina filed for divorce in 1976. (It was finalized in 1978.) Then, in the mid-80s, while she was in her mid-forties, Tina found huge success as a solo artist with hits like “What’s Love Got to Do With It” (#1 in 1984), “Better Be Good to Me” (#5 in 1984), “Private Dancer (#7 in 1984), “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)” (#2 in 1985), “It’s Only Love” (with Brian Adams) (#15 in 1985), “Typical Male” (#2 in 1986), “What You Get Is What You See” (#13 in 1987), “The Best (#15 in 1989), and “I Don’t Wanna Fight” (#9 in 1993). She won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 and was nominated into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021.

Ike Turner, who recorded what many consider the very first rock ‘n’ roll record (“Rocket 88,” in 1951), performed with the Ikettes through the mid-90s, released a Grammy-nominated album (Here & Now) in 2001, and won a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album with the album Risin’ with the Blues in 2006. He passed away in 2007, aged 76.

The true “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Tina Turner officially retired at the end of 2000, although she staged a successful worldwide comeback tour in 2008/2009. Retiring again, she moved to Switzerland to be with her husband and later became an official Swiss citizen. She suffered a stroke in 2013, was diagnosed with intestinal cancer in 2016, and had a kidney transplant in 2017.

Sadly, Tina Turner passed away on May 24, 2023. She was 83 years of age.