I'll be there in a hurry - you don't have to worry

Continuing my trip up the list of the most streamed songs for each year.  

1967 : Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

A song I know, but I'd have struggled to tell you it was by Marvin, let alone by Tammi - is this the most famous version?  I'm sure Wikipedia will tell us all in 2 minutes and 28 seconds time (our shortest so far, I think)

Marvin really did have a lovely voice, didn't he?  And he actually takes the back seat quite a lot on this, but their voices work well together - there is an argument that the song doesn't have the hugest amount of content, but it does manage a couple of verse/choruses before a slightly different bit then takes us back to the chorus.  It's short but sweet.

Before we get to the Wikipedia entry for the song, I'm going to take us down a somewhat depressing rabbit hole on Tammi - I knew nothing about her so just looked her up.  In the early 60s, at the age of 17, she was in an abusive relationship with James Brown who used to beat her up badly.  She then moved on to being in a similar relationship with David Ruffin (from The Temptations) - despite this, she accepted his on-stage marriage proposal, but was somewhat alarmed to find out later he was already married.  But fortunately, by the time this song came around she was out of that relationship, went on to have a number of successful duets and a good friendship with Marvin - and life was generally on the up.  At which point, she collapsed on stage, was diagnosed with brain cancer and died in 1970 at the age of 24.  Which quite possibly contributed to Marvin's spiral into depression and drug abuse.  Enjoy life while you've got it, people. 

Back to the song, Wikipedia tells us it was written by Ashford and Simpson ("solid - solid as a rock!") and they played it for Dusty Springfield who liked it and wanted to record it, to which they went "hmmm - no".  I imagine Dusty went "well why did you play it to me then?" - I think she'd have done a good job with it.  But the reason they kept it back was they thought it might be their ticket into Motown, and so it proved.  Apparently Tammi was nervous recording it because she hadn't rehearsed the lyrics - you do feel she could have easily sorted that out by spending five minutes singing it through twice.  Marvin's vocals were added at a later date and it did well in the US, getting to #19 - but not so great over here, reaching the dizzy heights of #80.

But it was most definitely Ashford & Simpson's ticket into Motown, because it was re-recorded by The Supremes and The Temptations and then by Diana Ross on her own - which is the version I was remembering.  She did it first as a 6:18 album track which features her waffling on for ages in her annoying soft focus voice - the 3:32 single version is more bearable.  It also features Ashford & Simpson on backing vocals, which is a nice callback to its origins - and this version did very well for itself getting to #6 in the UK and #1 in the US.  The song has also popped up a few more times in the UK charts with it appearing on a Boystown Gang medley in August '81 and versions from both Jocelyn Brown and Whitehouse charting in August '98.

So - what other random cover versions does Wikipedia bring up?  Errr - Jimmy Barnes and Play, with the latter being a Swedish girl group who existed in the early 00s.  secondhandsongs.com does a bit better giving us Al Green, Jane McDonald, Michael McDonald, Jimmy Somerville and Roberta Flack - but I can't say there are any versions crying out to be listened to there.

It feels like a surprising winner this year and I'm expecting quite a few more probable contenders in a strong list.  The best selling record of the year in the UK was Engelbert Humperdinck's "Release Me" which is a fine slice of cheese, although I'm happy enough that it didn't win.  Some better options from the UK chart are The Beatles' "Penny Lane", "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "All You Need Is Love" (the latter two feel like they must have been close), The Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset" and The Monkees' "Daydream Believer" - but that's a much shorter list than recent years.  Offerings from the US charts are Lulu's "To Sir With Love" (which is a great track and was the best selling track in the US that year - it didn't show up in the UK list because it only peaked at #11 and I only look at the top ten), Aretha Franklin's "Respect" (another top track!), Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl", Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" and Neil Diamond's "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" (which must have got a Pulp Fiction soundtrack push in its numbers).  For a change, the US offerings are a much better selection - all of those are ace.

But Marvin and Tammi take the year and I will make an effort to remember her name in future - their version was much better than Diana's.  Although it does feel like this could well have been the year they decided to give to The Beatles (don't worry - they do get one).

1966 - One of my fave Stones tracks
1968 - Another surprising winner