This year, one of the Tina Turner’s most important (if not the most important) recording turns 50. I’ll never forget the first time I heard the song River Deep Mountain High.It is the song that made me fall in love with Tina and it is definitely my song. For me, it always symbolized the path of a lifetime, the road is never flat, you might have to climb High Mountains and swim across Deep Rivers to achieve your goals.
Discovering the song as a child it totally blew me away. Living in a small village in the east of France, I never thought music could sound like this. I was familiar with Classical music but not that much with Rock & Roll and Soul music. And this song was the perfect combination of them all. Defying Spector’s Wall of Sound, Tina’s voice is like a perfect instrument and every sound coming out of her mouth penetrates our body and soul.
We all know the story behind River Deep Mountain High, Ike being put aside from the project by Spector, the reluctance of radio station to play a record judged too white for black stations and too black for white stations and most importantly, the fact that it launched Ike & Tina Turner’s career in Europe.
Everything has been said and written about River Deep so instead of long boring article, and to celebrate the anniversary of the album in the right way, a special upload with a live version of River Deep Mountain High live at the Yankee Stadium in 1969! Enjoy!
