The Greatest Song Ever Recorded?

Tammi Terrell & Marvin Gaye, "Ain't no Mountain High Enough"

Abstract:

Since its original 1967 recording  featuring Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell on lead vocals, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough has gone on to become one of the most often recorded — yet least fuck up-able song of all time.

Hypothesis: Ain’t No Mountain High Enough cannot be fucked-up, no matter who is singing it, therefore, it is the greatest song ever recorded.

Purpose: To determine if Ain’t No Mountain High Enough is the greatest song ever recorded.

Materials:

• Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (original)

• Diana Ross

• The Cast of Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit

• Michael McDonald

• 5. Stepmom

• Instant Classic Scale

5. Instant Classic

4. Dancing in my office

3. Sing-a-long hit

2. This is actually ruining my work day

1. James Taylor singing How Sweet it is to Be Loved By You — song

ruined forever.

Proceedure

1. Go on to Youtube, watch video of Ain’t no Mountain High Enough as sung by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.
2. Use Instant Classic scale to judge whether or not it sucks.
3. Repeat step 1-2 for Diana Ross, The Cast of Sister Act 2, Michael McDonald, and Stepmom versions.

Results:

Conclusion:

Rating the variable songs on the Instant Classic Scale it was determined that no version of Ain’t no Mountain High Enough scored lower than a 3.5.  The original version by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell tied with the Diana Ross version for highest, receiving  perfect 5’s, making them instant classics.  Meanwhile, the Sister Act 2 and Stepmom versions scored the lowest, at 3.5, meaning they are still sing-a-long worthy.  It is worth noting, that with the exception of Lauryn Hill on the Sister Act 2 version, none of the vocals done on the two lowest scoring versions were done by professional singers, yet, I would still lip sync along to them in my office.

Despite listening to five different recordings of Ain’t no Mountain High Enough, I could not find a version that sucks, leading me to the conclusion that Ain’t no Mountain High Enough simply cannot suck*.

Note: James Taylor has never recorded a version of Ain’t no Mountain High Enough.