Why I Write

“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” opened my world at two years old. I remember playing the 45 single on my family’s record player, mesmerized by how the Motown logo spun around. The chord progression stirred a sense of anticipation and drew me closer to the record, as if I would somehow find the musicians right there in between the grooves. And that’s just the first 10 seconds of the record! I was forever spellbound when I heard a celestial blend of voices rise from the speakers, before Diana Ross even spoke the opening line. The genius of Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson’s writing and production, and layering of background vocals (including Joshie Jo Armstead), plus Paul Riser’s arrangement, set the bar for me: I wanted to feel that same kind of excitement from other songs. I’ve been exploring music ever since.

If “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” was the first song I remember hearing, then The Wanderer by Donna Summer was the first album that I remember experiencing, two sides, ten songs ... and a cover photo of a woman sitting on a bench, alluring and somewhat mysterious. A packed suitcase stood on the ground. Wherever she was going, I wanted to join her. The Wanderer typified the way I engaged with music as a child — I’d correlate what I heard on the record with what I saw in the album’s artwork, whether it was the record label logo, graphic design elements, or even the clothes the artist was wearing on the cover. I realize now that it was a kind of synesthesia that I experienced with The Wanderer, especially because Donna Summer sounded like a different singer on almost every song.

I write about music for several reasons, but the very first reason, the root of everything, goes back to those Diana Ross and Donna Summer records. I wanted to understand WHY the music affected me the way that it did at such a young age, so I needed to understand how the music was made. Who were the musicians and the songwriters? Where was the song recorded? What was it like producing the artist? What was the artist’s vocal approach in the studio? I didn’t have the vocabulary to ask those questions until years later, but the interest in that level of detail was there. The connection never wavered. It got stronger.

I’m thankful that Donna Summer was the first artist I ever interviewed, especially because The Wanderer was the reason for our conversation. In the years since, I’ve also interviewed producer/songwriter Pete Bellotte, arranger Harold Faltermeyer, and several of the album’s personnel, so I got the answers to questions I’d always had about songs that are the foundation of my album-listening experience.

A friend recently asked me about my email handle, which is mountainhigh79. He said, “Are you ‘river deep’ or ‘rocky mountain’?” I replied, “I’m ‘Ain’t no!’” Yes, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” goes deep for me, so I’m thrilled that I had the opportunity to interview Valerie Simpson for Unscripted about how/why she and Nick wrote that song. She said that the song “empowers people because it was born into the lyric.” I know that “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” has empowered me because of the way it’s led me through my life. What a tremendous impact a song can make in 3:30.

Support and Buy Me a Coffee

What song empowers you? Feel free to share in the comments. Thank you for reading. More to come …