You know the song.
Everybody knows the song.
Even if you think you don’t, you know the song.
We’re talking, of course, about the timeless, toe-tappingly infectious duet, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”
The legendary 1967 track features the dynamite Motown twosome of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.
What you probably didn’t know is that the promotional music video for this chart-topping classic was filmed right here in Montreal 55 years ago at the height of Expo ’67, which in all fairness could easily be mistaken for Disney Land based on the visuals.
Although the track, now in the Grammy Hall of Fame, was recorded in the United States, Terrell and Gaye shot the music video under a large plastic dome next to a phone box on a rainy day in Montreal.
The exact location is believed to be the Ontario Pavillion, a structure built for the World’s Fair which featured a roof consisting of pyramid shapes that appeared to float over an exhibit platform 18 feet above ground level.
Westland.net
The duo filmed early in the morning to avoid a large crowd. But despite fatigue and poor weather, the chemistry of the two soul singers is infectious and palpable all these decades later.
That little promotional video made during the Summer of Love was one of the first of its kind, and since Montreal was on the world’s stage that year, it probably just seemed fitting.
So, if you needed yet another reason to enjoy this lasting gem, there you go.