Река Глубокая – Гора Высокая: История создания легенды.

1966 single by Ike & Tina Turner
the album
London (Europe)
A&M (US 1969)
| writer = *Phil Spector
Jeff Barry
Ellie Greenwich
| producer = Phil Spector NME ranked it No. 37 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame added it to the list of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. The single did not perform well upon its original release in the US, but it was successful in Europe. Spector claimed to be pleased with the response from the critics and his peers, Spector was impressed by Tina Turner and wanted to use her voice with the Wrecking Crew, and his "Wall of Sound" production technique. He went to the Turners' house, and struck a deal with Ike Turner to produce Tina. Ike agreed, but wanted the recordings to be credited to Ike & Tina Turner. At the time, they were signed to Loma Records (a subsidiary of Warner Bros.). Spector negotiated a deal with Ike & Tina Turner's manager Bob Krasnow, who was also head of Loma. He offered $20,000 ($ in ) to have them released from their contract.

"River Deep – Mountain High" was the first recording that Tina Turner did for Philles at Gold Star Studios. It was written by Phil Spector, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. The track cost a then unheard of $22,000 ($ in ), and required 21 session musicians. After several rehearsals, and two sessions for the musicians to lay down a backing track, Spector got Tina Turner into the studio on March 7, but she was unable to provide what he wanted. The following week she returned to the studio with Ike Turner. Due to Spector's perfectionism and tendency to abuse workers in the studio, he made her sing the song over and over for several hours until he felt he had the perfect vocal take for the song. She recalled, "I must have sung that 500,000 times. I was drenched with sweat. I had to take my shirt off and stand there in my bra to sing." It was reported that the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson attended the session, where he sat "transfixed" and "did not say a word". When Spector inducted Ike & Tina Turner into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, he revealed in his speech that he had invited Ike Turner to play guitar in the session for "River Deep – Mountain High", but Turner did not show up. The recording of the song was later dramatized for Tina Turner's 1993 biographical film, What's Love Got to Do with It.

Song ratings|rev1=Record World|rev1Score=4/4 Record World predicted that "this will be known as the classic Phil Spector record," stating that "everything goes on while Tina screams her love lyric." It entered the lower end of the Billboard Hot 100 and stopped at No. 88 on the pop chart. The disappointing chart performance resulted in the album being shelved in the US. Spector was so disillusioned that he ceased involvement in the recording industry totally for two years, and only intermittently returned to the studio after that. He effectively became a recluse and began to self destruct. Ike Turner remarked that "if Phil had released the record and put anybody else's name on it, it would have been a huge hit. But because Tina Turner's name was on it, the white stations classified it an R&B record and wouldn't play it. The white stations say it was too black, and the black stations say it was too white, so that record didn't have a home." George Harrison praised the record, declaring it "a perfect record from start to finish. You couldn't improve on it."

After "River Deep – Mountain High" was revived by other bands, Ike & Tina Turner's original version was reissued by A&M Records in 1969. It has since gained the recognition Spector wanted for the record. Reviewing the single, Record World called it a "classic, perhaps the greatest single of all time." Ike & Tina Turner recorded different renditions of the song without Spector's "Wall of Sound" production style. A version on the 1973 album Nutbush City Limits was released as a single titled "River Deep, Mountain High 1974" on United Artists Records in France. Another version from an undetermined year was released on the 1991 compilation Proud Mary: The Best of Ike & Tina Turner. Tina Turner recorded a few solo versions, in 1986, 1991 and 1993. Tina included live performances on her albums, Tina Live in Europe and Tina Live.

In 1970, their post Diana Ross era, the Supremes and the Four Tops released a version. Produced by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, the single was one of several recordings that paired the two Motown groups. The Supremes and Four Tops cover, included on the 1970 LP The Magnificent 7, with its soaring vocals and string section, peaked at No. 7 on the soul chart and No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971, making it the highest charting version of the song in the United States. Their version also peaked No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 23 in Belgium, and No. 25 on Netherlands' MegaCharts.

A ten minute version was recorded by Deep Purple for their 1968 album, The Book of Taliesyn. An edited version was released as a single in the United States and reached number 53 in early 1969 and number 42 on the Canadian RPM charts. It had a progressive rock sound to it, as Deep Purple had not yet adopted the hard rock sound for which they are most famous. Celine Dion covered the song on her 1996 album Falling Into You. At first, Phil Spector showed interest in producing the album track, but left the project, so Jim Steinman took over as producer. Spector was unimpressed by Steinman's efforts, calling Steinman a "bad clone" of himself. Dion had previously performed the song in some of her concerts, as included in her live album Live à Paris, recorded in 1995. Amber Riley and Naya Rivera covered the song on episode four ("Duets") of the second season of Fox television show Glee. Their version peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. Christina Aguilera performed the song at the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Beyoncé, who had credited Tina as one of her musical influences, added "River Deep – Mountain High" to the setlist of her Renaissance World Tour, after news of Tina's death broke.