"Mountain of Love" is a song written by Harold Dorman.[2] Dorman released his version as a single in 1960. It was originally recorded in late 1959 at the Royal Recording Studios in Memphis before the backing vocals (and strings, much later) were overdubbed. It performed well, spending 19 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart,[3] peaking at #21 in May 1960,[4] while reaching #7 on the BillboardHot R&B Sides chart,[5] and #25 on Canada's "CHUM Hit Parade".[6] The song was his only top forty hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the highest-charting single of his career.[3]
In 1960, Kenny Lynch released a cover of the song, which reached #33 on the United Kingdom's Record Retailer chart.[7]
In 1964, Johnny Rivers released his remake using members of The Wrecking Crew[8] as a single. This version also proved popular, charting at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100.[9]
In 1968, singer Ronnie Dove had a minor hit when he released his version as the B-side of "Never Gonna Cry (The Way I'll Cry Tonight)" on Diamond Records.[10] Ronnie Dove's version spent 6 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached #67. This recording featured A-list session musicians, such as Boots Randolph on saxophone and Glen Campbell on guitar.[11] It was originally issued as an album track on Ronnie Dove Sings the Hits for You two years earlier, and was the original B-side of this single.
In December 1981, Charley Pride released a cover version, which topped the BillboardHot Country Singles chart in March 1982.[15] Charley Pride's version of "Mountain of Love" was his twenty-sixth #1 on the country chart.
^"CHUM Hit Parade – Week of May 16, 1960". CHUM. Archived from the original on November 7, 2006. Retrieved 2015-11-30.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Chart No. 159.
