Legendary Stephanie Mills Returns with Classic ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’

The illustrious, iconic singer, songwriter, actress and producer, Stephanie Mills, has returned with a high-energy dance remix to the classic hit “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, an Ashford & Simpson original.

The new dance cut, produced by Antoine Qua Richardson, Ronald Wali B Johnson and Addaryll Wilson, offers an up-beat house music arrangement layered with the sultry tones of Stephanie’s ranging and timeless vocals.

“To my lifeline, my heartbeat, my son-shine, my young man, Farad. You have become the kind of young man that mother’s dream of having. You are smart, unapologetically black and kind. Thank you for being you and most importantly forcing me to become a better ME. I love you son.”

“If you need me, call me No matter where you are, no matter how far Just call my name, I’ll be there in a hurry On that you can depend and never worry…” “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”

This is a remarkable time to be alive and we each have a choice. We can embrace the anger and hatred and live with disdain for our neighbors OR we can choose LOVE!!! That is my choice, today, tomorrow and forevermore… Choose LOVE!!!

I would like to thank everyone who worked on this project because it was indeed a work of love. Especially my dear friends Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson. They wrote this song in 1967 for Motown and it has been released by Diana Ross, Michael McDonald, Marvin Gaye and so many others, simply because of the message. Now in 2025, I am blessed to continue to share the message to a new generation.

I love you Valerie and Nick, your smile and kindness will never be forgotten. To DJ Qua, your vision has been clear and thank you for blessing us all with your talent. My creative partners (Sergio, Erick, Katrina and Trina) thank you for always seeing the vision and making all of my dreams come true with class and virtue. Thanks for continuing to believe in me. I LOVE YOU ALL.

Stephanie, alongside Patti Labelle, Chaka Khan and Gladys Knight, will be embarking on the “Queens: 4 Legends, 1 Stage” tour kicking off May 9th in Las Vegas, Nevada.

UB spoke to the legendary Stephanie Mills in 2012 for Black Music Month, and asked her then, what was the best part about being a mom? “Oh my god! The best part is that you’re nurturing this little person and the person is like a canvas, my son is like a canvas. When he came into this world, it was just blank. Now to put my love and my knowledge and my protection and everything that I know on him and let him learn on his own.”

Stephanie went on to say; “My son is an A student and he plays the piano and to see him develop into his own person at 11 years old is just magnificent to watch. It’s just incredible, I’m sure your mother would tell you that there is no love greater than the love of a mother or father. My mother use to tell me that and I never understood it and until you become a father you won’t truly understand it. I really didn’t understand it until I became a mother. The love is just…I would let a train hit me for my son. There are just things a mother would do that no one else would do for a child.”

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Stephanie Dorthea Mills, the fifth of six children, was born on March 22, 1957 in Queens, New York, to Joseph Mills and Christine Mills but she was reared in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. At an early age, she sang gospel music at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Bedford–Stuyvesant.

In 1968, 11-year-old Mills performed the role of Pansy in the Broadway musical Maggie Flynn. In 1974, the 17-year-old released her debut album, Movin’ in the Right Direction, for ABC Records. The following year, 1975, Mills rose to stardom, performing the principal role of Dorothy in the Broadway musical production of The Wiz, an adaption of The Wizard of Oz at Broadway’s Majestic Theatre. The show won seven Tony Awards with Mills’ performing the central aria, “Home.”

Between 1979 and 1989 Mills produced a string of hits. In 1979, she released “What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin’,” which peaked at no. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the chart for 24 weeks, selling more than a million copies in the process. The hit won her a Grammy for “Best R&B Song in 1979. It was followed by the hit “Never Knew Love Like This Before” in 1980 that peaked at no. 6 and remained on the US charts for 25 weeks and reached no. 4 in the UK. That song won her a second Grammy in 1980 for “Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.” Her next 1980 hit, “Sweet Sensation” peaked at no. 3 in the U.S. and charted for 21 weeks.

She received a third Grammy in 1981 for “Best Female R&B Vocalist” for that song and soon afterwards married R&B Singer/ choreographer Jeffrey Glenn Daniel. Mills’ 1980 duet with Teddy Pendergrass, “Two Hearts,” reached no.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained charted for 19 weeks. In 1981, she released the album Stephanie Mills and received an American Music Award for “Best Female R&B Vocalist” for that work. Two years later, in 1983, she divorced Daniel.

In 1987, Mills received the NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding Female Artist” for her singles, “I Feel Good All Over” and “Home.” Both songs were from the musical, The Wiz and both peaked at no. 1 and stayed charted for 18 weeks in 1987 and 1989, respectively. She once again received the NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding Female Artist.”

From 1989 to 1991, Mills was married to Dino Meminger, an actor from Tioga County, New York. They had one son, Farad Mills. In 1991, after the divorce, she released “Real Love,” which peaked at no. 53 on the US R&B chart. In 1993 she married Michael Saunders in a ceremony performed by Minister Louis Farrakhan. She and Saunders divorced in 2001.

Stephanie Mills released 13 albums over her career including Personal Inspirations, a 1994 gospel album. In 2018, she was honored at the 3rd Annual Black Music Honors at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville for her artistic contributions. In 2021, she released the single “Let’s Do the Right Thing” which condemned murder and violence and was prompted by the George Floyd murder a year earlier.

UB Black Music Month Spotlight: The UB Stephanie Mills Interview