Customer Reviews

Mountain of Love [Vinyl]

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Harold Dorman, born December 23, 1926 in Drew, Mississippi, will forever be ensconced in that club known as One-Hit Wonders after a song he wrote called Mountain Of Love vaulted him into national prominence by rising to # 7 R&B and # 21 Pop Hot 100 in the spring of 1960 b/w To Be With You on the small Tennessee label Rita (Rita 1003), co-owned by Rockabilly star Billy Lee Riley and Sun studio guitarist Roland Janes, who collaborated on many sides by the famed Jerry Lee Lewis.

But the rising stage of the vault was soon followed by the downward portion, and the crash was final. Three more sides for Rita - one of which was also released in California on the equally-small Tince label - as well as three for Sun and two for Santo, a Fernwood subsidiary, up to 1963 all failed to make any national charts, and he soon faded from view. He passed away on October 8, 1988 at age 61.

That one hit, however, did bring in royalties as the years went by as it was covered by Johnny Rivers (# 9 Pop Hot 100 in 1964), Ronnie Dove (# 67 Pop Hot 100 in 1968), Bobby G. Rice (# 20 Country in 1971), and Charley Pride (# 1 Country in 1982). Also recording it for albums were the likes of The Beach Boys, Tommy Cash, Bruce Springsteen and Narvel Felts. Not a bad legacy.

In 1999, Bear Family of Germany reissued this album of his recordings on vinyl, which contains these tracks: 1.Mountain Of Love; 2. I'll Come Running; 3. Sounds Like Big Trouble; 4. Remember Me; 5. Is She Willing To Forget?; 6. Do You Want To Go Steady?; 7. Mister Tears; 8. Love Will Find A Way; 9. Mountain Of Love; 10. Moving Up To Love; 11. Moved to Kansas City; 12. Let There Be Love; 13. Diamond Rings, Teddy Bears; 14. Soda Pop Baby; 15. Sweet, Sweet Love; 16. Lonely Nights.

Most of the above were previously unreleased sides cut for Rita and does not include the B-side to his only hit, To Be With You, although I'll Come Running was released as Rita 1008 in Tennessee and environs and Tince 1002 in California in July 1960, and Moved To Kansas City came out on Rita 1012 September 1960 as well as Top Rank 2092 that November.

What we need is a CD version, perhaps expanded to 28 tracks to take in the missing single releases. In the meantime, the best example of Mountain Of Love can be found in Volume 2 of the excellent Ace series The Golden Age Of American Rock `n' Roll, available here at Amazon.