"Higher Ground" is a song recorded by

Jennifer Rush Jennifer Rush (born Heidi Stern; September 28, 1960) is an American pop and rock singer. She achieved success during the mid-1980s with several singles and studio albums including the million-selling single " The Power of Love", which she co-wr ...

for her 1989 album, ''

Wings of Desire ''Wings of Desire'' (, ; ) is a 1987 romantic fantasy film written by Wim Wenders, Peter Handke and Richard Reitinger, and directed by Wenders. The film is about invisible, immortal angels who populate Berlin and listen to the thoughts of it ...

''. It was written by Ken Cummings and Mark Blatt, and produced by

Phil Ramone Philip Ramone (né Rabinowitz, January 5, 1934March 30, 2013) was a South African-born American recording engineer, record producer, violinist and composer, who in 1958 co-founded A & R Recording, Inc., a recording studio with business ...

. "Higher Ground" was released as the first single from ''Wings of Desire'' in December 1989. Later, the song was recorded in French by

Mario Pelchat Mario Pelchat (born 1 February 1964) is a Canadian Francophone singer from Quebec. He received the Felix Award in 1990 and 1992. Biography Pelchat was born in Dolbeau-Mistassini, Quebec and has performed since 1973. His first 45 RPM single was ...

and

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

for Pelchat's 1993 album. This version was released as a promotional single in Canada.

Jennifer Rush version

The song is a panegyric in which Rush praises her partner for loving her and explains that should (s)he ever need assistance, she will be "standing on higher ground" and will look after him. Released as the first single from ''

'', "Higher Ground" peaked at number 30 in Austria, number 54 in Germany and number 98 in the United Kingdom. To promote the single, a music video was released which features Rush singing and dancing. Rush performed the song on ''Peter's Popshow''. According to the liner notes of her next album, '' The Power of Jennifer Rush'', she explained that after that performance she slipped off the stage and broke her leg; despite honoring most of her tour dates, this caused a considerable delay in recording ''The Power of Jennifer Rush'', and was the reason that album was issued as a

compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

rather than a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

. The song also appears on ''Jennifer Rush: The Hit Box'' (2002), ''The Power of Love: The Complete Video Collection'' (2004), ''Hit Collection'' and '' Stronghold – The Collector's Hit Box''.

Formats and track listings

:European 7" single #"Higher Ground" – 4:20 #"Angel" – 4:39 :European 12" single #"Higher Ground" (Extended Version) – 6:31 #"Angel" – 4:39 #"Higher Ground" (Single Version) – 4:20 :UK 7" single #"Higher Ground" (7" Version) – 4:20 #" The Power of Love" – 4:20 :UK CD single #"Higher Ground" (7" Version) – 4:20 #"Higher Ground" (Extended Version) – 6:31 #"The Power of Love" – 4:20

Charts

Mario Pelchat and Celine Dion version

In 1993, "Higher Ground" was covered in French by Canadian singers,

and

. Titled "Plus haut que moi", with words written by

Eddy Marnay Edmond Bacri known by the professional name Eddy Marnay (Algiers, 18 December 1920 – 3 January 2003), was a French songwriter. In his career, he wrote more than 4000 songs, including works for Édith Piaf, Frida Boccara and Céline Dion. He ...

and production handled by

Aldo Nova Aldo Nova (born Aldo Caporuscio on November 13, 1956) is a Canadian guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist, and producer. He initially gained fame and popularity with the release of his 1982 debut album '' Aldo Nova'' which peaked to ''Billboards ...

, it was included on Pelchat's 1993 album, ''Pelchat''. "Plus haut que moi" was released as the third single from the album in Canada. It entered the chart in Quebec on September 11, 1993, peaked at number six and stayed on the chart for nineteen weeks. In 2005, Dion included "Plus haut que moi" on the L'intégrale edition of her compilation, ''

On ne change pas ''On ne change pas'' (meaning ''We do not change'' or ''One does not change'') is the first comprehensive French-language greatest hits album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Columbia Records on 30 September 2005. It features songs rec ...

''.

Formats and track listings

*Canadian promotional CD single #"Plus haut que moi" – 4:18

Charts

References

{{authority control 1989 singles 1989 songs 1993 singles CBS Records singles Celine Dion songs French-language songs Song recordings produced by Phil Ramone Songs written by Eddy Marnay Male–female vocal duets