who wrote the song it's the climb
The Climb (song) Before reaching Cyrus, the song had been rejected by several country artists. It was eventually picked up by Peter Chelsom, director of Hannah Montana: The Movie, who gave it to Cyrus to record for the film.[3] Chelsom found what would become "The Climb" while visiting Nashville, Tennessee, during a quest to find eleven new songs for Hannah Montana: The Movie.[4] After hearing Alexander's music, Chelsom asked her to submit songs for consideration. Alexander recorded "It's the Climb" on a CD and gave it to him. Several weeks later, Chelsom called to say that "the song was gonna be an integral part of the movie".[4] However, he wanted Mabe and Alexander to rework some of the song's content and to change the song from third person to first person.[4] Alexander felt the changes amounted to a "substantial amount of the song" and commented, "For me, when you change something from third person to first person, it can change the whole meaning of a line."[4] She and Mabe "wrestl[ed] over taking words out" and how much they could change while maintaining the song's integrity.[4] After a number of drafts, Mabe and Alexander finally created a version they felt was "perfect for the movie".[4]
Climb Ev'ry Mountain In the original stage play, the Mother Abbess sings the song at the end of the first act. When Ernest Lehman wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation, he shifted the scene so that this song would be the first major song of the second act. When Robert Wise and his film crew were filming this scene, Peggy Wood had some reservations about the words, which she felt were too "pretentious."[3] So they filmed Peggy Wood in silhouette, against the wall of the set for the Mother Abbess' office. Peggy Wood's singing voice is dubbed by Margery MacKay, the wife of the rehearsal pianist Harper MacKay, as Wood was not able to sing the high notes of the song. Rodgers wrote the piece in the key of A, with a modulation towards the end of the piece, making the last note that the Mother Abbess sings in the film an A flat (Ab5)[4].  With the popularity of the stage play it would seem Peggy Wood was not alone.  MacKay set the bar high with "Climb Ev'ry Mountain." Given the range of the piece and the average age of the actor playing Mother Abbess, the oldest character in the story, the song has proven daunting for many actresses over the years. [5]