Duets have been an integral part of the charts since the beginning of pop music. And even today, two or more artists are involved in the majority of the titles in the Hot 100. In our list, three of the best songs all come from 1981.
10. Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash, “Girl from the North Country”
Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash met in 1964 at the Newport Folk Festival. They soon concluded a close friendship that culminated in February 1969 when she recorded for a few days in Studio A of Columbia in Nashville, Tennessee.
They played everything from “Ring of Fire” to “One Too many Morning” to “You are my sunshine”. But the only thing that was officially published was “Girl from the North Country”. It is clearly a little unanimous. And they even smash themselves in some words. But that doesn’t matter. It was the perfect start for Nashville skyline.
9. Sonny and Cher, “I got you babe”
Less than a year after Bob Dylan published his biting “it ain’t me babe”, Sonny Bono decided to write a reply song. He had just fallen in love with Cher. And Dylan’s words just didn’t speak to him. The song was a huge success. He reached 1 on the charts in the summer of 1965.
He was the prelude to a long series of hits that finally led to a variety series, even though they divorced in 1975. Nevertheless, the song had an extremely long after life. You sang it in a famous episode of Late Night with David Letterman in 1987. Also in the classic And the marmot greets every day from 1993, in which Phil Connors wakes up every morning with the song.
8. Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder (Temple of the Dog), “Hunger Strike”
Pearl Jam’s early history is so confused that it is difficult to correctly explain it without a PowerPoint presentation or at least a number of flow diagrams and a laser pointer. Simply expressed, some of the members played in the Seattler band Mother Love Bone. Until her front man Andrew Wood 1990 died of an overdose of heroin. They recruited a young singer named Eddie Vedder and renamed Pearl Jam.
At about the same time, Chris Cornell wrote a number of songs dedicated to Wood. He recorded them with the Sound Garden drummer Matt Cameron and members of Pearl Jam under the name Temple of the Dog.
“Hunger Strike” became a duet between Cornell and Vedder, which, however, only received attention when Pearl Jam started a few years later. Temple of the Dog came back to some Pearl jam shows. “Hunger Strike” always ensures large reactions. It has basically become a “national anthem”.
7. Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, “Islands in the Stream”
The Bee Gees were pretty much the most uncooled band in the world in 1983. Disco was definitely dead. They looked like fossils from another time. This presented the group a problem when she wrote a steady hit like “Islands in the Stream”. They could either publish him and watch him went down like a stone. Or they were able to leave him two megastars like Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.
The move opened. And the song was a huge hit. Not a lot of people realized that it was a song by the Bee Gees. But that didn’t stop the money from flowing to the brothers Gibb.
6. Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, “Ain’t no Mountain High Enough”
The real couple Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson knew that they had created something special when they wrote “Ain’t no Mountain High Enough” in 1966. They even rejected an offer from Dusty Springfield to record the title. They thought that this gave them access to the holy halls of Motown.
The plan opened. It was the first of many duets to record Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. The duo had a short row of great hits. But Terrell was drawn from the traffic through the diagnosis of a brain tumor, which cost her her life in 1970. It was only 24.
5. Elton John and Kiki Dee, “Don’t go breaking my heart”
Elton John and Bernie Taupin worked on their LP in 1976 Blue Moveswhen they decided to write a duet like the great Marvin Gaye and Tami-Terrell songs of the 1960s. They brought the English pop singer Kiki Dee to sing the song with Elton. It shot at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Since then, Elton has sung the song with all kinds of people, from Miss Piggy to Rupaul.
4. Stevie Nicks and Don Henley, “Leather and Lace”
You have never talked much about it. But Don Henley and Stevie Nicks were together for a few years in the 1970s. They also remained friends after the separation. When Nicks recorded her debut solo album in 1981, Henley agreed to record a duet for “Leather and Lace” with her. A title that she originally written for Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter.
The country duo called her album from 1981 Leather and lacebut inexplicably stroked the song from its record. That was her loss. Because Henley and Nicks brought him to sixth place on the Hot 100. And proved that they did not need the Eagles or Fleetwood Mac to place songs on the radio.
3. Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush, “Don’t give up”
1986 was a really good time to be a member of Genesis. Whether earlier or now. Phil Collins could still be on the huge success of No Jacket Required relax. Mike Rutherford’s side project Mike and the Mechanics released “All I Need is a Miracle”. Steve Hacketts Progressive-Rock-Supergroup GTR landed a highly unlikely radiohite with “When the Heart Rules the Mind”.
Genesis himself achieved with Invisible touch a commercial climax. And Peter Gabriel managed So Finally the breakthrough to the mainstream. The title list almost reads like a greatest hits collection (“In Your Eyes”, “Sledhammer”, “Red Rain”, “Big Time”). The fifth single was “Don’t Give Up”. A beautiful and inspiring duet with Kate Bush. In recent years it has been covered by Alicia Keys with Bono and Willie Nelson with Sinead O’Connor.
2. Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty, “Stop Draggin ‘My Heart Around”
Stevie Nicks wanted Bella Donnayour first solo album, no risk. She not only recruited Don Henley for “Leather and Lace”. But also managed to get “Stop Draggin ‘My Heart Around” on his hands. A song that Tom Petty and Mike Campbell had written and intended for a Heartbreaker album. Stevie used her magic (with a little help from Jimmy Iovine). And the song wandered to her album. He achieved third place in the Hot 100. They have sung it together several times over the years. Especially on Petty’s Tour 2006, at which Nicks was there on many appointments.
1. Queen and David Bowie, “Under Pressure”
In July 1981, David Bowie went to Mountain Studio in Montreux to record a song with Queen. He originally wanted to sing along with “Cool Cat”. But the session didn’t go smoothly. Fortunately, the four members of Queen and Bowie began to jam on a new piece that soon turned into “Under Pressure”.
The whole thing was created within a few hours, although it is still controversial who invented the iconic bass line. The song became a worldwide hit, although they never listed it together live – although Bowies Set immediately followed that of Queen at Live Aid.