One of the most essential parts of country music is a good ole’ duet. Whether it be a one-off collaboration or a consistent partnership, the power of a duet is a power that leaves listeners asking for more music and more backstory. Thanks to the appeal of duets, the country music industry has leveraged the musical format into a golden opportunity, particularly in the ’70s.
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Outlaw Country, Country Pop, and Progressive Country are just a few of the genres that were circling around the industry in the ’70s. However, one country genre that has never been officially coined is that of duet country music. It may seem silly to pin that as a genre, although when you think of how much of an impact duets had on the ’70s you might think differently. Especially when thinking about these three country music duos and how they stunned the ’70s country music scene.
Dolly Parton & Porter Wagoner
Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner first joined forces in 1967 when she joined him on The Porter Wagoner Show. Subsequently, the two swept the industry not only with the television show but also with their country-wide tours and highly acclaimed music. Matter of fact, during their time together the two scored 14 Top 10 hits and one No. 1 hit with “Please Don’t Stop Loving Me.”
However, shortly after the release of “Jolene” in 1974, Parton announced the musical breakup between her and her longtime collaborator. This seemingly struck quite a chord with fans, as Wagoner was the person who introduced Parton to country music and the world.
George Jones & Tammy Wynette
Not only were these two musical partners but they were also married. Thus, when they divorced and musically separated the world lost arguably the most famous country music duo of all time. Before their separation, George Jones and Tammy Wynette saw loads of success on the charts with songs such as “Golden Ring” and “We’re Gonna Hold On.”
A silver lining to this grim reality is the fact that Jones released some pretty stellar break-up songs following their divorce in 1975. Specifically, Jones released “The One I Loved Back Then(The Corvette Song” in 1985, which peaked at No. 3 on the US Hot Country Songs chart. Following their divorce, the two met up on numerous live performances, albums, and singles.
Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn
The musical duo of Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn is one of the longest-running and most decorated in country music history. Between 1971 and 1988, the two released 11 studio albums, won three CMA awards, and had five No. 1 hits on the charts. Out of their large body of songs, some of the most popular are “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” and “After the Fire Is Gone.”
Thanks to their 17 year career together, Twitty and Lynn became regulars in the country music scene. Hence, when the two decided to break up it not only took folks by surprise but also deprived them of future No.1 hits.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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