Duets offer a unique perspective. Unlike songs with a single lead vocalist, the duet features a dialogue between two people. An attempt to understand each other or to overcome what’s going on between them. It’s like the story within the story. Added drama and intrigue. Opera vibes in a pop song.
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From Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s hit “You’re All I Need To Get By” to Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond’s tearful ballad “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers”, music history is full of enduring collaborations that never seem to age, just like these iconic duets from 1982.
“The Girl Is Mine” by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney
“Billie Jean”, “Beat It”, and the title track helped Thriller become one of the biggest-selling albums in history. However, the first single from Michael Jackson’s pop masterpiece is a duet with Paul McCartney. Jackson wrote the song about two guys fighting for the same girl. But this may be the world’s most polite love triangle ever. Over a soft rock groove, Jackson and McCartney insist to each other with G-rated determination: “Don’t waste your time / Because the doggone girl is mine.”
“Everything’s Beautiful (In Its Own Way)” by Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson
What makes many girl/guy duets so endearing is the beauty-and-the-beast vibe they create. Dolly Parton wrote “Everything’s Beautiful (In Its Own Way)” as a celebration of nature. The innocence in her voice leaves you feeling like she’s experiencing these things for the first time. Awed by the clouds and the mountains. Yet Willie Nelson delivers his optimism with the voice of a weary traveler. Aged and calloused by time, Nelson joins Parton in an appreciation of the serene landscape around them.
“Up Where We Belong” by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes
Joe Cocker was no stranger to ballads, but his slower tracks typically seemed to conjure the pain of generations of old blues and soul singers. “Up Where We Belong” sits in a unique space in his catalog. Not only because it’s his best-selling single, but also because of its glossy production. The opposite of his dusty 1974 classic, “You Are So Beautiful”. The Academy Award-winning duet with Jennifer Warnes was recorded for An Officer And A Gentleman. Warnes was approached to sing the song, and it was her idea to include Cocker. Then it became one of the most iconic duets of the decade.
Photo by Bob D’Amico/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
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