3 Pairs of Musical Acts Who Just Loved Each Other

For some, working in the creative field of music making is a competitive act. Certain artists see what their peers are doing, what they are achieving, who they are collaborating with, and they just want to outdo them. It’s all about the most sales, the biggest concerts, the most chart-topping hits. But that’s not the life everyone chooses. Let’s look at a few examples of musicians or bands that just really got along, as they sought each other out for advice, companionship, or just plain friendship. Indeed, these are three pairs of musical acts who just loved each other.

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Led Zeppelin & Heart

It makes sense that these two bands had a friendly relationship. They were so much alike, so incandescent, so wild and so perfectly rock and roll. When Led Zeppelin toured Seattle in the late 60s, the sisters of Heart went to see them. And then, when Heart rose to fame later in the 1970s thanks to their debut LP, Dreamboat Annie, they became friends.

More recently, Heart performed perhaps the best cover ever of Led Zeppelin’s iconic track, “Stairway To Heaven”.

“Robert Plant explained later, ‘I dread that song because people always murder it and always get it wrong,’” Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson told American Songwriter. “But he said, ‘You guys really nailed it. You played it great. You took it there; you brought it home.’ It was really a moment. Now I can die!”

For Nancy, it was an “Oh my God, I can’t believe that just happened to me” moment. And it cemented their bond, too.

Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash

These two famed musical acts really loved each other. For those who saw the recent Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, the friendship and mutual adoration between Dylan and Johnny Cash was evident. But such was the case outside the silver screen, too. The two artists were pen pals for a while, sharing their appreciation for one another. Cash, the old, hardened country artist, and Dylan, the full-of-life, fast-rising star. They were perfect together. And that led to musical collaborations, too, including the hit single, “Wanted Man” which Cash released on his 1969 live album At San Quentin a week after he learned the tune from Dylan.

Blondie & Fab Five Freddie

There are a lot of rap fans in the world. The art form might be the biggest in the entire world. But few hip-hop heads know that without the band Blondie, rap music might not have gotten off the ground in the same way that it did in the 1980s.

Of course, there were many excellent lyricists in the New York City area then, but it was Blondie’s friendship with master rhymer Fab Five Freddie that helped popularize the music in its nascent stages. Blondie’s 1980 track “Rapture”, which features Freddie, helped to introduce rapping to a mainstream audience. Indeed, the track was the first no. 1 song in the US to include rap vocals.

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