3 Songs Where Country Duos Proved Two Is Better Than One

Why have one when you can have two? Here are some of the best country duets, in my personal opinion!

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“Mama, He’s Crazy” by The Judds

The Judds released “Mama, He’s Crazy” in 1984 on their debut EP. This song launched them into country stardom and made them the second female duo to get a country No. 1.

This sing-along-able song with a plot-twist title was actually inspired by a soap opera character, according to The Tennessean. As songwriter Kenny O’Dell explained, it was inspired by a girl’s conversation with her mom about her boyfriend, a rancher.

“She’s telling her mother about this, about her boyfriend. She’s worried about this temper that he has,” O’Dell shared. “She says, ‘Mama, he’s threatening if they build oil wells out there, he’s going to blow them up and all that goes with it.’ She says, ‘It scares me. He’s nuts. He’ll go ballistic.’ She said, ‘Mama, he’s crazy.’”

“It Ain’t Me, Babe” by Johnny and June Cash

If you’re a fan of the original Bob Dylan version of this song, the Johnny and June duet will blow you out of the water. Johnny released this duet with June on his 1965 album, Orange Blossom Special, which also includes classics like “Wildwood Flower” and “Danny Boy”. 

When Cash passed away, Dylan referred to the legend as a “North Star”, calling him “the greatest of the greats.”

“Golden Ring” by George Jones and Tammy Wynette

This song was released on Jones and Wynette’s duet album of the same name. To this day, it’s still one of their most enduring hits. The release of “Golden Ring” followed the couple’s divorce and even sings of a story that’s rather similar to what theirs would have been at the time. In his memoir, I Lived To Tell It All, Jones actually admitted that getting back with Wynette in a musical sense was a struggle.

“That wasn’t my idea. In fact, I hated to work with her,” he shared. “It brought back too many unpleasant memories, and when some fans saw us together, they got it in their heads that we were going to get back together romantically.”

Photo by: Craig Sjodin /American Broadcasting Companies via Getty Images