Country music has a long history of great duets. Collaborations with artists go all the way back to Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, and more. But in the 1990s, some of the best country duets emerged, combining the talents of two successful artists in one beautiful song.
Videos by American Songwriter
These four country duets from the 1990s still make us swoon, even after all these years.
In Another’s Eyes by Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks
Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks released “In Another’s Eyes” in 1997. At the time, Brooks was married to Sandy Mahl, and Yearwood was married to Robert Reynolds. But the song, about wishing they were with someone else, became a bit of a foretelling. Yearwood and Brooks will celebrate 20 years of marriage in December.
“In Another’s Eyes” is written by Brooks, along with Bobby Wood, and John Peppard. The song says in part, “In another’s eyes, I’m afraid that I can’t see / This picture perfect portrait that they paint of me / They don’t realize, and I pray they never do / ‘Cause every time I look I’m seein’ you / In another’s eyes.”
“In Another’s Eyes” could have been partially inspired by Yearwood. Brooks admits that he was smitten when the two first met in the studio, an attraction that surprised him.
“I had been married 13 months when I met her,” Brooks remembers in a documentary about his life (via Taste of Country). “When someone said, ‘What’d you think when I met her?’ I said, ‘I felt like I just met my wife,’ which is weird, right? But the girls’ mother and I were married in a church, in front of our families.”
“When I Said I Do” by Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black
Clint Black wrote “When I Said I Do” by himself. He released it as a single in 1999 with his wife, Lisa Hartman Black. The sweet love song says in part, “When I said I do, I meant that I will ’til the end of all time / Be faithful and true, devoted to you / That’s what I had in mind when I said I do.”
The song is seemingly perfect for a husband and wife. Still, Black admits it took some convincing to get Lisa Hartman Black, whom he wed in 1991, to sing on it with him.
“I said, ‘If you don’t sing on this, I’m gonna sing it by myself,” Clint Black recalls to People. “[‘I’m] not getting anyone else to sing it with me, and we’ll always look back and wish you were there.’”
“The Heart Won’t Lie” by Reba McEntire and Vince Gill
Vince Gill joins Reba McEntire on “The Heart Won’t Lie”. Written by Kim Carnes and Donna Weiss and released as a single in 1993, the song is about two people who want to be together, even though they remain apart.
“The Heart Won’t Lie” says, “‘Cause the heart won’t lie / Sometimes life gets in the way / But there’s one thing that won’t change / I know, I’ve tried / The heart won’t lie / You can live your alibi / Who can see you’re lost inside / A foolish disguise? / The heart won’t lie.“
The video for “The Heart Won’t Lie” is loosely based on the movie, An Officer And A Gentleman.
“Just To Hear You Say That You Love Me” by Faith Hill and Tim McGraw
Most people think of “It’s Your Love” when they think of Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. But the couple has released several other duets, equally as good, including “Just To Hear You Say That You Love Me”. Written by hit songwriter Dianne Warren, the song appears on Hill’s third studio album, Faith, released in 1998.
“Just To Hear You Say That You Love Me” says, “I’d climb right up to the sky / I’d take down the stars / Just to be in your arms, baby / I’d go and capture the moon / That’s what I would do / Just to hear you say that you love me / Just to hear you say that you love me.”
Photo by: Margaret Norton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images
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