The only thing better than a hit song sung by a talented singer is a duet, in which two people collaborate on a song. For decades, country music has been known for having two singers release a song together. But especially in the 1970s, country duets were an important part of that decade of country music.
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We found three of the best country duets from the 1970s, which sound just as good today as they did back then.
“Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” by Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn
Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn released ten albums together from 1971 to 1981. With more than a dozen hit singles, one of their very best is “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man“. Released in 1973 as a single, the song is the title track of their third studio album together.
Written by Becki Bluefield and Jim Owen, the song says, “Louisiana woman, Mississippi man / We get together every time we can / The Mississippi River can’t keep us apart / There’s too much love in this Mississippi heart / Too much love in this Louisiana heart.”
According to Classic Country Music Stories, it’s Lynn’s husband, Oliver Lynn, who heard the song and convinced the two to release it as a duet.
“Golden Ring” by George Jones and Tammy Wynette
Like Twitty and Lynn, George Jones and Tammy Wynette also released plenty of duets together. But among their best is “Golden Ring“. Written by Bobby Braddock and Rafe Van Hoy, the song is the title track of their seventh studio album.
“Golden Ring” says, “Golden ring with one tiny little stone / Waiting there for someone to take it home / By itself it’s just a cold metallic thing / Only love can make a golden wedding ring.”
Ironically, “Golden Ring” came out in 1976, one year after the end of Jones and Wynette’s marriage.
“‘Til I Can Make It on My Own” by Kenny Rogers and Dottie West
Kenny Rogers and Dottie West released “‘Til. Can Make It On My Own” in 1979. Written by Wynette, along with George Richey and Billy Sherrill, the song was first a No. 1 hit for Wynette in 1976. But it’s Rogers’ version with West that became one of the most beloved country duets of all time.
The song, on their Classics duets album, begins with, “I’ll need time to get you off my mind / I may sometimes bother you, try to be in touch with you / Even ask too much of you, from time to time / Now and then, Lord, you know I’ll need a friend / And ’till I get used to losing you, let me keep on using you ‘ Til I can make it on my own.”
“I Don’t Want To Have To Marry You” by Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius
Jim Ed Brown released “I Don’t Want To Have To Marry You” with Helen Cornelius in 1976. The title track of Brown and Cornelius’s first duets album, Fred Imus and Phil Sweet are the writers on the song. “I Don’t Want To Have To Marry You” is the first of many duets Brown and Cornelius released together. It is also the only one to become a No. 1 single for them.
“I Don’t Want To Have To Marry You” says, “I don’t want to have to marry you / I don’t want to have to say I do / I want our love to be free / The way God meant love to be.”
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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