Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers’ experienced much success as duet partners over the years. On Aug. 24, 1985, for instance, the pair hit No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart for the second time.
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Their No. 1 success first came with the Bee Gees-penned track, “Islands in the Stream,” in 1983. Two years later, Parton and Rogers experienced the same success with “Real Love.”
The track debuted on the chart in May and hit the No. 1 spot for one week in August. It stayed on the chart for 20 weeks, and marked the last time the pair had No. 1 success.
Meanwhile, on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, “Real Love” peaked at No. 91.
“Real Love” was the titular track on Parton’s 1985 album. Following its release, Parton and Rogers embarked on a tour of the same name, during which an HBO special, also titled Real Love, was filmed.
Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers’ Relationship
The song wasn’t the pair’s biggest hit, though. That honor goes to “Islands in the Stream.” In addition to hitting No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, “Islands in the Stream” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Following Rogers’ 2020 death, Parton told People that “Islands in the Stream” was her favorite song to sing with her late duet partner.
“You know how sometimes you get tired of singing something because it just becomes routine?” she questioned. “But I would always lighten up when that particular song was due in the setlist. It just always made everybody feel so good in the audience and the audience always loved singing it. I never got tired of Kenny’s voice.”
Decades later, in 2013, Parton and Rogers recorded their final duet together, “You Can’t Make Old Friends.”
“Now I can’t hardly sing it,” Parton admitted to the outlet, before touching on the meaning of the song. “You can make new friends that feel like old friends, but there’s just something about the people that have spent years together. You have a history, and you learn about each other, inside and out. I knew Kenny very well. We’re very similar. We’re like brother and sister really.”
She added, “He’s up there singing. I know that.”
Photo by Rahav Segev/WireImage
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