Caffe`
Latte` presents…
THE 200 ALL-TIME MOST
ESSENTIAL DUETS
This countdown looks back on decades of duets, where 2 acts combine on a
song.
To be eligible,
the acts involved contribute close to equal roles as lead vocalists rather than
featured or guest vocals. The collaborations must be by acts that
do not usually record together as regular duos (eg. Hall & Oates, Everly
Brothers, Simon & Garfunkel and Wham!).
130
RIVER DEEP - MOUNTAIN HIGH
THE SUPREMES & THE FOUR TOPS
After Motown brought its premier girl group The Supremes and boy band The Temptations together, a new combination was offered to the public. With the exit of Diana Ross, the female trio (with Jean Terrell as lead singer) joined another of the label's male vocal groups: The Four Tops. They recorded a remake of the 1966 Ike & Tina Turner song "River Deep - Mountain High". The cover was included on the 2 groups' 1970 joint project 'The Magnificent 7'.
129
EXACTLY LIKE YOU
MARVIN GAYE & KIM WESTON
In 1966, Marvin Gaye cut a remake of the 1930s song "Exactly Like You" with Kim Weston. The R&B makeover, produced by William Stevenson, unfortunately remained in the Motown vaults until 1990. It emerged on the "Marvin Gaye Collection' box set.
128
HURT YOU
TONI BRAXTON & BABYFACE
Toni Braxton and Babyface had worked together intermittently since her breakthrough in 1993 with his compositions "Another Sad Love Song" and "Breathe Again". In 2014, the 2 released a duets album entitled 'Love, Marriage & Divorce'. Along with producing the lead single "Hurt You", Babyface co-wrote the song (plus Daryl Simmons and Antonio Dixon) with Braxton.
127
LIKE I'M GONNA LOSE YOU
MEGHAN TRAINOR & JOHN LEGEND
In 2015, Meghan Trainor was still a rising star. Her 1st studio album 'Title' was released that year. It contained her 4th Top 20 hit single, "Like I'm Gonna Lose You", a duet with John Legend. The disc reached #1 in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
126
I'VE GOT A CRUSH ON YOU
FRANK SINATRA & BARBRA STREISAND
The Gershwins' standard "I've Got A Crush On You" saw arguably the most revered male and female voices finally merge. Barbra Streisand sang the love song with Frank Sinatra for his 1993 'Duets' album.
125
STUMBLIN' IN
CHRIS NORMAN & SUZI QUATRO
"Stumblin' In" was a duet recorded by UK group Smokie's lead singer Chris Norman and female rocker Suzi Quatro. Both had scored hits written / produced by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn. In 1978, the 2 singers stumbled into the US Top 10 with the single and peaked at #2 in Australia.
124
SORRY SEEMS TO BE THE HARDEST WORD
RAY CHARLES & ELTON JOHN
Ray Charles recorded a duets album with a variety of performers in 2004. The end result was entitled 'Genius Loves Company'. The highly influential musician completed the project in March of that year. He passed away in June. The posthumous release included Charles' remake of "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word". Elton John, who co-wrote the ballad (with Bernie Taupin) and cut the original version in 1976, re-recorded the song as a duet with Charles.
123
CANDY
IGGY POP & KATE PEARSON
Iggy Pop penned "Candy". It is sung from both a male and female perspective. Kate Pearson from The B-52's contributes the latter. The duet was lifted off his 1990 album 'Brick By Brick'. As a single, "Candy" cracked the US Top 30 and peaked at #9 in Australia.
122
TONIGHT I CELEBRATE MY LOVE
ROBERTA FLACK & PEABO BRYSON
After releasing a duets album with Donny Hathaway, Roberta Flack paired up years later with Peabo Bryson for the 'Born To Love' album. Its lead single was the love ballad "Tonight I Celebrate My Love", written by Gerry Goffin and Michael Masser. Issued in mid-1983, the song only reached #18 Pop in the USA, but made the Top 5 on the R&B and Adult Contemporary charts. In Britain, the tender song peaked at #2.
121
SCREAM
MICHAEL & JANET JACKSON
The single "Scream" was accompanied by a $US7 million music video; the most expensive ever made at the time. Michael and his sister Janet Jackson unleashed the much-anticipated single in 1995. They co-wrote and co-produced the song with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (with whom Janet frequently collaborates). The duet topped the charts in New Zealand and some European countries. In Australia, it peaked at #2. The single reached #3 and 5 in the UK and America respectively. 
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