favorite vocal duets?

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hi. long time reader, first time poster.

anyhow...a friend of mine is making a themed tape for her friend, and the theme is that all the songs feature vocal duets. by that, i mean, songs that feature two different singers switching vocal duties (along the lines of "yeah! oh yeah!" by the magnetic fields (stephin/claudia), serge gainsbourg/brigitte bardot "bonnie and clyde", etc.). the tape was inspired by his declaration of liking track 4 on the postal service cd (although she hates them). i'd be very interested to hear some of your input on your favorite all-time vocal duets. apparently, she's not leaning towards hip-hop/r+b with this tape, which is unfortunate since it's rife with fantastic duets. but suggest away!

(apologies for the broadness/ambiguity of the question)

― joseph, Monday, 28 July 2003 15:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Tori Amos dueting with Maynard James Keenan from Tool on her song "Muhammed My Friend" = so great it hurts.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 28 July 2003 15:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh, and the whole Lovage: Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By album (with singers Mike Patton and Jennifer Charles) is quite ripe with amazing duets. "Pit Stop (Take Me Home)", "Book of the Month", and "Sex (I'm A)" are highly recommended.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 28 July 2003 15:24 (twenty-two years ago)

mmm...well run-dmc and aerosmith walk this way

― sonic, Monday, 28 July 2003 15:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Jackson - Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash

― BrianB, Monday, 28 July 2003 15:39 (twenty-two years ago)

My favorite song of the year is a duet by Jeffrey Lewis and Diane Cluck, called "The River." It's on a limited edition CDR you can get from Rough Trade. Or try to download it. Worth seeking out at any cost.

Also - Mitch and Mickey

― roger adultery, Monday, 28 July 2003 16:04 (twenty-two years ago)

james iha and nina gordon-"...said sadly"
"anything you can do i can do better"-forget who it is
"master and servant"-locust (if you've heard the original, it's unbearable, but on it's own it works as a nice little lounge song)

― Felcher (Felcher), Monday, 28 July 2003 16:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Steve Merritt V. Holiday - Candy

― JMod`, Monday, 28 July 2003 16:10 (twenty-two years ago)

"Yeah! Oh yeah!"

― nestmanso (nestmanso), Monday, 28 July 2003 16:14 (twenty-two years ago)

"here we go", by minnie riperton and peabo bryson. one of the duettists was not alive when the track was recorded...

― t.raenon, Monday, 28 July 2003 16:27 (twenty-two years ago)

I can't believe I don't even read the questions anymore. Sigh. B-52s, "Song For A Future Generation". There, that's better.

― nestmanso (nestmanso), Monday, 28 July 2003 16:52 (twenty-two years ago)

"master and servant"-locust (if you've heard the original, it's unbearable

Are you out of your mind? Not that I'm biased or anything.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 28 July 2003 16:57 (twenty-two years ago)

i'm not saying that the original is unbearable. it's probably my favorite song ever to dance to.
i meant, after hearing the original, the cover just seems pathetic.

― Felcher (Felcher), Monday, 28 July 2003 17:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Clarity is mine. :-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 28 July 2003 17:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Any one of the songs Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell did together would work, they all sound wonderful.

― Larcole (Nicole), Monday, 28 July 2003 17:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Beck & Emmylou Harris "Sin City" is very good, as is Bjork & Thom Yorke doing "I've Seen It All".

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 28 July 2003 17:18 (twenty-two years ago)

"do that to me one more time" of course

― Felcher (Felcher), Monday, 28 July 2003 17:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Bjork and Thom Yorke, I've Seen It All... quite, quite beautiful. (Oh, her name looks so wrong without its Icelandic umlaut on it.)

Lush and Jarvis Cocker, Ciao! It's a bit Britpop but still fun, though years later I'm still sure they ripped it off something else.

― The Lex (The Lex), Monday, 28 July 2003 18:15 (twenty-two years ago)

The cover of Willie Dixon's "Insane Asylum" on the new Detroit Cobras EP is fantastic.

― ham on rye (ham on rye), Monday, 28 July 2003 19:41 (twenty-two years ago)

"I Never Talk to Strangers" by Tom Waits and Bette Midler.

It's not my favorite, but it's worth mentioning, especially given the strange "Wind Beneath My Wings" thread down below.

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Monday, 28 July 2003 21:19 (twenty-two years ago)

There are so many good ones it makes my head hurt. Country and classic soul are particularly rife with them. Some of the top of my hurting head:

Otis Redding/Carla Thomas -- "Tramp"

Shane MacGowan/Sinead O'Connor -- "Haunted"

John Prine/Iris DeMent -- "In Spite of Ourselves"

Steve Earle/Lucinda Williams -- "You're Still Standing There"

Jesus and Mary Chain/Hope Sandoval -- "Sometimes Always"

Debbie Harry/Iggy Pop -- "Well Did You Evah"

And the original version of "Insane Asylum," with Willie Dixon and Koko Taylor, is mighty fine too.

Oh, and: Ginger Rogers/Fred Astaire -- "A Fine Romance"

― JesseFox (JesseFox), Monday, 28 July 2003 22:07 (twenty-two years ago)

dizzee rascal (and ?) - i luv you

nancy & lee - some velvet morning

― gaz (gaz), Monday, 28 July 2003 22:20 (twenty-two years ago)

"Fairytale of New York" -- Pogues/Kirsty MacColl

"The Irish Rover" -- Pogues/Dubliners

The tune on PJ Harvey's :Stories from the City..." album where she duets with Thom Yorke -- can't recall the name

"Under Pressure" -- Bowie/Queen

For a big slice of American radio cheese -- "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" -- Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks

What was the tune that Afrika Bambaata did with John Lydon?

Sorry to display my pathetic inability to recall titles....

― Nom De Plume (Nom De Plume), Monday, 28 July 2003 23:01 (twenty-two years ago)

the PJ Harvey / Thom Yorke duet is called "this mess we're in". and god, it is ever a fucking gorgeous song.

― justin s., Monday, 28 July 2003 23:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Bjork and Thom Yorke, I've Seen It All... quite, quite beautiful. (Oh, her name looks so wrong without its Icelandic umlaut on it.)
Lush and Jarvis Cocker, Ciao! It's a bit Britpop but still fun, though years later I'm still sure they ripped it off something else.

-- The Lex (alex_macpherso...) (webmail), July 28th, 2003 2:15 PM. (The Lex) (later)

Dude, I WAS GONNA SAY THAT! Practically. Let's team up and fite that person who registered "Lex" from underneath our ILM-feet!

― Alexis (Alexis), Tuesday, 29 July 2003 01:18 (twenty-two years ago)

The delgados have some beautiful songs with boy/girl duets...
then the pjh&thom yorke-this mess we're in
Nicola Kuperus and...(i cant remember his name :")...in the adult.&swayzak collaboration "I dance alone"...this is fantastic.

― Sandra Georgijevska (san), Tuesday, 29 July 2003 01:50 (twenty-two years ago)

tindersticks "marriage made in heaven"
delgados "13 gliding principles"

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Tuesday, 29 July 2003 02:30 (twenty-two years ago)

X - "White Girl"

Charles Mingus w/ Eric Dolphy - "What Love" ...it's like a vocal duet, but with instruments

― autovac (autovac), Tuesday, 29 July 2003 06:44 (twenty-two years ago)

eskobar & heather nova - someone new

― Katja (blue), Tuesday, 29 July 2003 07:02 (twenty-two years ago)

-- The Lex (alex_macpherso...), July 28th, 2003.

Have an umlaut Alex- Björk -and I third that song and add the previous one on Selmasongs, Cvalda performed by Bjork / Catherine Deneuve which is even better and has actually made me dance along walls while walking through Cardiff.

(There are at least 2 P{J Harvey/Thom Yorke duets on Songs...)

― mei (mei), Tuesday, 29 July 2003 07:36 (twenty-two years ago)

"Fools" - Peter Perrett & Pauline Murray

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Tuesday, 29 July 2003 07:45 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't like the PJ Harvey or Björk duets with Thom... Even though I quite adore PJ and Björk (though not the albums that those songs appeared on). Actually, the only Thom duet I've liked is the Drugstore song, El President. Which is funny, because Drugstore generally suck.

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Tuesday, 29 July 2003 07:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Also, does Kristin Hersh's 'Your Ghost' count? Michael Stipe sings on it, but he does backing vocals.

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Tuesday, 29 July 2003 07:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Nick Cave & Kylie - Where The Wild Roses Grow
Nick Cave & PJ Harvey - Henry Lee
Nick Cave & Shane MacGowan - What A Wonderful World
Shane MacGowan & Kirsty MacColl - Miss Otis Regrets
Kirsty MacColl & Evan Dando - Perfect Day

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Tuesday, 29 July 2003 08:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Clint Eastwood & General Saint - Another One Bites The Dust / Talk About Right (Oink!)

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Tuesday, 29 July 2003 08:10 (twenty-two years ago)

michael jackson & paul mccartney - the girl is mine

― Katja (blue), Tuesday, 29 July 2003 09:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Actually, the only Thom duet I've liked is the Drugstore song, El President. Which is funny, because Drugstore generally suck.

I have the single of 'El President', and both the b-sides are fantastic... and yet I have not heard a single Drugstore song not on that CD which remotely appeals. Anyway, yeah, second Drugstore and Thom Yorke.

Mei - I think Yorke does backing vox on Beautiful Feeling and One Line, though I'm not sure how much of a duet they could be considered to be.

― The Lex (The Lex), Tuesday, 29 July 2003 09:17 (twenty-two years ago)

as of now:
"I'll Be Lonely"--John Holt and Joya Landis
all Marvin Gaye/Tammie Terell

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 29 July 2003 09:21 (twenty-two years ago)

girl from the north country-bob dylan and johnny cash

― robin (robin), Tuesday, 29 July 2003 09:33 (twenty-two years ago)

oh also dream a little dream of me-louis armstrong and ella fitzgerald

― robin (robin), Tuesday, 29 July 2003 09:35 (twenty-two years ago)

"First Kiss Feelings vs. Everyday Sensations" -- Girlfrendo

― marianna, Tuesday, 29 July 2003 10:19 (twenty-two years ago)

one of my recent-ish faves was cecile and sean paul's "can u do di wuk"...

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Tuesday, 29 July 2003 12:15 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm not normally a fan of Luna (or Stereolab for that matter) but the Luna cover version of Bonnie and Clyde featuring Laetitia from Stereolab is astonishingly good, better than the original if possible. There is a single of it out there somewhere Joseph and I strongly recommend you (or your friend) get yourself a copy.

There are loads of good Lee Hazlewood duets around too: Am I That Easy To Forget is is a fantastic one (on The Cowboy and the Lady) with Anne Margret: if you like Serge and are not adverse to the odd country twang and piano, you can't go wrong with Lee Hazlewood. His stuff with Nancy Sinatra is good too though I don't think Nancy's voice is always that strong especially on the oomphier numbers. 'Jackson' and 'Some Velvet Morning' are classics. Lee is the king of the 'switching vocal duties' duets as far as I'm concerned.

Finally, the Free Design's classic alternate-vocals version of You Are My Sunshine (available on Siesta records) will bring a tear to anyone's eyes, possibly not the point of your tape but a flipping good track anyway!!!!

― Kim Tortoise, Tuesday, 29 July 2003 14:15 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm not normally a fan of Luna (or Stereolab for that matter) but the Luna cover version of Bonnie and Clyde featuring Laetitia from Stereolab is
astonishingly good, better than the original if possible. There is a single of it out there somewhere Joseph and I strongly recommend you (or your friend)
get yourself a copy.

The Walkabouts version with the Nighttown Orchestra = even better! But I am heavily biased.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 29 July 2003 14:17 (twenty-two years ago)

bmx bandits 'before the blue moon'
beaumont 'aftershave'

― keith (keithmcl), Tuesday, 29 July 2003 23:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Pastels - "Nothing To Be Done"
My Bloody Valentine - "Never Say Goodbye"

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 29 July 2003 23:43 (twenty-two years ago)

two years pass...

I discovered only yesterday that Janet Jackson's first appearance on a single released in the UK was a duet between her and CLIFF RICHARD. 'Two To The Power' reached #83 in September 1984.

So, is it any good?

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Tuesday, 11 July 2006 12:18 (nineteen years ago)

more favorites:

Human League - "Dont you want me?"
Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield - "What have I done to deserve this?"
John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John - "You're the one that I want"
Donna Summer & Barbra Streisand - "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)"
Prince - "1999" (that's 3 different singers switching vocal duties actually)

― LeRooLeRoo (Seb), Tuesday, 11 July 2006 20:56 (nineteen years ago)

Tom Jobim and Elis Regina, "Aguas de Marzo"

LOCK THREAD

Okay, maybe not.

George Jones and Tammy Wynette, nearly anything and how did this thread survive without 'em, but for laughs, "We're not the Jet Set"

Leonard Cohen and Jennifer Warnes "Joan of Arc"

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Tuesday, 11 July 2006 21:46 (nineteen years ago)

Fire and Desiree - "Rick and Teena"

― tremendoid (tremendoid), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 00:06 (nineteen years ago)

elvis costello surprising everyone at tramp's in nyc by jumping up on stage for bob dylan's last encore of the night, and joining him for "i shall be released" - ga ga going!

― Tracey Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 00:15 (nineteen years ago)

eighteen years pass...

good one...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0sxMMsDgtM

― scott seward, Thursday, 18 July 2024 02:05 (one year ago)

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