What’s even better than hearing one amazing singer belt out your favorite song? Listening to two talented vocalists collaborate on a chart-topping classic, of course. Some of the most beloved tunes in music history have been duets, spanning a range of genres from rock to pop to dance to country and beyond.
That’s why Billboard took a look at over 50 years of Hot 100 hits to choose the biggest duets of all time — and the song that was ranked #1 was actually the most successful single for both of the singers on the track, with good reason. But before we get into that, let’s take a look at some of the other notable picks from the 40 tunes on the list. (Rankings were based on performance on the weekly Billboard Hot 100 since the chart launched in 1958.)
One of the most iconic duets ever, Sonnyand Cher‘s “I Got You Babe” (1965), which spent three weeks at #1, came in at #35, while “Up Where We Belong” by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes — from the 1982 movie “An Officer and a Gentleman” — was ranked #29 (it also won both the Academy Award and the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for a film in 1983). Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty‘s legendary “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” (1981) followed at #28.
At #20, “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” (1978) was the third Hot 100 #1 for Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond, while 1988’s “Opposites Attract,” ranked #16, featured Paul Abdul and cartoon cat MC Skat Kat (voiced by The Wild Pair). Elton John and Kiki Dee kicked off the top 10 with “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” (1976), followed by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton‘s timeless “Islands in the Stream” (1983), which was actually written by the Bee Gees, in ninth place. Coming in at #8 was Beyonce and Sean Paul‘s “Baby Boy” (2003), while Usher and Alicia Keys‘ “My Boo” was ranked #7. Jennifer Lopez and Ja Rule took sixth place with “I’m Real” (2001), with Nelly and Kelly Rowland‘s “Dilemma” taking the #5 spot.
Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder‘s legendary “Ebony and Ivory” (1982) — the longest-running solo #1 for both artists — was ranked #4; Brandy and Monica‘s smash 1998 hit “The Boy Is Mine” took third place. McCartney popped up again in the #2 slot with Michael Jackson and their unforgettable 1983 collaboration, “Say Say Say.”
As for the song crowned the biggest duet of all time, that honor went to Diana Rossand Lionel Richie‘s “Endless Love” (1981). Written by Richie for the Brooke Shieldsmovie of the same name, the heartfelt power ballad stayed on the charts for an impressive 27 weeks…and returned to the Hot 100 almost 13 years later, when Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey’s cover went to #2 in 1994.
Endless love, indeed. At the time of this writing, the timeless ballad has 450,562,951 on Spotify alone.
Cc: Parade.com