Legendary Duets

By Amanda Hallay

To honour our Love Section, here are some legendary duets who believed that ‘it takes two, baby’.

 

SONNY and CHER

Long before Cher paraded around in spandex mid-rifts and won Oscars, she and her then-husband Sonny made it big with their Sixties hit I Got You, Babe. Far older than his wife, it was Sonny Bono who ‘discovered’ Cherilyn Sassiskia (or something) and  spotted star potential.  With their with-it gear and Flower Power sensibilities, Sonny and Cher made marriage seem groovy and ‘right-on’ (at least until their acrimonious divorce.)

 

WHAM

George Michael and Andrew Ridgely woke us up (before they went-went) in the ‘80s with their up-beat songs and massive hair.  George went on to find ‘90s fame in the U.S charts (and in gentlemen’s toilets), and who knows what happened to Andrew Ridgely.  As is often the case with legendary duets, one makes it big, and the other – as if by magic – just disappears.

 

PETER and GORDON

During the Sixites, Peter and Gordon refused to stay in a World Without Love.  Many wished there was a world without Peter and Gordon.  In fairness, they had a really nifty way with split harmonies, and with their McCartney penned tunes (Paul was dating Peter’s sister, Jane Asher, at the time) they actually sound quite pleasant.  Most importantly, Peter and Gordon alert us to one of the perils of being in a duet; one half is usually a lot better looking than the other.

 

SIMON and GARFUNKLE

If there’s one thing worse than an over-sensitivite and wimpy man, it’s two over-sensitive and wimpy men.  Simon and Garfunkle wrote sensitive folk-rock about society’s insensitivity towards sensitive people like themselves.  Simon and Garfunkle will happily accommodate all your sensitive needs. WARNING: Not suitable for people suffering from insensitivity.

 

CHARLES and EDDIE

Two creepy guys who had a massive hit in the early ‘90s with Would I Lie To You?.   They were a slimy looking pair who oiled their way through a video in which they chased ‘hot Latino chicks’ through the typical ‘sweltering ghetto’.  All very nasty.  Sadly, ‘Eddie’ died last year, his musical legacy mercifully small.

 

THE EVERLY BROTHERS

It’s brotherly love we’re talking about here (God forbid I should be suggesting any sort of incestuous coupling of Phil and Don Everly!), and this familial feeling gave birth to many pre-Beatles U.S hits.  The British Invasion put pay to the harmonious styling of The Everly Brothers, but they’re still together (in a brotherly way!) and are favorites on the nostalgia circuit.

 

MILLI VANILLI

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.  After camping it up appallingly with a string of Early ‘90s hits, Milli Vanilli were forced to return their Grammy when it was revealed they hadn’t done the singing on any of their records.  For shame.

 

PINKY and PERKY

Although I’m well aware that I’m probably the only person reading this who knows who Pinky and Perky were, no ‘Legendary Duet’ article would be complete without at least a brief mention of BBC television’s singing puppet pigs.  A ‘60s phenomenon, the piglets were genetically modified to sound like The Chipmunks, releasing a series of extremely high pitched records.  I owned them all, my favorite being Pinky and Perky Sing Beatles.  These charming swine were my introduction to pop, so…Thank you for the music, Pinky and Perky.

 

CAPTAIN and TENILLE

What’s the deal with Captain and Tenille?  I could never quite figure them out; she was a ‘glamorous housewife’ type, and he dressed as a sailor and called himself ‘Captain’ (which he had no business doing, as to my knowledge he had no nautical experience). They told us that Love Will Keep Us Together – and as far as Captain and Tenille went, it did.  They’re still happily married and write jingles for commercials. Love will save the day!

 

LANCELOT and SERGE

Okay. They’ve yet to produce a hit single, but surely – after all the exposure the media hungry felines have enjoyed – they are now a ‘Legendary Duet’? (Surely.)