So at work the other night, I heard “Knew You Were Waiting for Me” by Aretha Franklin and George Michael. And it occurred to me that Aretha had outlived George, even despite some of her own medical problems (including obesity, alcoholism, being a former chain smoker, rumored pancreatic cancer, and being 75 years old).
So that got me to thinking: what singer - still living - has recorded the most duets with people who have since died? It doesn’t matter if the deceased was born before the living person. That’s immaterial to the question as I see it.
Would it be someone older, like a Tony Bennett? Someone young, like a Lady Gaga?
I want someone with an established solo/group career. Not someone who seemed to only sing with others (in a duo format…again, someone like Cass Elliott would be okay, as she had her career with The Mamas & the Papas, and her solo career. I don’t know whether she recorded a bunch of duets. I only included her as a reference point).
Interesting question. Just to throw a name out to get the conversation started, I thought of Nancy Sinatra. She recorded duets with
Elvis Presley (“Ain’t Nothing Like a Song”) d. 1977
Dean Martin (“Things”) d. 1995
Frank Sinatra (“Somethin’ Stupid,” which she also sang on TV with her brother Frank Sinatra Jr., who passed away last year) d. 1998
Lee Hazlewood (“Some Velvet Morning” & others). d. 2007
She also sang duets with Mel Tillis (“Texas Cowboy Night” & others), whom I thought was dead but is still with us at age 84
Buddy Clark, d. 1949
Gordon MacRae, d. 1986
Johnnie Ray, d. 1990
Danny Thomas, d. 1991
Guy Mitchell, d. 1999
Donald O’Connor, d. 2003
Frankie Laine, d. 2007
Barbra Streisand may be a contender. She definitely did duets with the late Judy Garland, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra and Donna Summer. She may yet outlive Barry Gibb and Neil Diamond.
There are bound to be others Barbra has recorded duets with.
King Crimson has had a bunch of different singers. Robert Fripp has outlived Boz Burrell as well as Greg Lake and Jon Wetton (who both died in the past year).
I’ll nominate Emmylou Harris, who’s made a long career of collaborations. There’s a complete list here, but a few of the highlights include Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Levon Helm, BB King, Townes van Zandt, and Warren Zevon.
Her duet partner, Dave Mason, outlived her. Mason also did duets with Michael Jackson and Phoebe Snow. He performed (guitar and sometimes backup vocals) with Delaney Bramlett, Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, and Jim Capaldi.
Barry Gibb has outlived his younger brothers and band mates Robin and Maurice (and younger brother Andy).
Brian Wilson has outlived his younger brothers and band mates Dennis and Carl.
Liza Minnelli has performed with a huge number of other people. The ones I can find who’ve since died include:
Judy Garland
Charles Aznavour
Luciano Pavarotti
Donna Summer
Frank Sinatra
Sammy Davis, Jr.
And I’m not even including her Broadway or movie work. I’m also not counting Michael Jackson, because I can’t find a reliable cite that they actually ever sang together in public.