Chuck Small’s Record Relays, Volume 9:

You Gotta Have Friends

It’s “Record Relays:” The series that features rare superstar collabs and hits from vinyl, cassette, and CD – and honors the uncredited artists.

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In response to Volume 8 of our Record Relays, “The Pride Edition…”

Chuck Small’s Record Relays: Volume 8: The Pride Edition

Colleague and Contributing Author Ozmoe had suggestion:

Artists who have been longtime allies of the LGBTQ+ community?

Who can resist such a request?

While so doing, I was able to add allies such as Barbra Streisand and Patti LaBelle, as well as some LGBTQ+ artists we missed the last time around.

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Bette Midler with Barry Manilow and Melissa Manchester

This was Part 2 of the song on Midler’s breakthrough album, The Divine Miss M. Both Manilow and Manchester provided backing vocals, and Manilow produced and played piano on the track.

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Barry Manilow and Ronnie Milsap

This track, one of two then-new tracks on Manilow’s Greatest Hits, Vol. II collection, is unavailable on Spotify, though you can find it on Youtube: It’s hammy but fun.

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Artists of Then, Now & Forever

This 2016 medley of “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” “On the Road Again” and “I Will Always Love You” is more a video feast than an aural spectacular.
But its scope is impressive, and Ms. Parton gets in the final word. Ronnie Milsap and Blake Shelton are among the more than two dozen performers on the track, which hit No. 1 on the country songs chart (combining sales and airplay.)

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Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton

Both judges of The Voice teamed up for this track from Aguilera’s 2012 album, Lotus. It’s not my favorite of either artist. Shelton sounds out of his league, and Aguilera shouts her way through it.

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Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera

A dozen years before her Shelton duet, Aguilera teamed up with Martin for this track from his Sound Loaded album. I like her work more here because she simmers as well as belts. It hit No. 13 pop, No. 3 adult contemporary.

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Ricky Martin and Joss Stone

Ironically, this 2011 duet between Stone and the freshly out Martin is more playful and sexier than the heavily hyped Aguilera duet. The only real drawback is the clunky use of “mañana” in the middle of an otherwise English lyric.

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Melissa Etheridge and Joss Stone

From a 2005 Grammy tribute to Janis Joplin, these two vocal powerhouses tear up this medley. Stone handles the soul standard popularized by Garnet Mimms and, later, Joplin. Etheridge, having recently finished chemo for breast cancer, dives right into the Joplin/Big Brother classic. It’s not on Spotify, but here’s the performance on Youtube.

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Dolly Parton and Melissa Etheridge

Parton teamed up with lots of LGBTQ+ artists on her 2023 Rockstar collection with varying degrees of success. This Parton original features strong performances from both women, but its lyrics abruptly shift from kiss-off to kiss-up. 

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Dolly Parton and Joan Jett

This Rockstar track is really more Jett’s with Parton guesting, but I’m not complaining: It’s almost as good as the original. Ditch the silly lead-in, and it’s a credible update.   

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Blondie and Joan Jett

This 2017 track from Blondie’s Pollinator collection is a lover’s lament, but the video turns it into something far darker and more relevant (warning: it’s NSFW – for Link). You can find it on Youtube.  

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Celine Dion and Blondie

The two acts didn’t team up to record this – this “Wake Up Mix” uses the instrumental backing of Blondie’s 1979 chart-topping “Heart of Glass” for Dion’s 2002 track from the CD A New Day Has Come. The remix is unavailable on Spotify; on YouTube, this video pairs both artists to decent effect.

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Peabo Bryson and Celine Dion

Disney duets were hot In the early ’90s, and this title track gave both artists their second Top 10 hits. I like it, although I’m more partial to Bryson’s next Disney duet…

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Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle

I will readily admit I’m biased by the fact that this song came out just as my husband and I had begun dating. That said, I like the way these two interact. Bryson and Dion, by contrast, felt like soloists on the same track. This pop chart-topper is from the Aladdin soundtrack.

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Johnny Mathis and Regina Belle

On the other hand, maybe Belle is just a really, really good collaborator. Her work on this title track to a 1992 Mathis collection of collaborations is a lot of fun. The final minute is especially playful and endearing.

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Barbra Streisand and Johnny Mathis

These two West Side Story compositions become a shout-fest medley for Streisand and Mathis from her Back to Broadway collection. Still, it sounds more thrilling than exasperating as both artists reach for vocal heights.

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Barbra Streisand and Vince Gill

By contrast, Gill is chill on this adult contemporary track from Streisand’s A Love Like Ours. Streisand, no surprise, varies between relaxed and belting on this Richard Marx composition.

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Amy Grant and Vince Gill

This 1994 duet was recorded several years before the two artists married, but they sound quite complementary here. The title track to Grant’s 1994 album, it was a bigger adult contemporary hit (No. 5) than pop (No. 37). 

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Peter Cetera and Amy Grant

Most folks didn’t care much for this 1986 chart-topper when music writer Tom Breihan reviewed it. I was one of the few who liked it. I agree it’s lightweight, with all the “oos” in the chorus, but I find the pairing pleasant. Maybe that’s the problem: “Pleasant” isn’t necessarily what folks want from their music. 

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Cher and Peter Cetera

The former Chicago lead singer’s next Top 10 duet came in 1989, with this hit from the soundtrack of the Cybill Shepherd-Robert Downey Jr. rom-com Chances Are. Their vocal pairing was as oddball as that of the movie’s leads. But to a certain degree, it worked.

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Rod Stewart and Cher

The Rodgers and Hart composition went Top 20 adult contemporary in 2003 as a track from Stewart’s As Time Goes By: The Great American Songbook, Volume II. The two keep faithful to the melody and blend well.

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Rod Stewart and Ronald Isley

Stewart had already covered this Isley Brothers classic as a soloist, but this 1990 duet from his Storyteller collection is a rousing remake that became one of my favorite singles that year. It went No. 1 adult contemporary and No. 10 pop.

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Patti LaBelle and Ronald Isley

This 2004 track went into the Top 40 of the R&B chart but No. 1 Adult R&B. I like how Isley works around LaBelle’s vocal pyrotechnics rather than vying for control. It’s a far more effective use of his talents.

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Patti LaBelle and Bill Champlin

Hey, we had one former lead singer of Chicago; why not another? This single from the “Miami Vice II” soundtrack failed to chart. Not surprisingly, it’s unavailable on Spotify, but you can find it on Youtube.

Which was your favorite? Your least? Share in the comments.

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