It’s “Record Relays:”
Chuck Small’s series that features rare superstar collabs and hits from vinyl, cassette, and CD, honoring the unsung artists.
In response to the previous round of Record Relays, TNOCS buddy Bill Bois brought up a comment I made about Joey Ramone in one of his recent articles.:
I began wondering how Joey could be linked in my next set of handoffs of musical collaborations.
Figuring it out became a game:
Almost like the New York Times game Connections:
How would I find the missing links and still develop a set of 15-20 relays?
I’ll admit that this collection includes at least a few tracks I’d never heard before committing to sonic sleuthing.
Here’s what I found – an opportunity to give props to several artists whose careers often fly under the radar. And in honor of that, we’ll use YouTube links throughout, since several tracks aren’t available on Spotify:
Joey Ramone & Ronnie Spector
The track that kicks this set off is an affectionate callback to Spector’s pivotal work with the Ronettes.
Joey Ramone’s vocals offer the necessary grit to complement Spector’s still-angelic voice.
Eddie Money & Ronnie Spector
This handoff was not only obvious but inevitable.
With a handful of lines in her cameo on this track from Money’s LP Can’t Hold Back, Spector joined Money on what became the biggest hit of their solo careers. It hit Number 4 in 1986 and revived Money’s career for a second streak of hits in the late ’80s.
Eddie Money & Valerie Carter
After his initial burst of success in the late ’70s, Money became a less frequent chart force until the surge of “Take Me Home Tonight.”
The Number 65 peak of this 1980 duet was typical of his chart fortunes in the first half of that decade.
Valerie Carter & Paul Carrack
This duet take on the 1966 hit for Shades of Blue was featured on Carter’s 1981 Blue Nun.
The ubiquitous Carrack plays off Carter’s country-pop chops. (The lead-in to the video is amusing as Carter’s mom, June Carter Cash, introduces her daughter but offers a take what might be a left-handed compliment. Watch for Carter’s reaction.)
Beth Nielsen Chapman & Paul Carrack
Chapman has managed to chart eight times in the Top 30 of Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart without any of the tracks crossing over to the Hot 100.
I don’t understand how this one missed: It was all over AC radio in 1993-94. (Guess grunge pop/rock, gangsta rap and plush R&B predominated.) A great sing-along.
Beth Nielsen Chapman & Bonnie Raitt
This track from Chapman’s 1997 LP “Sand and Water” is a fine blend of talent, with Chapman’s insightful lyrics and powerful singing ably supported by Raitt’s slide guitar and backing vocals.
Bonnie Raitt & Bruce Hornsby
“I Can’t Make You Love Me”
One of the all-time classics.
The video is for the single version – the longer album version is even more spectacularly moving, thanks in large part to Hornsby’s piano work. Raitt’s understated vocals give the track even more power, in effect proving the point of her protagonist.
Bruce Hornsby & Leon Russell
This track is featured on Hornsby’s collection Non-Secure Connection.
It’s a duet take on the title track of Russell’s 1992 album, co-written with Hornsby.
Elton John & Leon Russell
Elton John and Leon Russell teamed up for the critically acclaimed album The Union in 2010, which featured this track.
The album hit the Top 5 on Billboard’s album charts.
Elton John & P.M. Dawn
I’ve featured several tracks from Elton’s 1993 album “Duets” in these Record Relays, but this may be my favorite.
P.M. Dawn were on a roll at the time, and this composition effortlessly makes use of Elton’s romantic side.
P.M. Dawn & Boy George
This track was featured on P.M. Dawn’s “The Bliss Album,” the same collection that featured the Top 10 single “Looking Through Patient Eyes” and the Number 3 “I’d Die Without You,” originally featured on the Boomerang soundtrack.
Boy George & Pet Shop Boys
Boy George’s saucy Top 20 solo hit and the title track to the breakout movie of 1993, this release owes a chunk of its success to the Pet Shop Boys’ atmospheric production.
Robbie Williams & Pet Shop Boys
Equal parts affectionate and cheeky, this ode to the power of the predominant pop star of her generation appeared initially on Williams’ CD Rudebox.
Robbie Williams & Nicole Kidman
This should have been a mess, but it wasn’t.
A faithful rendition of the chart-topping 1967 duet by father and daughter Frank and Nancy Sinatra, this was the lead-off single to Williams’ 2001 collection of standards, Swing While You’re Winning. Recorded with Kidman, fresh off her performance in the musical Moulin Rouge, this track went nowhere in the U.S. but topped the British charts and made the year-end top 100 in Australia and most of Europe.
Keith Urban & Nicole Kidman
Unlike her duet with Williams, Kidman kept in the background on this hit by her then-husband.
(The couple, married 19 years, recently announced their separation). The track went to Number 12 on the country airplay charts, snapping his Top 10 streak, but went gold.
Thomas Rhett, Keith Urban, Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott & Chris Tomlin
This country collaboration, released during the COVID pandemic in 2020, went to Number 2 on country airplay and Number 42 on the Hot 100.
Not having listened much to “new music” at that time, I just became familiar with this and really appreciate its message. It’ll probably be added to my Spotify lists.
Natalie Cole & Reba McEntire
A track from the 1994 collection Rhythm, Country and Blues, this is a bluesy pop version of a chestnut that, as Cole notes in the video, “has been done 9,000 times by everybody.” I especially like Cole’s jazzy approach to her vocals.
Macy Gray & Natalie Cole
I didn’t understand how “In the Time It Takes” failed to chart pop.
The utter chart failure of this track – pop, soul, AC, anywhere – befuddles me. Cole’s background vocals on the lead-off single from Gray’s 2007 CD Big lift it delightfully over the top, but Gray’s clear-eyed kiss-off is strong all on its own. Maybe its anti-romantic take just repelled listeners.
Which is your favorite?
Which leaves you cold? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Let the author know that you liked their article with a “Green Thumb” Upvote!
Thank You For Your Vote!
Sorry You have Already Voted!
I was beginning to think I wouldn’t know any of these but then we got to Boy George and the Brit section. Once we got to Keith Urban I was out again. At least I’ve heard of (nearly) everyone even if I don’t know the songs.
I had The Crying Game 7″ so that one gets a big plus from me. The Rudebox album derailed Robbie’s career. It only sold half a million and went double platinum, the preceding 6 albums had all gone at least 5 x platinum. Reviews were mixed to say the least, Robbie’s gone mad was a common accusation from the more unkind end. It contains She’s Madonna though which in my humble opinion is one of his best songs. No matter how mad it is I’d take anything off Rudebox over Something Stupid.
Great job, Chuck! This is exactly what I had in mind. We’re all just six degrees from Joey Ramone.
Does that make us 7 degrees from Dee Dee, Johnny, Marky and Tommy?
Why, yes, it does, but now I wanna be sedated.
Every time I see Ronnie Spector, I think of the random paperback I chose at the supermarket, Fuel-Injected Dreams by James Robert Baker.. The writer imagines what Ronnie Spector’s life was like. I would later read a non-fiction account of her marriage to Phil Spector, but I didn’t get the same visceral reaction from reading this piece of pulp fiction that should’ve been turned into a movie.
Take Me Home Tonight is the name of the film in my head.
I assigned the vocals to Tyler Spencer and Patti Scialfa.
“Something Stupid” is used to powerful effect in Lynne Ramsay’s debut feature Ratcatcher. Ramsay should be a household name.
This is a great cover.
Talking about guilty pleasures: Evan McGregor’s “Your Song”. Really, the entire Baz Luhrmann movie. Nicole Kidman, what a career.