Country Twosomes
CMA voters and country music fans are in agreement that the two greatest duets in country music history are Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton and Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn. Wagoner & Parton won the CMA Award for Vocal Group of the Year in 1968 and then took Vocal Duo of the Year in 1970 and 1971 (the first two years it was presented). Twitty & Lynn took Vocal Duo of the Year four years in a row from 1972 through 1975.
Both fabled twosomes also had tons of hits. Wagoner & Parton had 14 top 10 hits on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart from 1968 to 1980. Twitty & Lynn had 12 top 10 hits from 1971 to 1981.
Wagoner & Porter also had 11 top 10 albums on the Top Country Albums chart. Twitty & Lynn had eight top 10 albums. (Wagoner always had top billing in that twosome, but Twitty and Lynn took turns being in the lead position.)
Twitty died in 1993 at age 59. Wagoner died in 2007 at age 80.
Country music has a rich tradition of duets—individual artists coming together. (There are also ongoing duos, such as The Judds, Brooks & Dunn and Sugarland, but that's different.) Here are the duets that have tallied three or more top 10 hits on Hot Country Songs. I also indicate which of these twosomes won CMA awards as Vocal Group of the Year, Vocal Duo of the Year or Musical Event of the Year.
1. Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton, 14. Their top 10 hits stretched from the Tom Paxton song "The Last Thing On My Mind" (#7 in 1968) to "Making Plans in 1980 (#2 in 1980). Their biggest hit was "Please Don't Stop Loving Me," which they co-wrote (#1 in 1974). Three CMA awards (1968, 1970-1971).
2. Loretta Lynn & Conway Twitty, 12. From "After The Fire Is Gone" (#1 for two weeks in 1971) to "I Still Believe In Waltzes" (#2 in 1981). Their first five singles reached #1. Four CMA awards (1972-1975).
3. Margaret Whiting & Jimmy Wakely, 9. From "Wedding Bells" (#6 in 1949) to "I Don't Want To Be Free" (#5 in 1951). Their biggest hit was their version of Floyd Tillman's "Slipping Around" (#1 for 17 weeks in 1949). They hit the top 10 with "A Bushel And A Peck," which was a pop smash for Perry Como & Betty Hutton.
4. George Jones & Tammy Wynette, 8. From "Take Me" (#9 in 1972) to "Two Story House" (#2 in 1980). This is the top collaboration of a married couple in country music history. The country legends were married from 1969 to 1975. Their biggest hits were 1973's "We're Gonna Hold On" and 1977's "Near You," both of which spent two weeks at #1.
5. Jim Ed Brown & Helen Cornelius, 7. From "I Don't Want To Have To Marry You" (#1 for two weeks in 1976) to "Morning Comes Too Early" (#5 in 1980). They reached the top 10 in 1979 with a cover of the Barbra Streisand/Neil Diamond smash "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." One CMA award (1977).
6. Ernest Tubb & Red Foley, 7. From "Tennessee Border No. 2" (#2 in 1950) to "No Help Wanted #2" (#7 in 1953). This is the top collaboration of two male artists in country history. Their biggest hit was a cover of the Gordon Jenkins & the Weavers smash "Goodnight Irene," which was #1 for three weeks in 1950.
7. Kenny Rogers & Dottie West, 5. From "Every Time Two Fools Collide" (#1 for two weeks in 1978) to "What Are We Doin' In Love" (#1 in 1981). They also reached #1 in 1979 with a cover of Sonny & Cher's "All I Ever Need Is You." Two CMA awards (1978-1979).
8. Tim McGraw & Faith Hill, 5. From "It's Your Love" (#1 for six weeks in 1997) to "I Need You" (#8 in 2007). The stars were married in October 1996. One CMA award ("It's Your Love," 1997).
9. Bill Anderson & Jan Howard, 4. From "For Loving You" (#1 for four weeks in 1967-1968) to "Dis-Satisfied" (#4 in 1971). They cracked the country top 10 with a cover of Diana Ross & the Supremes' "Someday We'll Be Together" in 1970.
10. Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson, 4. From "Good Hearted Woman" (#1 for three weeks in 1976) to a cover of Eagles' "Take It To The Limit" (#8 in 1983). Their biggest hit was "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys" (#1 for four weeks in 1978). One CMA award (1976).
11. Kitty Wells & Red Foley, 4. From "One By One" (#1 in 1954) to "You And Me" (#3 in 1956).
12. David Frizzell & Shelly West, 4. From "You're The Reason God Made Oklahoma" (#1 in 1981) to "I Just Came Here To Dance" (#4 in 1982). Frizzell is the younger brother of the late Lefty Frizzell. West is the daughter of the late Dottie West. Two CMA awards (1981-1982).
13. Moe Bandy & Joe Stampley, 4. From "Just Good Ol' Boys" (#1 in 1979) to "Where's The Dress" (#8 in 1984). One CMA award (1980).
14. Johnny Cash & June Carter, 3. From "Jackson" (#2 in 1967) to a cover of the BobbyDarin hit "If I Were A Carpenter" (#2 in 1970). These two songs were their biggest hits. The country legends were married from March 1968 until June's death in May 2003. One CMA award (1969).
15. Jim Reeves & Deborah Allen, 3. From "Don't Let Me Cross Over" (#10 in 1979) to "Take Me In Your Arms And Hold Me" (#10 in 1980). All of these "duets" were created long after Reeves died in a plane crash in July 1964. Their biggest hit was "Oh, How I Miss You Tonight" (#6 in 1980).
In addition, one trio of individual artists has amassed three or more top 10 hits. Since that's a little different, I'm listing it separately.
Dolly Parton
/Linda Ronstadt/Emmylou Harris, 4. From a cover of the Teddy Bears' hit "To Know Him Is To Love Him" (which was written by Phil Spector) (#1 in 1987) to "Wildflowers" (#6 in 1988). This is the most successful all-female collabo in country music history. One CMA award (Trio, 1988).
Hat Tip: Joel Whitburn's Top 10 Country Hits 1944-2010 aided me in my research on this blog. Here's the info on Joel's site: www.recordresearch.com.
