Two Artists One Song Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cher

In 1964 Bob Dylan released "It Ain't Me Babe", his ode to distancing from relationships and possessiveness. Jump forward twelve months and Sonny Bono, very much in love with his wife, is unable to relate to these lyrics, so he sits down and pens the perfect antithesis to Dylan's poetic walking away, "I Got You Babe". Coming straight from the heart, it struck a chord with the American public who bought the single in droves, so much so that it stayed on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. This was their first single from their debut album "Look at Us" (1965) and it turned them into stars, gave them the momentum for a string of gold records to follow, led them to their own variety show and... ultimately, a (I ain't got you Babe) divorce.

It also became a quasi anthem for the hippie movement and the "Summer of Love" that was soon to inhabit the country, giving the number added longevity. That said the song has not aged and it continues to be revisited and revived. Most notably, it featured in the movie "Groundhog Day" (1993) with Bill Murray's character waking up to it each repeated morning and a cover was created by British reggae-pop band UB40, with Chrissie Hynde in tow. Their 1985 release would top the UK Singles' charts and reach number 28 on Billboards Hot 100.

Answer: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

When Stevie Nicks decided it was time to create a solo album, she made her mind up to create the perfect storm. Her album "Bella Donna" (1981) produced a number of timeless singles, such as "Edge of Seventeen" and "Leather and Lace" (an excellent duet with Don Henley), but the belter that was used to launch the album was the above-named song, a collaboration with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

This was the only track on the LP that Stevie did not write. The song was written by Petty and his bandmate Mike Campbell, and it was slated to appear on their next album "Hard Promises". The good fortune for Nicks was that the producer she'd hired for her recording was Jimmy Iovine, who was also Petty's producer at the time. It was Iovine that suggested the song would work well as a duet and Petty reluctantly agreed. Nicks would return the favour by providing vocals on "Insider" and "You Can Still Change Your Mind" for Petty's LP. The song became an instant classic and would make it the biggest hit in the USA for both Nicks and the Heartbreakers.

Nicks and Petty would continue to work together with Nicks making a number of appearances on Petty's 2006 summer schedule.

Answer: Peter Gabriel

If you're like me and have often wondered how good the band Genesis would have been had Peter Gabriel still been in the band then, hypothetically, the year 1986 may have given you some clue. (NOTE: For the rest of the information for this question, "charts" or "the charts" refers to the Billboard Hot 100, unless otherwise stated). In 1986, Phil Collins had received Oscar and Grammy nominations for the song "Separate Lives", from the film "White Nights" (1985), while still basking in the glow of his 1985 album "No Jacket Required", which placed four Top Ten singles on the Billboard charts. Mike Rutherford's side project, Mike and the Mechanics, had lodged the single "All I Need is a Miracle" into the top five of the charts, Steve Hackett had formed the prog-rock/jazz fusion band GTR, who'd released their eponymous debut LP and landed an unlikely Top Ten hit with "When the Heart Rules the Mind" and the band (Genesis) had released their album "Invisible Touch", whose title track would top the US charts.

In the midst of all this, Peter Gabriel released his fifth studio album, "So", that finally provided him with the mainstream success he thoroughly deserved. The five songs that were released as singles from this album almost read like the start of a greatest hits album and, third amongst them, was this stunning duet with Kate Bush, "Don't Give Up".

"Don't Give Up" was inspired by Dorothea Lange's famous Depression Era photograph "Migrant Mother", which spoke to Gabriel of other people's troubles and their struggles to rise above them. It is a measure of Peter's artistic talent that he, a man who was born into a privileged lifestyle and was provided for throughout his early days, could empathize with the people in the picture and relate their struggles into a wonderful set of lyrics. The song tells of an unemployed man who is struggling to fend for his family, considers himself a failure and contemplates suicide. The song continues to move between sorrow and optimism, as a mournful Gabriel bemoans his status and then the sweet, tender voice of Kate Bush cuts through with light, hope and serenity, soothing her partner and allowing him to see that there was still plenty to live for.

On second thought, perhaps the music world was better off with Gabriel separating from the band.

Answer: George Michael

In 1987 George Michael's star was on the rise. He'd just had two consecutive songs top the charts, "Careless Whisper" and "A Different Corner", and it seemed like he could do little wrong. He was asked by his producer Clive Davis to pair up with Aretha Franklin to perform this number, written by Dennis Morgan and Simon Climie, the latter being one half of the duo Climie Fisher. On the surface, this looked like a precarious pairing... two singers from different arenas with a specific set of fans.

Whether Davis knew it or not, the pair were already enamored with the other's work and their chemistry in the studio shone in the recording. As for their fans, both sides of the fence fell in love with it and it drove the song to the top of a number of global charts and a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Remarkably, for Aretha, this became her only song to top the UK Singles charts and her first to make the Top Ten there since "I Say a Little Prayer", some twenty years prior.

Answer: Donna Summer

Two of the biggest divas in the music industry got together to belt out a message to women across the globe that there is no time in this short life to be putting up with bad relationships. The "Father of Disco", Georgio Moroder, was brought in as co-producer on this single and he engineers the ladies through a lament, at the start of the song, that almost sounds like a funeral dirge. Then, a flick of the switch, as if to say, "enough is certainly enough", the two superstars burst out of their slump and produce a thumping delivery through a throbbing disco beat that screams "I'm free".

The only time the two women performed the song together was in the studio; they never did get around to performing it together live. That didn't stop the world from falling in love with it, sending it into the Top Ten of numerous charts across the globe.

Answer: Timbaland

Nelly Furtado has been gifted with a wonderful voice and she used it to great effect on her debut album "Whoa, Nelly!" (2000), especially on her hit singles "I'm Like a Bird" (2000) and "Turn Off the Light" (2001). Her songs were quirky and free-spirited, at times earnest and restless. They seemed to be dressed in a hippie style sari that wanted to hide more than it revealed.

Jump forward to 2006 and, if "I'm Like a Bird" was the peace loving, flower powered little angel, then her collaboration with Timbaland on "Promiscuous" was just short of being the scantily-clad rapscallion. Nicknamed the "Blueberry Song" because of its innuendo-laden lyrics that were akin to suggestive and flirtatious text messages, Nelly had let go of the "whoa" and had embraced the sexy... and sexy sold. Among both of their fans, the single went "off", like clothing at a stripper's convention, earning the pair a Grammy Award and, in Nelly's case, her first number one single in the United States.

Answer: Tammi Terrell

Dusty Springfield desperately wanted to record this song but its songwriters, Nick Ashford and his partner, Valerie Simpson, politely refused her. They had other plans... this was the song that they felt would get them working for the Motown label. And it did.

Motown put them to work with Gaye and Terrell and, commencing with "Ain't No Mountain..." in 1967, the hits followed. This became the lead single for Marvin and Tammi's first collaborative album "United" (1967), breaking into the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 and setting the partnership up as Motown's golden duo. In three years the pair released three albums and had an amazing run of hits. Sadly, Terrell was diagnosed with brain cancer and passed away in 1970... she was only 24 years old.

Answer: Kiki Dee

When Elton John and Bernie Taupin sat down to create the material that would form the basis of Elton's 1976 album "Blue Moves", one of their ideas was to pen a duet, in a similar vein to those recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tami Terrell, as their nod of appreciation to the Motown sound. The chemistry between John and Kiki Dee provides the song with a joyous vibrancy that you cannot help but smile every time that you hear it. Ironically, Dee was not John's first choice for the recording, as he'd hoped to get the services of Dusty Springfield. Fortunately for Dee, Dusty was ill at the time.

The song did not make the highly experimental "Blue Moves" album for Elton, it would appear on his "Greatest Hits II" LP, which also appeared in 1976. The song became the first number one hit in the UK for both John and Kiki Dee, and it would be Elton's sixth consecutive chart-topper in the US.

Answer: Alicia Keys

Few would argue that the city of New York has been the inspiration for a number of iconic songs over the decades, from Harry Nilsson's "I Guess the Lord Must be in New York City" (1969) to The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York" (1988). In between came Bobby Womack's beautiful "Across 110th Street" (1972), Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind" and the city's unofficial anthem "New York, New York" by Frank Sinatra. To go toe to toe with any of these would be a tall order but, with "Empire State of Mind" (2009), Alicia Keys and Jay-Z managed to not only pull it off, but created a virtual theme song for the city for the new ages.

Alicia provides the hooks and Jay-Z is the tour guide who takes you to the heartbeat of the city of dreams ("the concrete jungle where dreams are made, oh"). It's anthemic, it's hip, it's soulful, bombastic and as grand as the skyline that it dwells in. The song was heard everywhere and, for five weeks, it ruled the top of Billboard's Hot 100... start spreading the news. Appropriately, it was the last song to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the first decade of the new millennium, a decade that had proven to be a tumultuous one for the city in question.

Answer: Lionel Richie

"Endless Love" was the title of a 1981 movie that featured Brooke Shields in the starring role. The three most significant features of the film were (a) it marked the film debut of Tom Cruise (b) its appeal with both the critics and the public did not come anywhere near to living up to its title and (c) the title song for the film, written by Lionel Richie, which almost did live up to its title.

The song has been seen by many as the finest duet of the 1980s, if not one of the best of all time. It landed at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in August of 1981 and remained there for a staggering nine weeks. As if to prove its sustainability it remained in the charts for 27 weeks, which was considered an "age" for a single at the time. Aside from providing the pair with the biggest hits of their careers, the song also garnered an Oscar nomination and a swag of nods at the Grammy Awards.

The endlessness continued thirteen years later when Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey recorded a cover, which stalled at number two on the same Billboard chart.

Answer: Neil Diamond

This song (almost) didn't fit the title of the quiz, and it certainly would not have looked out of place if this quiz had been called "Two Artists, Two Songs". Why? It was a song that was recorded by each of the above artists, separately... it became a duet by accident.

The song was co-written by Neil Diamond with Alan and Marilyn Bergman, originally as a 45 second snatch that would serve as the theme song to the sitcom "All That Glitters" (1977). However, after that show's concept was altered the song was no longer appropriate. Rather than cast it aside, Diamond added an extra verse and some additional instrumentation and then recorded it for his album "I'm Glad You're Here with Me Tonight" (1977).

The following year, Barbra Streisand recorded the song for her studio album "Songbird" (1978). Neither artist had released it as a single to promote their albums. Basically, the song was a filler. An enterprising DJ, Gary Guthrie from WAKY, an AM station in Louisville, Kentucky, then spliced the two recordings together to create an informal duet, which he aired on May 24, 1978. The one-off recording soon became a craze across the country. Other DJs began to follow Guthrie's lead, to the point that the Columbia label saw its potential and insisted the two stars record it together. Released in October 1978, the platinum selling song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in just six weeks. One man's trash...

Answer: Emmylou Harris

It takes a heck of a lot to be able to surpass any song that the mighty voice of Roy Orbison has recorded but, the Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris version of "Love Hurts" in 1973 is so impassioned and delivered with such delicate grace and refined beauty that it pushes the "Big O" into the background.

This cover appears on the LP "Grievous Angel" (1974), Parsons' second studio album, and it continued his collaboration with the harmonious Harris, a partnership that began with his previous disc "G.P." (1973). Their pairing had the makings of being a classic duo, having produced some of the sweetest harmonies of the country/folk-rock genre of the time. Sadly, "Grievous Angel", would be their last work together. Parsons' addictions caught up with him and he passed away four months before the album was released.

(Footnote) Just so that I am not misleading anyone with the above Roy Orbison comment. "Love Hurts" was written by Boudleaux Bryant and the Everly Brothers were the first to release it, in 1960. The most popular versions of the song were recorded by Nazareth (1974) and Jim Capaldi (1975). Roy Orbison's version appears as the b-side to his 1961 single "Running Scared".

Answer: Dolly Parton

Despite the continued emergence of genres such New Wave at the start of the 1980s, established artists such as Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton continued to ride the crests of their own waves. Rogers was at the top (or near the top) with songs such as "Don't Fall in Love With a Dreamer" (a beautiful duet with Kim Carnes in 1980), "Lady" (also 1980) and a wonderful pairing with Sheena Easton covering Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight" in 1983. Dolly Parton, for her part, had topped the Billboard Hot 100 with "9 to 5" in 1980.

At the other end of the scale were the Bee Gees. A strong group who'd became a behemoth on the coat-tails of the disco deluge of the late 1970s but had developed musical atrophy by 1983... no one was prepared to back them any longer. Here was their dilemma; they'd written a stunning song called "Islands in the Stream", which they'd written with Diana Ross in mind, and they were convinced that it would be a sure-fire hit. Diana wasn't buying it. The Bee Gees feared that if they'd released it themselves, the public wouldn't buy it either, so they gave it to Kenny and Dolly and it blew the charts away. Kenny and Dolly raked in the plaudits, while the Bee Gees continued to rake in the cash... and it would not surprise this author if there weren't too many people out there who knew that this was a Bee Gees song.

Answer: Michael Jackson

In 1979 Michael Jackson released his breakthrough album "Off the Wall" and the world began to believe that he was a serious talent and a potential superstar. One of those who took notice was Paul McCartney and, when his band Wings disbanded in 1981, he invited Jackson to his home to spark up both of their creative juices. One of the eventualities was a bubbly little number that Paul had on his backburner that, eventually, became "Say Say Say".

From there, though, the song did not see the light of day for another two years, when it was finally released as the lead single for Paul's album "Pipes of Peace" (1983). In between this, Jackson had launched the monster that was "Thriller" and his career would go through the stratosphere. One of the singles from this ("Thriller") was "The Girl is Mine", a duet with McCartney, that stalled at number two on Billboards' Hot 100. The prospect of a second duet between the two superstars had the public licking their lips, so much so that, when "Say Say Say" hit the shelves, it rocketed to the top of the Billboard charts and stayed at the peak of the Hot 100 for six weeks.

The partnership ceased not long after as their relationship seriously cooled, the sticking point between the pair being Michael's 1985 purchase of the vast ATV catalogue, which included the majority of the Beatles' song-list.

Answer: John Travolta

In the original Broadway production of the musical "Grease" (1972) this song did not exist. In its place was an Elvis Presley imitation called "All Choked Up". For the 1978 movie version, Olivia Newton-John was not comfortable with the song and requested that it be removed. John Farrar, a former member of The Shadows and Olivia's record producer, wrote this as the replacement. The song is a bouncy little number but the lyrics are syrupy and loaded with corn... can you imagine anyone in the 1950s using a pick-up line like "meditate in my direction"... but the song, from the moment you hear it, creeps into your subconscious and then, for the rest of the day, you're being haunted by a continuous stream of "ooh ooh oohs".

Travolta puts in an energetic performance on this number, and he has to, to keep up with Olivia, who performs the song with ease and the professional aplomb she was blessed with. It would be easy for people to write off Travolta's singing abilities, but it's easy to forget that he did come from a musical background (both of his parents were singers) and that, prior to the release of this song as a single, Travolta had released four albums and twenty singles in his own right. That said, only one of those singles was notable in any way, a run of the mill cover of Gary Benson's song "Let Her In", which (remarkably) made it to number ten in Billboard's Hot 100 in 1976.

In the film, Newton-John's character, Sandy, is transformed from a naïve and shy young girl into a leather-clad, world-wise siren. This enables her to win her bad boy lover (Travolta) and puts her in character to do the song justice. In a similar way, this song managed to transform Olivia's career from being a young girl who sang dowdy pop songs like "Have You Never Been Mellow" (1975), ironically, also written by John Farrar. It makes one wonder if she would have been able to sell a future song such as "Physical" (1981) to the public if not for this change. That said, "You're the One That I Want" was released, and landed at number one on Billboard's Hot 100 before the film was released and the public had the chance to witness the new, sleek and sexy, Olivia... perhaps this new age woman was always resident in her and it just needed the film to bring her out into the open.