Duets by People Who Couldn't Stand Each Other

Perfect harmony, separate dressing rooms.

Entries
10
Category
Music
Updated
  1. A thick legal document with a red seal on a mixing desk beside two coffee mugs, one with a mustache drawn on it.

    10. Kiss on My List

    Daryl Hall and John Oates · 1980

    Three weeks at No. 1 in 1981. In 2022 Hall called Oates his business partner, not his creative partner, and in 2023 he got a restraining order to stop Oates selling his stake in their catalog. They settled in 2025. Kiss was not on the list.

  2. A single glittery high-heeled shoe flying through the air at a crowded fashion party under chandeliers.

    09. MotorSport

    Migos, Nicki Minaj and Cardi B · 2017

    Their first song together, a No. 6 hit, and they shot their parts of the video separately. Minaj said her verse was edited at Cardi's request. A year later Cardi threw a shoe at her at a Fashion Week party. By 2025 they were still at it on Twitter.

  3. Two separate vocal booths with their doors closed, a crib-sized baby blanket on one chair and a thin trail of smoke from the other.

    08. You Are Everything

    Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye · 1973

    Gaye was smoking marijuana in the studio when a pregnant Ross arrived, and told Berry Gordy that if he could not smoke he could not sing. They ended up recording separately and an engineer stitched them together. It was a UK top five hit.

  4. A vintage carnival medicine wagon with bottles of fake tonic, and a thick music publishing contract on the seat.

    07. Say Say Say

    Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson · 1983

    Six weeks at No. 1, with a video casting them as con men named Mac and Jack. During the sessions McCartney explained that publishing is where the money is. In 1985 Jackson bought ATV, and the Beatles songs with it. They drifted apart. Lesson taught.

  5. A smashed acoustic guitar on a small amusement park stage, a roller coaster silhouette behind it.

    06. All I Have to Do Is Dream

    The Everly Brothers · 1958

    Two live takes in Nashville, Chet Atkins on guitar, No. 1 in the US and seven weeks atop the UK chart. In 1973 Phil smashed his guitar and walked off at Knott's Berry Farm, and Don told the next night's crowd the act had died a decade earlier.

  6. Two stools on an empty stage turned slightly away from each other, an acoustic guitar leaning on one, a dim neon glow overhead.

    05. The Sound of Silence

    Simon & Garfunkel · 1965

    It hit No. 1 after their producer overdubbed electric instruments without telling them, by which point the duo had split and Simon was in England. They spent the next six decades breaking up and reuniting. On their 1982 tour they mostly did not speak.

  7. Two dressing room doors side by side, one ajar, matching suits hanging behind each, a single shared microphone on a stand in the hallway.

    04. Soul Man

    Sam & Dave · 1967

    R&B No. 1, pop No. 2 and a Grammy. Offstage, Sam Moore says they did not speak for almost 13 years: separate dressing rooms, no eye contact onstage, messages through intermediaries. Two men, one hit, zero conversation.

  8. Two furry vests hung on separate hooks in a TV studio dressing room, a mirror ringed with bulbs between them and an alarm clock reading 6:00.

    03. I Got You Babe

    Sonny & Cher · 1965

    Sonny wrote it in their basement and Cher disliked it; three weeks at No. 1 anyway. After the 1975 divorce she found their company was 95% his. They went back on TV together in 1976 and sang it one last time on Letterman in 1987.

  9. A rhinestone-studded suit on a hanger beside a packed suitcase by a stage door, a legal envelope tucked in the pocket.

    02. Please Don't Stop Loving Me

    Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton · 1974

    Their only No. 1 as a duo, from the year Dolly left his show. She wrote I Will Always Love You about leaving him, and he sued her for $3 million. They settled and reconciled in the late 80s, which is more than most title requests get.

  10. A gold wedding band in a dusty pawnshop display case with a handwritten price tag, a jukebox glowing in the background.

    01. Golden Ring

    George Jones and Tammy Wynette · 1976

    Released about 14 months after their divorce, it follows a wedding ring from a pawnshop through a marriage and back to the pawnshop. They sang it together anyway, and it went to No. 1 country. Nobody needed the subtext explained.

Honorable mentions

  • Two glittering gowns on adjacent dress forms under a single spotlight, a golden statuette on a pedestal between them.

    When You Believe

    Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey · 1998

    The press sold it as a summit between rival divas. Both said they got along fine, and Mariah noted they had barely spoken before, which is how most rivalries start. It won the Oscar for The Prince of Egypt. The rivalry was the only fake part.

Dishonorable mentions

  • A vinyl record snapped in half on a studio floor next to a streaming server rack with one empty slot.

    Do What U Want

    Lady Gaga featuring R. Kelly · 2013

    A No. 13 hit about owning yourself, recorded with a man already facing abuse allegations. After Surviving R. Kelly aired in 2019, Gaga said she had used poor judgment and pulled it from streaming. A version with Christina Aguilera exists. Use that one.

Every list.
On tap.

No newsletter. Point your AI at our public MCP server, or follow the RSS feed. New lists show up in both.

Get the MCP RSS