As a music fan, there is nothing like two of your favorite artists coming together to collaborate on a song. Whether it be a vocal duet, a supergroup, or an instrument switch up, the sound created by two immensely talented artists who don't typically work together is just a delight to our ears. Collaborations can occur across genres, generations, and just about any demographic you can think of, and the result is almost always great.
While some artists tend not to collaborate with others very often, some true legends have made their best collaborations an integral part of their discography, placing their best strategically within their albums, or sometimes releasing a collaboration as its own single or the lead single on an EP. Regardless of how it's released, collaborations are an important part of any music genre. Of all the collaborations in music history, here are 12 of the best.
12 Stevie Nicks & Tom Petty
"Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"
Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty are two absolute masters of the love song, so it only makes sense that they would come together for one. "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" was the lead single off of Stevie Nicks' debut solo album, Bella Donna, and it peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Though it was released on Nicks' album, it was initially written for Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, and Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, and Stan Lynch of the Heartbreakers all played on the track.
Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty are two absolute masters of the love song, so it only makes sense that they would come together for one.
The harmony created by Nicks' and Petty's shared vocals, specifically in the chorus, gives me chills every time. Not a time has gone by when I've listened to this song and not had a sharp reaction to the line, "Baby, you could never look me in the eye." It is simply the kind of duet that makes you really understand why musicians like Nicks and Petty continue to do what they do.
11 Ozzy Osbourne & Lemmy Kilmister
"Hellraiser"
When one thinks of the most classic, iconic music collaborations, it's not often that a heavy metal song crosses their mind. Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy Kilmister, however, are responsible for one of the hardest collaborations in all of music history: "Hellraiser." Motörhead vocalist Kilmister and Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne wrote the song together, alongside Osbourne's guitarist, Zakk Wylde.
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The song was released on both Motörhead's album March ör Die as the lead single, and on Ozzy Osbourne's solo album, No More Tears. The two artists came together again in 2021 to release the track again as a single for the 30-year anniversary of "Hellraiser." Where the initial versions of the song were recorded by the individual artists, the 30-year anniversary single was a true duet, with both Kilmister and Osbourne on lead vocals.
10 Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton
"Islands In The Stream"
Country legends Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers came together to duet "Islands In the Stream," which was actually written by the Bee Gees, with speculation that the song was initially written for Marvin Gaye. Parton and Rogers inherently gave the song a country vibe, no doubt, though it exhibited a fair amount of R&B and pop influences as well. The song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, though it wasn't the first number one hit for either artist.
The vocal rapport between Rogers and Parton is unmatched, exemplified in each of their shared verses and choruses. Though it's likely their best, this isn't the pair's only collaboration; the way their voices compliment each other has led to their other hit duet, "Real Love," a couple of years later, as well as an entire Christmas album together.
9 David Bowie & Queen
"Under Pressure"
Possibly the most iconic collaboration on this list came from the minds of David Bowie and Queen. "Under Pressure" made massive waves in the cultural fabric of rock music, between Bowie and Freddie Mercury's vocals, the truly legendary opening bass line, and everything in between. Both vocalists exemplify their strengths on this track, with Mercury's high notes accented perfectly by Bowie's deep melodies.
"Under Pressure" made massive waves in the cultural fabric of rock music.
The song's lyrics touch on issues that resonate with the masses, making the song an instant classic among Queen fans, Bowie fans, and all music fans alike. The song has received a whole slew of critical acclaim, with many critics and fans categorizing it as one of Queen's all-time greatest songs, and one of David Bowie's all-time greatest songs.
8 Aretha Franklin & George Michael
"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)"
A rather unlikely pair, Aretha Franklin and George Michael were both icons of their respective genres, though their individual sounds did not really overlap very much, which makes "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" a truly impressive song. It takes the best of Michael's punchy pop and Franklin's hearty soul and results in a track that's a complex musical masterpiece. The song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and won the pair the Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo.
The lyrics, like the overall sound, invoke the best of what Michael and Franklin both have to offer:
When the river was deep, I didn't falter
When the mountain was high, I still believed
When the valley was low, it didn't stop me, no no
I knew you were waiting, I knew you were waiting for me
It's the deep, emotional soul of the words, punctuated by the catchy pop line to round it out and tie it all together that makes this one of the most authentic collaborations in which both artists are equally represented in the art.
7 Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson
"The Girl Is Mine"
Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney engage in a metaphorical battle with their vocals on this song, going back and forth trying to determine which of them gets the girl. Released as the lead single for Jackson's album, Thriller, he and McCartney reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart, peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and at number eight on the UK Singles chart.
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Not that anyone would expect a duet between two of the greatest musicians of all time to be anything short of incredible, but Jackson and McCartney still managed to exceed their fans' expectations with "The Girl Is Mine." The way they go back and forth between verses like a seesaw, then trade off lines in the bridge and the final choruses is an absolute treat; it almost feels like we're in the room with them, watching them playfully argue over a girl.
6 Britney Spears & Madonna
"Me Against The Music"
Before there was Sabrina Carpenter or Charli XCX, there was Madonna, and shortly after her, there was Britney Spears. Two of the initial Queens of Pop who shaped and molded the genre into what it is today came together for a truly epic duet. The line, sung by two of the greatest ever, "All my people on the floor / Let me see you dance," is the greatest command of a room to actually get them to dance.
Released as the lead single on Spears' album In The Zone, even before "Toxic," this was a collaboration for the record books, to say the least. The duet peaked at number one on both the Billboard Dance Club Songs list and the Dance Singles Sales list, and was Spears' 10th and Madonna's 50th hit to reach the Hot 100, making this a pivotal track that spans generations of pop music.
5 Stevie Nicks & Don Henley
"Leather And Lace"
Stevie Nicks was, and still is, a complete and utter queen of collaborations. Where her duet with Tom Petty was the lead single from her debut solo album, her duet with Don Henley was the second single from the same album. Nicks had dated the Eagles vocalist for a couple of years before they released "Leather and Lace," a love song whose lyrics are all the more poignant, knowing that they were romantically involved not too long before.
Stevie Nicks was, and still is, a complete and utter queen of collaborations.
Nicks had actually written the song for Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter's duet album of the same name, though Jennings turned it down as a duet, and it's a good thing he did. Nicks decided to take it on as her own duet with Henley, and it was much more successful than it likely would have been as a Waylon Jenning's solo track, peaking at number six on the Billboard Hot 100.
4 Eddie Vedder & Chris Cornell
"Hunger Strike" (Temple of the Dog)
Temple Of The Dog was a supergroup that was really just a collaboration between Pearl Jam and Soundgarden before Pearl Jam even released their first album, making it Eddie Vedder's first vocal recording. "Hunger Strike" was the supergroup's most successful track, and for good reason; Vedder's and Chris Cornell's vocals may not seem at first the perfect pairing, but after hearing just one verse of this song, they'll have just about anyone convinced.
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Though it was released in 1991, the record label decided to re-issue the album after both Soundgarden and Pearl Jam had risen to mainstream rock status. "Hunger Strike" was released as a single for the reissue, and rose to number four on the Mainstream Rock Chart. It's easy to lose yourself in this track, especially at the end, when Cornell and Vedder play off each other's vocals in a hypnotic loop of "I'm goin' hungry."
3 Jay-Z & Alicia Keys
"Empire State Of Mind"
Many songs have been written for, and subsequently become staples of, the towns a musician has lived in at various stages of their lives. For a city like New York, where so many legendary artists grew up, it's definitely a tall order to write and release a song which would become a staple of the city, but Jay-Z and Alicia Keys did just that. Written by two artists who were born and raised there, "Empire State Of Mind" is a perfect ode to the city of New York.
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There really aren't many lines about the city that are more iconic than "Concrete jungle where dreams are made of / There's nothing you can't do." Not only have the lyrics solidified their place in popular culture, and in Alicia Keys and Jay-Z's respective bodies of work, but in NYC culture as well. There has never been a better love letter to the city that is loved by so many.