Aretha Franklin joined George Michael on stage when he visited Auburn Hills, Mich. during the Faith World Tour. Photo property of AP's Rob Kozloff.
By: Jacob Elyachar
Part two of my series showcases the Queen of Soul collaborating with music icons Dionne Warwick, George Michael and her late god-daughter: Whitney Houston.
15. I Say A Little Prayer (with Dionne Warwick; 1981)
Episode 31 of Solid Gold saw a historic duet between longtime friends Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick. The song that they sang together “I Say A Little Prayer” gave them both hits and success. This duet shows off both the diverse natures of their voices and how they excellently blended them together for the occasion.
Click here to watch the duet: http://youtu.be/EBNYs9kN-Kw
14. I Knew You Were Waiting for Me (with George Michael; 1986)
This duet was one of the only two duets that were featured on Aretha’s 1986 self-titled album. “I Knew You Were Waiting for Me” reached the top of Billboard’s Top 100 chart in 1987 and also hit the number one position in Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom music charts.
To listen to the duet, click here: http://youtu.be/TSgb4Wjku70
13. Ever Changing Times (with Michael McDonald; 1991)
For her 1991 album What You See is What You Sweat, Aretha recorded a duet with Michael McDonald. The song that they sang: “Ever Changing Times” by legendary songwriters Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager is one of 1991’s best ballads. They have impeccable vocal chemistry and this song is a great track to listen to while you are self-reflecting or meditating.
Aretha and Michael performed this song live during one of the 1990s Grammy Awards, click here to watch the performance: http://youtu.be/_huk4ibg5gk
12. You’ve Got A Friend (with BeBe and CeCe Winans; 1995)
Aretha teamed up with gospel greats BeBe and CeCe Winans to pay tribute to Carole King on the 1995 Tapestry Revisited tribute album. Together these three artists produced an incredible R&B/Gospel version of King and Gerry Coffin’s classic song.
To listen to this master class collaboration, click here: http://youtu.be/DxJNGgOAuMo
11. It Isn’t, It Wasn’t, It Ain’t Never Gonna Be (with Whitney Houston, 1989)
When Aretha recorded her 1989 Through the Storm album, she made sure that the album featured a duet with her god-daughter: the late Whitney Houston. This song is a terrific vocal battle because both of them are not holding back with their vocal range and it remains a treat for the ears.
Click here to listen to the duet: http://youtu.be/k7mL9SEiqE4
I do not own any of these clips that are featured in this article. They belong to Ms. Franklin and their respective record and production companies.
