PROGRAM NOTES
I’ve Got a Crush on You
(1920s)
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Written by the Gershwin brothers, George and Ira. As a songwriting duo, George wrote music, and Ira wrote lyrics.
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First performed as a fast dance duet in 1928 in the Broadway musical, Treasure Girl, and then for another Broadway musical, Strike Up the Band, in 1930.
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Lee Wiley first recorded the song in 1939, and she turned it into a slow ballad. Sarah Vaughn (1946) and Frank Sinatra (1947) also recorded it as a ballad. According to Michael Feinstein, Ira did not like it at first and exclaimed, “What have they done with my song?” (137). George did not live to hear the ballad; he died at 38 in 1937 of a brain tumor.
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It became one of Frank Sinatra’s most requested songs, and he recorded it on his 1993 Duets album with Barbara Streisand.
They Can’t Take That Away From Me
(1930s)
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The Gershwin brothers went to Hollywood to write for film. Although their usual method of composition was for George to write the music first and Ira to fit the lyrics to the music, George presented the idea of three short notes plus one long note to Ira, and Ira said if there were two more notes, he had an idea! (Feinstein, 293)
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First appeared in the movie, Shall We Dance, with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, 1937, and was sung as a solo by Astaire to Rogers.
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Performed as a duet by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong in 1956.
Baby, It's Cold Outside
(1940s)
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Written and performed by Frank and Lynn Loesser for their house warming party in 1941. The song was intended as a fun ditty to say goodbye to the guests (and politely tell them it was time to leave). As a result, they were invited to many parties that year.
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Frank Loesser sold the song in 1948, and it was used in the 1949 film, Neptune’s Daughter. Lynn Loesser wrote that she felt as if he had cheated on her. The song won the 1950 Oscar for Best Original Song.
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“A Loesser lyric is a poem that you forget is a poem because there’s so much else going on” (Sheed 276).
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Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald both recorded the duet independently (not together!)
Lady Is a Tramp
(1950s)
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Written in 1937 by the Richard Rodgers and Larry Hart songwriting team for the Broadway musical, Babes in Arms. (See Sheed for more info on Rodgers and Hart.)
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Frank Sinatra sang it in the 1957 film, Pal Joey, as a solo.
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In 1967, Sinatra sang the song as a duet with Ella Fitzgerald in a television special. Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga released a duet version in 2011.
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In response to a request, Sinatra sang rewritten lyrics, “The Lady Is a Champ,” as a birthday present for Ringo Starr’s wife, Maureen. On the 1993 Duets album, Sinatra and Luther Vandross alternately use the words “champ” and “tramp.”
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Up to this point, the songs featured in this program were written for Broadway or film.
Jackson & Long-Legged Guitar Pickin’ Man
(1960s)
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“Jackson” was written and recorded in 1963 and performed as a male call and response by groups like Flatt and Scruggs and the Kingston Trio.
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“Jackson” was recorded as a male / female duet in 1967. Johnny Cash and June Carter released it on their duets album, Carryin’ On With Johnny Cash and June Carter in 1967 (this version won a 1968 GRAMMY award). It was also released later that year by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood.
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Songwriter Wheeler said he did not have a specific Jackson in mind.
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“Long-Legged Guitar Pickin’ Man” was also recorded as a duet by Cash and Carter on their duets album.
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Johnny Cash and June Carter were not married until 1968. They were married the day after they won the GRAMMY award for “Jackson.” (Light, 118)
Boogie Shoes
(1970s)
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Recorded in 1975 by KC and the Sunshine Band and released on their self-titled album
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It was in the soundtrack of the film, Saturday Night Fever, in 1977, and several other soundtracks in subsequent years. It is also in the 1998 jukebox musical version of Saturday Night Fever.
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Although this song has not been recorded as a duet to our knowledge, we think the back and forth playfulness of the lyrics and melody make it perfect for this format.
Stop Draggin' My Heart Around & Leather and Lace
(1980s)
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Both duets were released on Stevie Nicks’ first solo album, Bella Donna (1981). The album hit #1 on the Billboard charts.
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Don Henley and Stevie Nicks were in a relationship before they recorded “Leather and Lace,” written by Nicks.
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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers wrote "Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around," and their producer encouraged them to give the song to Stevie Nicks for her album.
From This Moment On
(1990s)
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Written by Shania Twain while she was watching a soccer game with her husband in Europe. Twain was not as much of a soccer fan as he was, and her mind wandered to write the song, in her head, during the game.
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Twain’s husband suggested that the song be produced as a duet with Twain and a male (Twain initially thought that the song would work well for Celine Dion). Twain chose country singer, Bryan White. His record company did not want the single released on the pop charts, so she released a solo pop version 1997.
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Andrea Bocelli recorded it with Twain on his 2024 Duets: 30th Anniversary album; some of his parts are sung in Italian.
Picture
(2000s)
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Written by Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock in 2003, the best known version of this duet is performed by its songwriters. However, Rock’s record company could not get the rights from Crow’s for the radio single’s release, so he recorded an alternate version with Allison Moorer.
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The radio stations favored and played the Crow/Rock version, and this is the one most people know.
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Kid Rock has sung the duet live with other famous female country singers including LeAnn Rimes and Martina McBride.
Shallow & Perfect
(2010s)
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"Shallow" was written by Lady Gaga and others and released on the soundtrack of A Star Is Born (2018). It was sung by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper and filmed in front of a live audience for the movie.
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The song is integral to the plot of the film, the rise of Gaga's character, Ally’s, career, and the development of the relationship between Ally and Jackson.
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"Perfect" was written by Ed Sheeran and released on his album in 2017. It was written about his relationship with his fiance (now wife), Cherry Seaborn.
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The solo version of "Perfect" was released as a single first, and a second single titled "Perfect Duet" was released later that year with Beyonce singing adapted lyrics for a female's response.
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A few weeks after the Beyonce duet's release, Sheeran and Andrea Bocelli released a duet version of the song titled, "Perfect Symphony." Both Bocelli and Sheeran sing in Italian.
Die With A Smile & II Most Wanted
(2020s)
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Both duets were cowritten and performed by the singer/songwriters.
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"II Most Wanted" was written and performed by Miley Cyrus and Beyonce for Cowboy Carter, the second concept album in a planned trilogy by Beyonce. They won the 2025 Best Country Duo GRAMMY for the song.
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Beyonce contacted Cyrus about the album, and Cyrus told her she had the perfect song that she had started a few years earlier. Cyrus said her mom loved the song.
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"Die With a Smile" was written by Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga (along with other collaborators). It won the 2025 Best Pop Duo GRAMMY.
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According to Lady Gaga, Mars had started working on the song and invited her to his studio to hear it. She said she arrived there around midnight, she loved it, and they stayed up all night to finish it.
Resources in the Fredricksen Library
Feinstein, Michael. The Gershwins and Me: A Personal History in Twelve Songs.
Simon & Schuster, 2012.
Light, Alan. Johnny Cash: The Life and Legacy of the Man in Black. Smithsonian
Books, 2018.
Sheed, Wilfred. The House That George Built: With a Little Help From Irving, Cole,
and a Crew of About Fifty. Random House, 2008.
