The 40 Biggest Duets Of All Time

While "Friends and Lovers" sounds undoubtedly dated, the airy duet between unlikely pairing of actors/singers Carl Anderson and Gloria Loring was all the rage in '86. After a popular performance on the soap opera "Days Of Our Lives" -- on which Loring starred as lounge singer Liz Chandler -- the song spent two weeks at No. 2 on the Hot 100 chart. For those hoping to move out of the dreaded "friends zone," Anderson and Loring have some encouragement that it's actually possible: "We don't have to be one or the other."

"Up Where We Belong" may be synonymous with the 1982 film "An Officer and a Gentleman," but the Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes duet is just as romantic even when one is not staring at a super-dreamy uniformed Richard Gere. The song not only stayed at No. 1 on the Hot 100 for three weeks in late 1982 -- it also won both the Academy Award and the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for a film in 1983. What we wouldn't give for smokey-voiced Joe Cocker to serenade us with nonsense tales of eagles crying, all while being whisked away from our awful factory jobs!

Although Stevie Nicks' debut album, "Bella Donna," featured more timeless singles like "Edge of Seventeen" and "Leather and Lace," the Tom Petty collaboration "Stop Draggin' my Heart Around" was the world's first glimpse of the Fleetwood Mac singer as a solo artist. Produced by Petty and Jimmy Iovine, the rock track was even parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic with the song "Stop Draggin' My Car Around."

Between the more self-affirming singles "Tattoo" and "One Step at a Time," Jordin Sparks released this lilting duet with R&B star Chris Brown. A Grammy nominee for Best Pop Collaboration with vocals, "No Air" reached No. 3 on the Hot 100 and served as a precursor to Sparks' emotionally wounded future single, "Battlefield."

The Black Eyed Peas recently used the hook of Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes' duet for their single "The Time (Dirty Bit)," but the words "I've had the time of my life" will forever be tied to the 1987 film "Dirty Dancing." The soft-rock hit closed out the Patrick Swayze-Jennifer Grey flick and won the 1987 Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Phil Bailey, the longtime member of Earth, Wind & Fire, and former Genesis drummer Phil Collins came together for this 80s pop confection off Bailey's 1984 album "Chinese Wall." Although the track was Bailey's biggest hit by far, Collins scored again the following year with "Separate Lives," his duet with Marilyn Martin.

The peppy collaboration between "Grease" stars Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 in June 1978. "You're The One That I Want," along with the actors' other duet "Summer Nights," helped the soundtrack to the hit 1978 film become certified eight-times platinum, according to the RIAA.

It's one the greatest baby-making jams of all time, but "Baby Come to Me" was far from an immediate hit. When the Patti Austin & James Ingram duet was first released in 1982, it only made it to no. 73 on the Hot 100. But later that year, the track gained new exposure through its use on ABC soap opera "General Hospital." In response to the newfound buzz, the song was re-released and climbed to No. 1 on both the Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts in early 1983.

Keith Sweat, the king of new jack soul, conjured up an intense quiet storm when he teamed up with soulful chanteuse Athena Cage for this steamy R&B jam in 1996. The pair soared to no. 3 on the Hot 100, and sizzled at the top of the R&B chart for three hot weeks.

Marilyn McCoo and Billy David Jr. didn't have to struggle to find their chemistry in the studio. Not only had the pair been married for seven years when they recorded this 1976 R&B classic, they'd already spent a decade making beautiful music together as part of '70s soul quintet The 5th Dimension. The pair's romantic and musical bond paid off -- the Grammy-winning track went to No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles chart.