5 of the Best Musical Collaborations

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The second half of the 20th century roared with iconic musicians who made waves creating blended genres and outstanding instrumentals and lyrics. Artists like David Bowie, Bob Dylan, and Stevie Nicks were already booming with success when they decided to collaborate with other distinguished artists and performers of their time. 

So what happens when traditionally solo artists or bands decide to work with others? Some of the best music of the 20th century.

Here are five of the best musical collaborations. 

Under Pressure – Queen and David Bowie

Perhaps one of the most famous collaborations, British rock band Queen and English singer-songwriter David Bowie collaborated in Switzerland in 1981. Queen was recording their tenth studio album, “Hot Space,” and Bowie, in the same studio, was recording the theme and title track for the fantasy horror thriller “Cat People.” 

After Bowie crashed Queen’s jam session, he suggested they write their own song, instead of just playing covers. Their strategy was to have each singer record their own melodic vocals, and to then combine them in an “avant-garde” style Bowie frequented. 

The vocalists essentially improvised their vocals, which led to Freddie Mercury’s famous scat 

vocals throughout, “Mmm num ba de, Dum bum ba be, Doo buh dum ba beh beh.” 

The thrill of this iconic collaboration was short lived; however, as personalities clashed, and they fought about what to even name the track. The feud became so intense Bowie considered trying to block the song from being released at all. Ultimately, however, they agreed to release the single in October of 1981, with it later being included on Hot Space, in 1982. 

The song landed several number one spots on the charts, and has been regarded as one of the greatest songs of all time.

Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around – Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty

In the late 1970s, Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks approached Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Tom Petty, requesting he write a song for her to record. Petty eventually agreed, and shared the song “Insider,” with Nicks, though he ultimately kept the song for himself, releasing it on his 1981 album, Hard Promises. 

Petty then wrote the iconic Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around. This blues-rock tune has Nicks expressing frustrations in a relationship, as their partner is dealing with demons that are dragging them down. Though Nicks didn’t write or co-write the tune, her vocals carried, and the two standout stars released a duet that would be released on Nicks’ first solo album in July of 1981. The single took off, and landed a spot on the Billboard charts. 

Mirror Ball – Neil Young and Pearl Jam

1960s-1970s singer-songwriter Neil Young joined 1990s rock band Pearl Jam, to record Young’s 21st album, Mirror Ball. Young acted as a mentor and inspiration for Pearl Jam, and they would perform together several times in the nineties, mainly singing Rockin’ In the Free World, even performing Young’s 1989 song together at the 1993 MTV Music Awards.

The album was recorded in four days’ studio time, during January and February of 1995 at Bad Animals Studio in Seattle. Nine of the eleven tracks on the album were written during that four day time period by Young. The rock-grunge album addresses several ideas, Young saying, “There’s idealism and reality, the two have got to come together yet there are always major problems when they do. Maybe that’s the crux of what I’m trying to say in this new album. It’s also a commentary of the differences between my peace and love ’60s generation and the more cynical ’90s generation.”

In August of 1995, Pearl Jam (minus Eddie Vedder and adding producer O’Brien,) joined Young for eleven shows in Europe, promoting the album.

Mirror Ball received shining reviews, reached number five on the Billboard 200 album chart, and has been certified gold by the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA).

I Do Love You – The Beach Boys and Stevie Wonder

In the mid eighties, the ever iconic The Beach Boys were working on their first album following the tragic drowning of member Dennis Wilson. As the group pushed through their loss and strived to create a new album, the amazingly talented Stevie Wonder wanted to create something new altogether. 

It all started with the LinnDrum, or LM-2, a somewhat rare musical instrument. Only 500 of the original model were ever made, but standout artists like Prince, Tears for Fears, and more used the LM-2 in many iconic songs of the eighties. Wonder owned two at the time, but needed help synchronizing them, so he contacted Beach Boys’ producer, Steve Levine, who he knew also had one of his own. 

After Wonder received help from Levine, he asked if The Beach Boys needed a song for their next album. The boys agreed to collaborate, and Wonder wrote the lyrics and played all of the instruments, including drums, bass, piano, Rhodes Piano, LinnDrum, and harmonica, all within the span of seven hours.

All that was needed from The Beach Boys was Carl Wilson’s lead vocals, and the rest of the boys’ background vocals, as Wilson sings wistfully about the girl he’s been dreaming of.

I Do Love You was track number five, on side two of the album The Beach Boys. The album, released in June of 1985, was their 25th studio album.

Although the album didn’t receive the greatest reviews, the collaboration of such iconic musicians is still notable, especially with the use of the LM-2. 

The Basement Tapes – Bob Dylan and The Band

In the mid 1960s, Bob Dylan, widely regarded as one of the best songwriters of all time, was receiving commercial success with the 1965 release of Highway 61 Revisited, his sixth studio album. From 1965 to 1966, Dylan toured the US, Australia, and Europe, with the backing band The Hawks, who would later be named The Band,

Composed of Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko, and Garth Hudson, the rock band received an enormous amount of hate throughout the tour, as the audiences were angry that Dylan had a rock band backing his traditional folk music.

As Dylan recovered from an intense motorcycle crash in 1966, he joined The Band in Woodstock, New York, at “Big Pink,” a pink painted house that would not only become the title of their debut album, but would also be the site of some of the greatest songwriting of the sixties.

Hudson recalled the musicians recording seven to fifteen songs a day, some traditional songs, and some new ones that Dylan would make up as they went along – the result of which was a classic rock album later described as “the sound of Dylan letting his guard down.”

Most of The Basement Tapes was recorded in 1967, but the album wasn’t released until 1975. It would be Dylan’s sixteenth album and his second with The Band. The album received favorable reviews, and John Rockwell of The New York Times, said it was “one of the greatest albums in the history of American popular music.” It landed spot number seven on the Billboard Top LPs and Tape Chart.

What is your favorite musical collaboration?