From infatuation to divorce, from break-ups to make-ups, country
music's greatest male-female duos can distill an entire relationship
down to a few teary verses and a catchy chorus. Want to play country
couples counselor? Start with these nine passionate classics -- all
preserved on YouTube.
Dolly Parton's pure mountain voice found its dazzling
complement in older partner Porter Wagoner's Nudie suits of many
colors. The intriguingly mismatched pair kept listeners guessing about
their strictly musical relationship for years thanks to tunes like
their poignant 1968 hit, "Holding On to Nothin'," which they performed more than once on
Porter's long-running TV show.
George Jones knew
how to keep a cheating song fresh. Country's baddest bad boy was
likely married to Tammy Wynette when he and Melba Montgomery reprised
their 1963 home-wrecking hit, "We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds," on TV, as a steel guitar gently weeps in
the background.
Following mutual marital misfires, June Carter and Johnny Cash
– probably country's healthiest couple over the long haul
– remained hitched for 35 years until death did them part. Here
they are in 1969, the year after their marriage, kicking up their
heels and seemingly having the time of their lives as they sing Lee
Hazelwood's "Jackson"
Jessi Colter also had a benign effect on fellow country outlaw
Waylon Jennings, whom she reportedly helped kick a serious drug habit.
The couple sound angelic – with Waylon appearing particularly
tender – while singing Jenning's "Storms Never Last." Following Jennings death in 2002, Colter's career
enjoyed a nice up tick with the 2006 release of her underappreciated
"Out of the Ashes."
Earthy Loretta Lynn and puffy-haired Conway Twitty were the
most successful country couple of the early 1970s, yet their chemistry
always seemed strangely chaste. Check out their 1972 TV version of
Freddie Hart's smooth recent hit, "Easy Loving," and see if you don't agree.
Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra share a gothic moment in this
creepy yet magnificent 1967 black-and-white TV rendition of "Summer Wine." They were never romantically involved. In fact,
Hazelwood was nearly 40 when he instructed the 25-year-old Sinatra to
sing "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" as though she were
"a 14-year-old girl who goes with truck drivers."
Little footage exists of tragic country-rock legend Gram
Parsons, who died of a drug overdose, at age 27, in 1973. Fortunately,
the magic of Parsons's musical partnership with Emmylou Harris
transcends the low production values of the film that captured them
singing "Big Mouth Blues" to a raucous Texas crowd.
According to Roseanne Cash, the 1988 video of "It's Such a Small World" she made with former husband Rodney Crowell
embarrassed their children greatly. It's a pretty decent song, though,
so it might have something to do with the hair. Crowell went on to
write more pointedly political tunes, as on his new album, "Sex
& Gasoline."
Relationships rarely end up in such a gorgeous shambles as that
conjured up by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss in "Please Read the Letter." The rock god and pop-bluegrass queen let their
unique brand of mystic mountain music shine during a 2007 Tennessee
performance.