Classic Duets

In October 1957, Frank Sinatra, riding a "comeback" wave in which his acting and singing careers soared, gave TV a second shot on ABC, five years removed from an inauspicious two-year stint on CBS. The hybrid variety-drama show, done his way according to the record books, proved limp in the ratings as a weekly offering, and he played out the final two years of his three-year contract in a series of specials.

Jewels In The Crown is a duets compilation album by American Soul singer Aretha Franklin. It was released in 2007 by Arista, and comprises a combination of classic duets spanning Franklin's career, and two newly recorded duets with Fantasia and John Legend. It also contains two live duets, one from 1993, the other from 1998. The album concludes with Franklin's noted rendition of "Nessun Dorma" from the Grammy Awards of 1998, when she filled in last minute for Luciano Pavarotti. The album peaked at a moderate #54 on the Billboard main album chart and at #7 on the US R&B Album Chart, reportedly selling close to 20,000 copies during its chart run. As of October, 2009 the album has reportedly sold 107,000 copies in the US and about 140,000 worldwide.

For her 34th studio album, Anne Murray recorded a set of duets with many of her favorite female singers, from Nelly Furtado to Sarah Brightman. There are a number of country duet partners here, such as Shania Twain, Emmylou Harris, and Martina McBride, but there are even more pop-oriented women singing with Murray, encompassing the likes of Celtic Woman and Celine Dion. This makes perfect sense, as Murray's always straddled the pop-country fence effortlessly. Her singing on Duets: Friends and Legends is just as effortless. Now in her fifth decade as an active recording artist, her voice hasn't lost a beat, sounding just as pure and clear as it did on 1970s "Snowbird" (done here with a surprisingly relaxed, easy vocal from Brightman, sounding for all the world like a young Olivia Newton-John). The majority of these songs are ones which have been sizeable hits for Murray in the past, most of which work nicely recast as duets, or at least showcases for harmony singing.

The guitar of Toninho Horta is always a treat, but on this 2005 album it's made even better by some lyrically light flute work from Nicola Stilo! The set's got a dreamy quality that really gets at the gentler sound of Horta's work on guitar – and a few tunes even feature his vocals, singing in a laidback way that has echoes of the earlier bossa era, but a more gently jazzy approach overall. Stilo plays a variety of flutes on the set, and titles include a great version of Coltrane's "Naima", plus "Very Early", "Vento", "My Ideal", "In A Sentimental Mood", "Meu Canario", "Bons Amigos", and "Illusion".

Sir Thomas John Woodward OBE (born 7 June 1940), also known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer. His career has spanned six decades, from his emergence as a vocalist in the mid-1960s with a string of top hits, regular touring, appearances in Las Vegas (1967–2011), and career comebacks—to coaching on The Voice UK from 2012 (with the exception of 2016). Jones's powerful voice has been described as a "full-throated, robust baritone"..