Artist: Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin
Video: From YouTube.
OK, now the songs are really getting good. Forty-four songs left, hardly any more duds in the bunch.
"Separate Lives" is the only male-female duet in this countdown. Written by Stephen Bishop, who also performed the love theme from “Tootsie”, the emotionally charged lyrics touch a deep reservoir of sadness. I think it's far superior to "Say You, Say Me", the other hit from the movie White Nights. Both songs reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
It is also the second Phil Collins duet that has been featured. Here we see his serious, sorrowful side, very different from the upbeat, playful energy he had with Philip Bailey in "Easy Lover".
As for Marilyn Martin, she had only one other successful song in her career. "Night Moves", from her debut solo album, was a top 30 hit in 1986. After her second solo album didn't sell well, she worked as a backup vocalist for a while and then left the music business. She is currently a realtor in Nashville, Tennessee. Not many realtors have topped the pop charts.
The video is mostly footage from “White Nights”, combined with the lead singers in a large room with high ceilings and a piano. Their voices blend together in a beautiful way. You can really feel their heartache as they are forced to go on living separate lives. Word to your mother.
This is an adult song. I never really got that until I was older and experiencing the same issues myself. Right now, that's all I can say about that.
ReplyDeleteBut I will say this much...having it performed as a male/female duet? Great idea. That shows that both parties are struggling to move on...even though one is clearly doing a better job than the other.
The song has gotten better for me as I've matured, simply because it expresses what we do when we grow up.
Now that I've had time to think about this...let me bring up the recent Gotye hit "Someone That I Used to Know." One of the things that makes the song great is the part where Kimbra chimes in and delivers a chorus. After Gotye's explanation that his former girlfriend is out of his life, she shows up to explain, "Hey, Buddy...you're not blameless for this, either."
DeleteTurns out there are two sides to the story, which makes the guest vocal here so neat. That's what I was getting at when I mentioned that "Separate Lives" was such a great song when it was done as a duet.
By the way, when Stephen Bishop wrote the song, he had just split from Karen Allen, who was an actress in both "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Animal House" (a movie Bishop was also in).
I am admittedly a huge sucker for male/female heart-wrenching duets, and this is one of my all time favorites. I like how Mr. Stufflesheet has brought up the Gotye song, because I too linked the two songs. And since I am writing another nine month later I would add the new P!nk song featuring the guy from fun. as another example of this telling two sides of the story.
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