Favorite Duet Partner

Of all the folks who sang a duet with Karen, who was your favorite?

  • Perry Como

    Votes: 13 29.5%
  • Ella Fitzgerald

    Votes: 12 27.3%
  • Andy Williams

    Votes: 3 6.8%
  • Carol Burnett

    Votes: 5 11.4%
  • John Denver

    Votes: 5 11.4%
  • Suzanne Summers

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • John Davidson

    Votes: 3 6.8%
  • Kristy McNichol

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Georgia Engel

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Bruce Forsythe

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Doug Strawn

    Votes: 3 6.8%

  • Total voters
    44
^^ I always felt Karen was beyond the "same league" as "those singers." !
However, another reason I discounted the 1980 Karen-Ella Medley as my favorite duet,
is that Karen's portion begins with the already-recorded 1973 vocals (and instrumental intro)
of This Masquerade, that does not sit well with my ears (as I have detailed elsewhere).
It is odd that they didn’t choose to re-record this. Especially since they loved recording and recording the other tracks. So I will say that her vocals on the 1973 tracks are exquisite.
 
The duets with Perry (Sleep Well) and Ella are great. It was a difficult choice, but I picked Andy Williams because I love his voice.
 
*From the list, Perry Como/Carpenters duet is my favorite! (Ella one is not bad either!)
*But my favorite duet partner for Karen is "Richard" hands down, and I bet if Karen were here to ask, she would say the same thing!
*The most fun duet is the one with Carol Burnett. Carol is all about fun and singing. Best of both worlds!
*Peter Cetera was a background vocal (to me) rather than a fully realized duet on "Making Love In The Afternoon," so I see why it wasn't immediately thought of. :)
 
*From the list, Perry Como/Carpenters duet is my favorite! (Ella one is not bad either!)
*But my favorite duet partner for Karen is "Richard" hands down, and I bet if Karen were here to ask, she would say the same thing!
*The most fun duet is the one with Carol Burnett. Carol is all about fun and singing. Best of both worlds!
*Peter Cetera was a background vocal (to me) rather than a fully realized duet on "Making Love In The Afternoon," so I see why it wasn't immediately thought of. :)

Interesting! Certainly Karen and Richard sounded great together, but I don't think it would be accurate to say they did much in the way of actual duets, per se'. As @GaryAlan said, there's criteria for determining what counts as a 'duet' and most of what Richard did was background and supporting vocals.
 
So weird that Karen (who excelled singing live) was not allowed to just lay down a live performance with Ella (who was definitely singing her part live) during that MMM special. Who makes these decisions?
 
It is odd that they didn’t choose to re-record this. Especially since they loved recording and recording the other tracks. So I will say that her vocals on the 1973 tracks are exquisite.

Oh, I'm sorry "Carpenters To You", I pretty much echoed your sentiments! Didn't mean to step on your toes. Note to self; read all the previous entries to the threads before responding...:)
 
Interesting! Certainly Karen and Richard sounded great together, but I don't think it would be accurate to say they did much in the way of actual duets, per se'. As @GaryAlan said, there's criteria for determining what counts as a 'duet' and most of what Richard did was background and supporting vocals.
Aren’t you forgetting Do You Hear What I Hear?, You’re Just In Love, Without A Song, Invocation & Benediction and Crystal Lullaby might even be considered a duet, since Richard takes over the lead vocal for quite a while in the later half of the song.
 
Speaking of duets,
I would love to hear the live-in-concert Medley with Karen and Neil Sedaka....
as I heard Laughter in the Rain on radio today and thought of that.....

There’s a bad quality tape recorded from the audience of the Karen/Sedaka duet. I’ve never heard it, but it’s purportedly out there.
 
My choice would probably be John Davidson or Ella. John Davidson probably has the best voice out of the males. Perry is OK, too. I like Doug Strawn as a singer, entertainer and personality. Of the females, Ella is iconic and was wonderful at what she did. She interpreted her songs brilliantly. I’m a fan of hers. Karen’s vocal performance with her isn’t my favourite, though, whereas I very much like her performance on ‘You’re Just In Love’ with John. I think there’s more warmth and feeling in Ella’s performance than John Davidson’s but, while I like her tone of voice, I like his, too. Ok - John D- Doug - Ella - John D - Ella - John D - Ella - can’t decide.
 
All this talk about the Perry/Karen medley made be go back to YT to take another look at it. I swear the way that Karen looks at him, there is some chemistry there! Then he steals a smooch from her at the end...something going on there? She did like the OLDER gentlemen. Have another look;

 
Sorry if I digress a bit...Speaking of Suzanne Somers, I saw her sometime around 1980 as she was headlining a show at one of the Vegas Hotels (I think it could've been the MGM Grand months before the fire). She sang she danced she told jokes. I was amazed at how talented she really was (as opposed to the bubble-headed Chrissy Snow on "Three's Company"). I was especially taken with how good a singer she was.
 
All this talk about the Perry/Karen medley made be go back to YT to take another look at it. I swear the way that Karen looks at him, there is some chemistry there! Then he steals a smooch from her at the end...something going on there? She did like the OLDER gentlemen. Have another look;



At 3:40, watch the end of Richard singing and then the camera shows all 3 of them. Watch Como's face and movement as Richard finishes singing. Seems a lack of attention/etiquette on Como's part? He seems completely disinterested in Richard's singing. When he looks back to Karen he even gives like a tiny head nod, as if to say "oh, hi, our turn again"...

Anyone else see something amiss there, in terms of Como's expression and body language?

@Carpe diem When I noticed this, I was reminded of your comment about watching these videos like a "Zapruder film" :wink:
 
At 3:40, watch the end of Richard singing and then the camera shows all 3 of them. Watch Como's face and movement as Richard finishes singing. Seems a lack of attention/etiquette on Como's part? He seems completely disinterested in Richard's singing. When he looks back to Karen he even gives like a tiny head nod, as if to say "oh, hi, our turn again"...

Now you come to mention it, yeah I see that too, quite clearly.
 
I was listening to Tony Bennett's CD of duets, and I got thinking of other duets and who I would have liked to hear Karen with.

I was thinking of some of the bluesy songs on her own CD and thought about her paired with Bonnie Raitt. But I especially was thinking of menthe would make a good partner — who were singing in the 80s. Manilow is a superb arranger and Billy Joel writes terrific songs, but neither one is really a strong singer. And Joel's songs tend to be a bit too cynical to suit her, in my mind. I liked hearing her with Como and Andy Williams because they were also so smooth, and I was trying to think though of contemporary men with a very smooth sound but who also sing high. That would give us an interesting arrangement where we get him singing higher than her. The two that I decided on were Dan Fogelberg and Kenny Rankin.
 
At 3:40, watch the end of Richard singing and then the camera shows all 3 of them. Watch Como's face and movement as Richard finishes singing. Seems a lack of attention/etiquette on Como's part? He seems completely disinterested in Richard's singing. When he looks back to Karen he even gives like a tiny head nod, as if to say "oh, hi, our turn again"...

Anyone else see something amiss there, in terms of Como's expression and body language?

I think you're probably reading into this. Who knows how long they'd been taping at that point. It's quite possible Como didn't even know he was on camera and he may have been tired.

Ed
 
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