I Will Always Sing This Duet?

January 29, 2012 11:50 PM

Song-finder filter. For a friend, though there isn't a lot to go on. From the 40's or 50's, popular karaoke song especially among old people apparently?. Male and female duet.

It possibly starts with I? "some lyric or sentiments include will, or always, maybe those words?" It's "very classic". That's it. Help? Thank you.

posted by Garm to media & arts (16 answers total)

Maybe MeFi ate part of your question. If not, are you really asking for a song that includes the word I and might include the word will? Or perhaps always? That's not much to go on.

But if this is the answer thread where we all guess our favorite duets from the 1940's, I'll go with Baby It's Cold Outside (1949).

(If the 1930's was allowed, I'd go with Fred and Ginger, of course.)

Both of these songs feature the word I, always and/or will.
posted by rokusan at 12:04 AM on January 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah, sorry about the vagueness, but he insists that it's obvious, and not one of those two. It's like 'Til There Was You', except not that one. It has more harmony than those. It's slow paced. Again, I appreciate the help.
posted by Garm at 12:13 AM on January 30, 2012

Always? Not a duet, but I guess it could be.
posted by sageleaf at 12:42 AM on January 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Are You Mine? perhaps? Several different folks have recorded it as a duet over the years.
posted by Oriole Adams at 2:39 AM on January 30, 2012

Maybe the Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole duet of "When I Fall in Love?"
posted by smeater44 at 2:46 AM on January 30, 2012

Let's Call The Whole Thing Off?
posted by mrmarley at 3:12 AM on January 30, 2012

Is it "You've Got What It Takes" (Dinah Washington & Brook Benton)? Or one of their other duets?
posted by prenominal at 4:15 AM on January 30, 2012

The following are some more "classic" duets made famous by male/female pairs. Most are from an era a little later than you are looking for - but worth checking:

I never had it so good by Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge (1973)
Somethin' Stupid by Frank and Nancy Sinatra (1967)
I got you babe by Sony and Cher - from 1965
It takes Two by Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston (1967)

But otherwise - musicals are a great place to look:

Did you Evah? from High Society has been done by some male/female pairs. For example Iggy Pop (in clothes!) & Debbie Harry as linked.
Anything you can do I can do better - here by Betty Hutton and Howard Keel
Friendship - another by Cole Porter - here sung by Ethel Merman and Bert Lahr.
All Through the Night - even more Cole Porter.
They Can't take that away from me - here by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald
I Remember it Well - Maurice Chevalier, Hermione Gingold

Finally this askme is all about similar male/female songs.
posted by rongorongo at 4:23 AM on January 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm just thinking that if it's karaoke, and the "old people" like it, it's got to be Steve and Eydie. YouTube offers an entire collection for your edification and listening enjoyment.
posted by halfbuckaroo at 6:40 AM on January 30, 2012

See also, "I will wait for you," from the Umbrellas of Cherbourg 1964 soundtrack. Andy Williams covered it in probably the most recognizable version, but it was originally a duet.
posted by halfbuckaroo at 6:59 AM on January 30, 2012

One last pitch for, "I'll be loving you...always," sung by Billy Eckstein and Sarah Vaughan. It has a longer intro (1:06) than you normally hear, but you'll recognize it instantly.
posted by halfbuckaroo at 7:14 AM on January 30, 2012

It doesn't contain the words you mentioned, but an old, yet well-known duet that comes to mind is "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off." (You say tomato, I say tomahto...)

Or, assuming that the song may be classified as a "standard," maybe perusing the decade-by-decade lists of Jazz Standards might help.
posted by LaurenIpsum at 7:19 AM on January 30, 2012

Some that occurred to me right off the bat:

I Remember It Well (from the movie Gigi, popular old duet where the man clearly doesn't actually remember their first date well at all).
If I Fall in Love, already linked above (It was in Sleepless in Seattle, so your friend might be familiar with it for that reason).

Those are from the right time period.

But in case your friend is temporally confused, these also fit everything but the time period:

Endless Love (Everybody knows this one from the Brooke Shields movie)
Don't Know Much (Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt sang this)
You Don't Bring Me Flowers (Barbra Streisand, of course)
posted by misha at 8:17 AM on January 30, 2012

>See also, "I will wait for you," from the Umbrellas of Cherbourg 1964 soundtrack
In duet form here with Nana Mouskouri and Michel Legrand. Recorded in the days before irony.


But let's not forget that the canonical 'I will always' Karaoke song is "I will always Love You" by Dolly Parton -often done as a male/female duet as here
posted by rongorongo at 9:20 AM on January 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Cheek to Cheek
posted by costanza at 12:04 PM on January 30, 2012

How 'bout 'Let It Be Me':

I bless the day I found you,
I want to stay around you,
And so I beg you,
Let It Be Me.

etc.

Beautiful duet. Everly Brothers.
posted by DandyRandy at 1:54 PM on January 30, 2012