Soul singer Aretha Franklin died last week, which sent fans from all over the world into a state of mourning. While I can say I enjoy at least 2-3 of her songs, I would hardly call myself a fan! I kind of like the song (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman, even though I still think of that Chic jeans commercial from the 1980s whenever I hear it!  However, with Franklin’s massive body of work, I still think she was a singer who deserved some “respect” (see what I did there)? Apparently Madonna didn’t show enough “respect” to the Queen of Soul in her recent MTV Video Music Awards performance, which I did not watch, but read about in an online Rolling Stone article. I don’t do awards shows unless they are recorded and I can fast-forward through all of the crap. Which means I wind up watching less than 10 percent of the broadcast (LOL)! I just don’t have the patience. A friend of mine who said she watched the VMAs said she wanted to stab herself in the eyes with hot pokers after doing so (LOL)!

Aretha and George Michael sing I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me), which hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1987, making it her highest-charting duet.

First and foremost, however…this is a trivia blog, so I’ll get right to it! I think this is a topic worth studying for trivia purposes, and putting all of this into blog form is a good way for ME to remember it!

So…which other singers did she partner up with in live and recorded duets? What was the chart position of those songs? Which Franklin duet was the highest-charting? I’m going to attempt to cover ALL of those topics! Any chart positions given will be for the U.S. Hot 100 charts. Any number one hits will be denoted in red.

People Who Sang Duets With Aretha Franklin

• Ray Charles, 1975, It Takes Two To Tango (appearance on TV series The Midnight Special).
• Smokey Robinson, 1975 (live), Ooh Baby Baby, appearance on Soul Train.
• Eurythmics, 1985, Sisters are Doin’ It For Themselves, #18, from the album Who’s Zooming Who.
• George Michael, 1987, I Knew You Were Waiting, #1 (for two weeks), from the album Aretha. 
• James Brown, 1989, Gimme Your Love, from the album Through the Storm.
• Whitney Houston, 1989, It Isn’t, It Wasn’t, It Ain’t Ever Going to Be,  #41, from the album Through the Storm
• Luther Vandross, 1991, Doctor’s Orders, from the album What You See Is What You Sweat.
• Michael McDonald,  1991, Ever Changing Times, from the album What You See Is What You Sweat.
• Frank Sinatra, 1993, What Now My Love, Duets (Frank Sinatra album).
• Rod Stewart, 1993, This Old Heart of Mine (performance in the film Duets).
• Bonnie Raitt and Gloria Estefan, 1994, (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman, live performance.
• Mariah Carey, 1998, Chain Of Fools, VH-1 Divas Live.
• Mary J. Blige, 1999, Don’t Waste Your Time,  from the album Mary (Mary J. Blige album).
• Hugh Jackman, 2005, Somewhere, 2005 Tony Awards (from West Side Story).
• Fantasia, 2007, Put You Up On Game, from the album Jewels In The Crown: All Star-Duets With The Queen.