Islands in the Stream
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article refers to the song. Islands in the Stream is also a posthumously published novel by Ernest Hemingway.
| "Islands in the Stream" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton | ||
| from the album Eyes That See in the Dark | ||
| Released | August 1983 (U.S.) | |
| Genre | Country | |
| Writer(s) | Bee Gees | |
| Producer(s) | Barry Gibb | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton singles chronology | ||
| "Islands in the Stream" (1983) |
"Real Love" (1985) |
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"Islands in the Stream" was a 1983 hit country music single for Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, written by the Bee Gees (whose vocals also appear on the record). It was the first single from Rogers' album Eyes That See in the Dark and the second pop number-one for both Rogers and Parton (Rogers having been there with 1980's "Lady" and Parton with 1981's "9 to 5"). They went on to record a Christmas album together, and had an additional country hit with their 1985 duet "Real Love". The Gibb Brothers had originally written the song for Diana Ross.
It is a love song between two people who need no one else. The chorus runs: "Islands in the stream, that is what we are, no one in between, how can we be wrong, sail away with me to another world, and we rely on each other uh huh, from one lover to another un huh..."
Its two weeks as Billboard Hot 100 number-one was preceded by "Total Eclipse of the Heart," performed by Bonnie Tyler, and followed by "All Night Long" by Lionel Richie. It also spent two weeks as the number one country song and in the year's final countdown was the number one song of the entire year of 1983.
Swedish pop and country singer Kikki Danielsson covered the song on her 1983 album "Singles Bar", in Swedish as "Öar i ett hav" ("Islands in a sea").
The song was sampled on Pras Michel's 1998 hit song "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)".
In 2001, the Bee Gees released their own version of the song on a greatest hits compilation. Robin Gibb performed lead vocals on the track, which included (part of) the chorus from "Ghetto Supastar".
The song has also been covered by Bertine Zetlitz (featuring Thom Hell) on an "open disc" to her 2006 album "My Italian Greyhound".
The song was covered in 2006 on Australian TV show Rockwiz, performed by Ella Hooper of Killing Heidi and Troy Cassar-Daley.
In 2005, Country Music Television ranked this number one on their list of greatest country music duets of all time.
Michael Scott, a fictional character in the US Television Series The Office, performs a karaoke version of the song in the episode E-mail Surveillance.
A cover version of the song was recorded in 2006 by the UK Tabloid favourite couple, Katie Price and Peter Andre. The track is included on their album of Duets "A whole new world".
[edit] References
- The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits
[edit] External links
- Dollymania: The Online Dolly Parton Newsmagazine
- Performance by the Bee Gees at YouTube - in One Night Only tour
| Preceded by "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single October 29, 1983- November 5, 1983 |
Succeeded by "All Night Long (All Night)" by Lionel Richie |
