Rick Michel's Blog

I was watching The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon this week and they had Barbra Streisand on promoting her new album, Partners. It is an album of duets with people like Michael Buble, Blake Shelton, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder and Elvis Presley. Streisand sang on the show and since they needed partners for her to sing with, Fallon did the parts of Presley, Shelton and Buble during the medley.

 Immediately, it reminded me of the welcome home television special Frank Sinatra did in 1960 to welcome Elvis back from the army. In it, Sinatra and Presley do a duet with Frank singing Love Me Tender – which happens to be the song Barbra does with the King on her album – and Elvis sings Witchcraft.

 Incidentally, Frank made an appearance, so to speak, on Streisand’s aptly named 2002 album, Duets, singing I’ve Got a Crush on You with the talented diva, which, of course, is the recording that appeared on the Voice’s own hugely successful album of the same name in 1993.

 This wealth of information and memories got me thinking; I’ve done the King many times, why don’t I incorporate a little duet with he and Frank? And the more I think about this idea, the more I like it. On top of that, I can help anyone look like the King with a special set of glasses that are simply marvellous fun and have served me well on stage and television. My Leslie thinks they aren’t sophisticated enough for the show, but seeing the fun that can ensue, as it did with Frank and Elvis, as well as Jimmy and Barbra, I know they’ll help birth another entertaining segment.

 A good duet can be a magical moment, often bringing together two iconic personalities to create a piece of musical history, and when it comes to choice of partners, you can’t go wrong with Frank or the King.