Being married is hard enough, but combine that with working together and you’ve got a tough proposition, so to speak. It didn’t work out well for Ike and Tina Turner or for Sonny and Cher, but there are many musical couples who stayed together til the end.
Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme are still married after 54 years. She’s retired from showbiz, but Steve is still performing. Here’s a clip of them 10 years into wedlock:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_IIaC20ZzI&feature=related
“America’s Singing Sweethearts” Jeanette McDonald and Nelson Eddy were married, but not to each other. They made several successful films for MGM, and were rumored to have a torrid off-screen romance. You can see the sparks fly in this clip of “Indian Love Call”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87bUBB-rwFc
Johnny Cash and June Carter got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout. In fact, Johnny asked her to marry him during a live performance in 1968. The marriage lasted until 2003, when they died within months of each other. Here’s a Johnny & June onstage with “Jackson":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzhzCF77GDo
And then there’s Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, one of the most powerful couples in entertainment. They had a passionate and stormy relationship that ended in divorce, but they remained good friends. Lucy didn’t sing often, but here they are together with “Cuban Pete”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iwOFoSVfbU
Every week on “Record bin Roulette,” KPLU’s John Kessler and John Maynard put an insightful and fun spin on a century's worth of discarded vinyl. The feature is published here and airs on KPLU 88.5 every Thursday during Morning Edition, All Things Considered and on Weekend Saturday Edition.