“Islands in the Stream

"Islands in the Stream" is a song written by the Bee Gees and recorded by American country music artists Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. Named after an Ernest Hemingway novel, it was released in August 1983 as the first single from Rogers's album Eyes That See in the Dark. The song was originally written for Marvin Gaye or Diana Ross in an R&B style but later reworked for the duet by Rogers and Parton. The Bee Gees released a live version of the song in 1998 and a studio version in 2001. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, giving both Rogers and Parton their second pop number-one hit (after Rogers's "Lady" in 1980 and Parton's "9 to 5" in 1981). It also topped the Country and Adult Contemporary charts. It has been double certified Platinum and gold certified singles by the Recording Industry Association of America for two million and half a million digital sales in US. In 2005 the song topped CMT's poll of the best country duets of all time; Parton and Rogers reunited to perform the song on the CMT special. Rogers and Parton went on to record a Christmas album together and had an additional hit with their 1985 duet "Real Love". Due to licensing reasons, this song was not included on digital release of Eyes That See in the Dark from Capitol Records Nashville. Sony Music, the current owner of RCA Records, protected copyrights for this recording, and is digitally available only in various compilations from Sony Music, especially those of Dolly Parton.