On This Day: The duet Kenny almost gave up on

Their voices sounded so comfortable together that it is hard to imagine the song any other way. Yet the recording that brought Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton together began with a frustrated singer ready to move on.

Some songs almost invite you to find a singing partner. Islands in the Stream is one of them, with Kenny Rogers’ warm delivery meeting Dolly Parton’s unmistakable voice.

On the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated October 29, 1983, their duet reached No.1, beginning a two-week stay at the top. That was 43 years ago today. It displaced Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart.

Written by the Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb and Maurice Gibb, the song had initially proved difficult for Rogers. He later recalled spending four days singing it before telling producer Barry Gibb he no longer even liked it.

Gibb’s suggestion was to bring in Parton, and the pairing changed the recording and began a musical partnership that lasted decades.

Listen again and the appeal is easy to hear: neither singer overwhelms the other. The pleasure comes from hearing two distinctive voices settle into the same song.

Back in orbit at 77

On October 29, 1998, John Glenn lifted off aboard space shuttle Discovery, becoming the oldest person to travel into space at the time.

He was 77, returning 36 years after becoming the first American to orbit Earth. His mission included research into ageing, examining how his body responded to weightlessness. It gave a familiar space-age hero a remarkable second chapter.

Two letters, then a crash

The first message sent over ARPANET (the internet’s predecessor) travelled from UCLA to Stanford Research Institute on October 29, 1969.

Programmer Charley Kline attempted to send “LOGIN”, but the receiving computer crashed after “LO”. It was an unpromising start for technology that would eventually make family video calls and everyday online conversations possible. The full login succeeded after the problem was fixed.

Born on this day

Richard Dreyfuss turns 79, remembered for Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Kate Jackson, of Charlie’s Angels and Scarecrow and Mrs. King, turns 78.

Winona Ryder turns 55, with Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands among her best-known films.

Do you remember?

Who would you choose to sing Islands in the Stream with?