Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars’ ‘Die With a Smile’ & More Hot 100 Hits With Uncommon Star Power

On the Billboard Hot 100 dated May 11, 1959, Edward Byrnes and Connie Stevens’ “Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)” soared from No. 19 to No. 4, where it peaked for two weeks.

The song became a novelty hit, tying into the character that Byrnes played on the TV show 77 Sunset Strip. For all its lightheartedness, it made history: It became the first Hot 100 top 10 by two artists who didn’t regularly record together, dating to the chart’s Aug. 4, 1958, start.

A select few such team-ups hit the Hot 100’s top 10 in the 1960s, before the practice made more inroads in the ‘70s, when high-profile artists sharing No. 1s included Elton John and Kiki Dee (“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”); John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John (“You’re the One That I Want”); and Barbra Streisand with both Neil Diamond (“You Don’t Bring Me Flowers”) and Donna Summer (“No More Tears [Enough Is Enough]”).

By the mid-‘80s, the Hot 100’s timeline had extended far enough that “That’s What Friends Are For” made its own history: As it marked Stevie Wonder’s 27th top 10 and John’s 20th (as well as Dionne Warwick’s 12th and Gladys Knight’s eighth, all under the billing Dionne & Friends), the all-star charity single became the first top 10 by two acts each adding a 20th hit in the tier.

On the Hot 100 dated Aug. 31, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars bound in at No. 3 with “Die With a Smile” – Mars’ 19th top 10 and Gaga’s 18th. Even with collaborations now long embedded in hit music, the ballad is an impressive outlier, as it becomes the latest rare song in which at least two acts each up their counts to 15 or more top 10s.

Below, browse (or, in honor of Byrnes and Stevens, comb through) a recap of the select songs with such star power, and acts’ Hot 100 top 10 totals at the time of each entry. Notably, Michael Jackson leads with three dominant duets, while Drake, Gaga, Ariana Grande, Paul McCartney, Rihanna and Wonder boast two each.

Related Images: