Mike Reno And Ann Wilson "Almost Paradise"

Superstar duets resulted in several major hits in the early '80s and notched Top Ten singles for acts like Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and Willie Nelson. In 1984, the movie soundtrack to "Footloose" featured such a pairing as one of the half dozen hit songs spawned by the success of that movie's inescapable popularity.

The song "Almost Paradise" brought together two singers who had fronted successful hard rock bands, Heart's Ann Wilson and Loverboy's Mike Reno. Co-written by former Raspberry lead singer Eric Carmen and Dean Pitchford, "Almost Paradise" was the fifth single pulled from Footloose; two of which had been #1 singles.

The power ballad relied heavily on keyboards and the throaty vocals of the two lead singers. It entered the US Top 40 in May and rocketed up the charts. The song managed to make it as high as #7 in August before running out of steam. However, "Almost Paradise" was a hit with soft rock audiences, too, and managed to reach #1 on the adult contemporary charts.

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