3 Dream Collaborations That Almost Happened—but Sadly Never Did

To be promised something and never get it is worse than being told you’ll never get it in the first place. This logic seemingly applies to everything, but especially when it comes to famous collaborations. There is nothing worse than catching wind of a possible collaboration and then never seeing it come to fruition. It is possibly one of the worst feelings a fan can feel and it seems to happen far too often.

Over the years the music industry has teased some of the greatest potential collaborations of all time. Whether it be a whole album, a song, or merely a live appearance, when news of this magnitude becomes public it instills a surge of hope within fans. However, when it falls short, the effects are irreversibly cruel to the life of a fan. That being so, here are three famous collaborations that never happened and left fan’s souls crushed.

1. Elvis and David Bowie

Six months before Elvis died in 1977, he reportedly phoned David Bowie and asked him if he would produce his next record. However, given Elvis’ untimely demise, the project never came to fruition and became one of those big “what if” questions in the music industry.

Matter of fact, Dwight Yoakam once said in an interview with the Orange County Register, “I couldn’t even imagine 1977 David Bowie producing Elvis” and “It would have been fantastic. It has to be one of the greatest tragedies in pop music history that it didn’t happen; one of the biggest missed opportunities.” A missed opportunity indeed, as this collaboration would have been a staple moment in 20th-century music history.

2. Michael Jackson and Prince

Oddly enough, it seems Jackson and Prince’s music spoke unconsciously to each other as they seemingly both toiled with similar genres and influences. Well, it seems Jackson thought so too, as he initially intended his hit “Bad” to be a duet between him and the “Purple Rain” singer. However, it’s been reported that given their competition and Prince’s control over his art, he refused to collaborate with Jackson.

Prince testified to this fact himself, as he told Chris Rock in a 1997 VH1 interview, “Now I said, ‘Who’s gonna sing that to who?’” and “Cause you sure ain’t singing it to me. And I sure ain’t singing it to you.” Prince’s comment was a result of the song’s first line, Your butt is mine. Hence, he seemingly believed Jackson was taking a shot at him and as a result, forewent the collaboration.

3. Adele and Phil Collins

This one is so painstaking, as Adele’s epic voice matched with Collins’ epic production skills would have made a larger-than-life song. In the early stages of her iconic album, 25, Adele reached out to Collins for him to finish a piece of music she’d written. However, when Collins finished the music and tried to reach out to Adele he “Couldn’t find her” and said “She was like a ghost,” per Entertainment Weekly.

Collins also stated, “She said that it was too early, she made a mistake” and “She wasn’t ready to make another album yet, and so she kind of disappeared.” Nonetheless, Collins was still honored to be asked such a thing by one of the best vocalists of all time. If this would have happened, it surely would have been a collaboration for the ages.

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