That's What Friends Are For
For other uses, see That's What Friends Are For (disambiguation).
| "That's What Friends Are For" | ||||
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| Song by Rod Stewart from the album Night Shift soundtrack | ||||
| Released | 1982 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 3:54 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Writer | Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager | |||
| Night Shift soundtrack track listing | ||||
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"That's What Friends Are For" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager. It was first recorded in 1982 by Rod Stewart for the soundtrack of the film Night Shift, but it is better known for the 1985 remake version by Dionne Warwick and Friends.
Personnel
- Rod Stewart - vocals
- Jim Cregan - guitar, background vocals
- Jimmy "Z" Zavala - saxophone
- Kevin Savigar - keyboards
- Jay Davis - bass
- Tony Brock - drums, background vocals
Dionne Warwick cover
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| Single by Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder (as "Dionne & Friends") | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| from the album Friends | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| B-side | "Two Ships Passing in the Night" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Released | November 1985 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Format | 7", 12" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Soul, pop, soft rock, adult contemporary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 4:14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Label | Arista | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Producer(s) | Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dionne Warwick singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A one-off collaboration headed by Dionne Warwick and featuring Gladys Knight, Elton John, and Stevie Wonder, the latter three of whom had previously reached the Hot 100's top 40 with his/her own song about part-time loving,[1] released as a charity single in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1985, it was recorded as a benefit for American Foundation for AIDS Research, and raised over US$3 million for that cause. The song peaked at number one for three weeks on the soul chart and for four weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1986[2] - becoming the final US number one for all but John - and became Billboard's number one single of 1986. In the U.S., it was certified Gold on January 15, 1986 by the RIAA. Elton John played piano and Stevie Wonder played harmonica; the two previously worked together for 1983's I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues. In 1988, the Washington Post wrote, "So working against AIDS, especially after years of raising money for work on many blood-related diseases such as sickle-cell anemia, seemed the right thing to do. 'You have to be granite not to want to help people with AIDS, because the devastation that it causes is so painful to see. I was so hurt to see my friend die with such agony,' Warwick remembers. 'I am tired of hurting and it does hurt.'"
Clockwise from left, Gladys Knight, Carole Bayer-Sager, Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John, "That's What Friends Are For", 1985
The Dionne and Friends version of the song won the performers the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, as well as Song of the Year for its writers, Bacharach and Bayer Sager. It also was ranked by Billboard magazine as the most popular song of 1986.[3][4]
Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder performed the song live together for the first time in 23 years at the 25th Anniversary AmfAR Gala in New York on February 10, 2011.[5]
Dionne and Friends' version also listed at #61 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of all time.
Personnel
- Dionne Warwick - vocals
- Elton John - vocals, keyboards, synthesizer
- Gladys Knight - vocals
- Stevie Wonder - vocals, harmonica, drums, synthesizer, bass, keyboards
- Dean Parks - guitar
1990 benefit concert
On March 17, 1990 an AIDS benefit titled That's What Friends Are For: Arista Records 15th Anniversary Concert was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. One month later, CBS aired a two-hour version of the concert on television. The celebrity guests and Arista label performers were: Air Supply, Lauren Bacall, Burt Bacharach, Eric Carmen, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Clive Davis, Taylor Dayne, Michael Douglas, Exposé, Whoopi Goldberg, Melanie Griffith, Hall & Oates, Jennifer Holliday, Whitney Houston, Alan Jackson, Kenny G, Melissa Manchester, Barry Manilow, Milli Vanilli, Jeffrey Osborne, Carly Simon, Patti Smith, Lisa Stansfield, The Four Tops, and Dionne Warwick. "That's What Friends Are For" was the finale song sung by Warwick and cousin Houston before being joined on the stage by the other guests of the event. Over $2.5 million was raised that night for the Arista Foundation which gave the proceeds to various AIDS organizations.
Other versions
- Other recordings are by Shirley Bassey (1991), Cilla Black & Cliff Richard (a duet for Cilla Black's Through the Years album in 1993) and Helen Reddy (for The Burt Bacharach Album: Broadway Sings the Best of Burt Bacharach in 1998).
- Singer Mijares covered it in his 2009 Spanish album Vivir Así under the title of "Para ti yo estoy", a trio with Daniela Romo & Pandora.
- "The Friends Project" recorded a version that was arranged and produced by Australian singer Nathan Leigh Jones and directed by Michael Akers. Those taking part were singer-songwriter and piano player David Raleigh, Tony Award winning and Emmy-nominated Alan Cumming, Broadway actor, producer and singer Billy Porter and indie pop star Ari Gold. Revenues went to Ali Forney Center, a NYC shelter for homeless gay and lesbian youth.
- In 1987, at the Soul Train Music Awards, Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross and Whitney Houston performed live together.
References
- ↑ Paul Grein (1986-04-26). Billboard Chart Beat. Billboard Publications. p. 6. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 610.
- ↑ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=The+Billboard+Hot+100&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1986
- ↑ Billboard, December 27, 1986
- ↑ Heyman, Marshall (February 11, 2011). "Superstar 'Friends' Reunite". The Wall Street Journal.
External links
| Preceded by "Say You, Say Me" by Lionel Richie |
Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one single January 11, 1986 (2 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Go Home" by Stevie Wonder |
| Preceded by "Say You, Say Me" by Lionel Richie |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single January 18, 1986 – February 8, 1986 |
Succeeded by "How Will I Know" by Whitney Houston |
| Preceded by "Say You, Say Me" by Lionel Richie |
Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number one single January 25 – February 8, 1986 |
Succeeded by "Do Me, Baby" by Meli'sa Morgan |
| Preceded by "A Good Heart" by Feargal Sharkey |
Australian ARIA Singles Chart number-one single March 3, 1986 |
Succeeded by "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" by Billy Ocean |
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