Released July 1978 Release date July 1978 Label Columbia Records | Length 32:30 Producer Jack Gold | |
 | ||
Recorded April 20, 1978
April 26, 1978
April 28, 1978
May 5, 1978
May 12, 1978 at
A&M Recording Studios,
Hollywood, California That's What Friends Are For
(1978) The Best Days of My Life
(1979) That's What Friends Are For
(1978) When Love Comes Calling
(1979) Artists Deniece Williams, Johnny Mathis Genres Soul music, Rhythm and blues Similar Deniece Williams albums, Rhythm and blues albums | ||
That's What Friends Are For is an album by American singers Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams that was released in July 1978 by Columbia Records. The project was a continuation of the pairing of the artists that began on his previous LP, You Light Up My Life, which included "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late", the duet that was on its way to number one on three different charts in Billboard magazine as the recording sessions for this album got underway.
Contents
- Singles
- Reception
- Side one
- Side two
- 2003 CD Bonus Tracks
- Recording dates
- Original album
- 2003 CD reissue
- Songs
- References
On July 20, 1978, That's What Friends Are For received Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of 500,000 copies in the United States, and it debuted on Billboard's list of America's Top LP's & Tapes shortly thereafter, in the issue dated July 29, for the start of a 16-week chart run that took the album to number 19. That same issue also marked its debut on the magazine's Black Albums chart, where it remained for 11 weeks and peaked at number 14. The following month, on August 28, it made its first of 11 weekly appearances on the UK album chart, during which time it got as high as number 16, and October 31 of that year the British Phonographic Industry awarded the album with Gold certification for sales of 100,000 copies in the UK.
The album was first released on CD in 1997 and reissued on July 1, 2003, with four additional songs by the duo, including a previously unreleased version of "Without Us", the theme from the television series Family Ties.
Singles
Following quickly on the heels of the June 3, 1978, issue of Billboard in which "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" enjoyed its week at number one on the magazine's Hot 100, this album's opener, a cover of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "You're All I Need To Get By", was released on June 15 and had a July 8 debut on the magazine's list of the 100 most popular R&B singles in the US, where it peaked at number 10 over the course of 12 weeks. The July 8 issue also marked its first appearance on the magazine's list of the 50 most popular Easy Listening records in the US, where it spent 11 weeks and got as high as number 16. The July 29 issue included the debut of the song on the Hot 100, where it stayed for eight weeks and reached number 47. The duet also became a new entry on the July 29 UK singles chart, where it made it to number 45 during a six-week run.
The title song from the album (not to be confused with the Bacharach/Sager composition later popularized by Dionne Warwick) was released as a single in the fall of 1978 but did not have any chart appearances.
Reception
Ron Wynn of Allmusic stated that Mathis and Williams "made a fine team on this collection of sentimental love songs and light pop ballads."
The review of the album in Billboard concurred, "For the most part this is a set of slick, pretty R&B pop duets, marked by Mathis' best, most uninhibited singing to date, and the equally important participation of Williams."
The magazine's reviews of the singles were also positive. Regarding their cover of the Gaye/Terrell hit, they wrote, "The version here brings fresh spirit to the Ashford & Simpson number within a nicely crafted Jack Gold production." And of "That's What Friends Are For" the review read, "The song has a perky arrangement but it's the Mathis/Williams vocal interplay that shines."
Side one
- "You're All I Need to Get By" (Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson) – 2:40
- "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" (Morris Broadnax, Clarence Paul, Stevie Wonder) – 3:39
- "You're a Special Part of My Life" (Lani Groves, Clarence McDonald, J.D. Williams) – 2:56
- "Ready or Not" (Amber DiLena, Jack Keller) – 2:50
- "Me for You, You for Me" (Fritz Baskett, Clarence McDonald) – 3:12
Side two
- "Heaven Must Have Sent You" (Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland, Brian Holland) – 3:22
- "Just the Way You Are" (Billy Joel) – 3:43
- "That's What Friends Are For" (Fritz Baskett, Lani Groves, Clarence McDonald, Deniece Williams) – 3:27
- "I Just Can't Get Over You" (Nat Kipner, Winston Sela) – 4:11
- "Touching Me With Love" (Mel Besher, Corey Maass) – 2:30
2003 CD Bonus Tracks
- "Emotion" (Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb) – 3:18
- "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" (Nat Kipner, John Vallins) – 3:00
- "Love Won't Let Me Wait" (Vinnie Barrett, Bobby Eli) – 4:16
- "Without Us" (Jeff Barry, Tom Scott) – 4:02
Recording dates
2003 CD Bonus Tracks
Original album
2003 CD reissue
Songs
1You're All I Need to Get By2:43
2Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)3:41
3You're a Special Part of My Life2:58