Songoftheday 7/29/14 - And I never thought I'd feel this way, And as far as I'm concerned I'm glad I got the chance to say that I do believe I love you...

Dionne Warwick & Friends - "That's What Friends Are For"
from the album Friends (1985)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (four weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 17

Today's Song of the Day comes from a collaborative effort headed by soft soul vocal giant Dionne Warwick. After decades of pop hits starting with her work with Burt Bacharach and moving to her "revival" with music with Barry Manilow and the Bee Gees, by the 1980s Dionne was probably more known by the younger folk for her hosting Solid Gold than her music, which by that time was more successful on the adult contemporary (or "easy listening") circuit. While she had a top-40 hit with Luther Vandross in 1983 with "How Many Times Can I Say Goodbye", he following album Finder Of Lost Loves didn't even manage a single in the whole pop Hot 100, even though the record had her working with Manilow, Bacharach, and producer Clive Davis again. However, her A-list name status did earn her a spot on the charity record "We Are The World" in 1985.

Perhaps inspired by the success of the USA for Africa single, Dionne recorded a benefit single for AMFAR (the American Foundation for AIDS Research). Enlisting Elton John, Stevie Wonder, and Gladys Knight, she covered another Burt Bacharach/Carole Bayer Sager song originally recorded by Rod Stewart for the soundtrack to the Henry Winkler/Diane Keaton film Night Shift in 1982, but failed to reach any music chart...

With Elton's piano and Stevie's harmonica providing contrast to the rather sleepy song, along with each of the four oversinging to all their abilities, the record connected with the public, and got Dionne back on pop radio in a big way....

"That's What Friends Are For", like "We Are The World" the year before, ended up spending a month on top of the American pop chart, and went on to become the top single of 1986, spending more weeks in the top-40 than any other record that year. The record also topped the Billboard R&B chart for three weeks and Adult Contemporary list for two. Internationally, the single went to #1 in Australia and Canada, but actually stopped short down at #16 in Britain. It would be the last time at #1 (and the top-ten) so far for Dionne. The benefit ended up raising three million dollars for AMFAR. It also won Dionne a Grammy for Pop Performance by a Duo or Group (it lost out on Record Of The Year).

(Click below to see the rest of the post)


For the Soul Train Awards, Luther Vandross and Dionne's cousin Whitney Houston subbed in for Elton and Gladys...

In 1987, Dionne came together with Gladys and Diana Ross to perform the song...

Other artists have also tackled the tune, including Shirley Bassey, who sped up the tempo in 1991...

...another British vocal icon, Cilla Black, paired with Cliff Richard....


More recently, a group of musicians headed by New Yorker David Raleigh recorded a cover to benefit the LGBT shelter the Ali Forney Center.

Up tomorrow: a Policeman surfs on a lucky number.