Songoftheday 9/17/16 - Have you ever been stabbed in the back by someone you thought was really cool, Did they steal your lover or was it money or was it lies they told...

"Friends" - Jody Watley featuring Eric B. & Rakim
from the album Larger Than Life (1989)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #9 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 11

Today's song of the day comes from Jody Watley, whose second album Larger Than Life had given her a second almost-had-a-#1 with "Real Love" in the spring of 1989. The follow-up single was a bouncy, sassy, take-no-prisoners call-out of fakes "Friends". Featuring rappers Eric B. & Rakim (a very early instance of a rapper cameo, she made a great choice), the song she co-wrote with producer Andre Cymone was a perfect example of "smart" danceable pop music...

"Friends" became Jody's fifth top ten pop hit in the U.S. in August of 1989 (the first to reach the top ten that featured a rapper behind a singer). The single also climbed to #3 on Billboard's R&B chart, while the extended remix reached #7 on their Dance Club Play list. Internationally, the track made the top-40 in Canada (#11), the UK (#21), Switzerland (#20), Ireland (#25), the Netherlands (#25), and New Zealand (#31).

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Here's the extended mix that reached the top ten on the dance chart...

...and Jody appearing on the Arsenio Hall show, taking on the rap part herself...

...and live on tour in 1989...

Up tomorrow: Pop songsmith is just hangin' around.