"Friends and Lovers" is a song written by Jay Gruska and Paul Gordon. The song was first recorded as a

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

by Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson in 1985 for the soap opera ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

'', produced by Doug Lenier. That recording remained unreleased until the summer of 1986, when it was released shortly after a version by Juice Newton and

Eddie Rabbitt Edward Thomas Rabbitt (November 27, 1941 – May 7, 1998) was an American country music singer and songwriter. His career began as a songwriter in the late 1960s, springboarding to a recording career after composing hits such as "Kentucky Rain" ...

hit country radio. The country version featured the altered title of "Both to Each Other (Friends and Lovers)".

Pop version

Gloria Loring is a singer and actress who beginning in 1980 portrayed the character Liz Chandler on the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

''. Her character was a lounge singer, so Loring was often called upon to perform on-screen; one of the songs she performed during this period was "Friends and Lovers". The song became the theme music for one of the popular

supercouples A supercouple or super couple (also known as a power couple) is a popular and/or wealthy pairing that intrigues and fascinates the public in an intense or obsessive fashion. The term originated in the United States, and it was coined in the earl ...

on the show in the mid 1980s, Shane Donovan and Kimberly Brady (portrayed by Charles Shaughnessy and

Patsy Pease Patsy Pease is an American actress. She is most known for her role as Kimberly Brady on the soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''. Early life Pease was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. She attended the North Carolina School of the Arts four year b ...

).Hyatt, Wesley (1999). ''The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits'' (Billboard Publications), page 310. In 1985, Carl Anderson (known for his portrayal of

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betraye ...

in both the

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and stage versions of the

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ' ...

rock opera ''Jesus Christ Superstar'') appeared on ''Days of Our Lives'' and performed the duet with Loring. The commercial release of this duet was delayed for months before becoming available in the summer of 1986, first as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on the label USA Carrere, then later on Anderson's self-titled album on

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

and Loring's eponymous album on

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. According to Loring, it had been turned down by most of the major American record labels at the time, and she had taken to referring to the song informally as "Friends and Lawyers". The song was a hit when released, spending two weeks at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart on September 27 and October 4, 1986, behind "

Stuck with You "Stuck with You" is a song by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News, written by guitarist Chris Hayes and lead singer Huey Lewis. Released in 1986, it was the first single from the band's fourth album, ''Fore!''. The song spent three weeks ...

" by

Huey Lewis and the News Huey Lewis and the News are an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually achieving 19 top ten singles across the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Adult Contempora ...

. It remained in the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

for 14 of its 21 overall weeks on the chart. It reached No. 1 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' sales chart and No. 2 on the airplay chart (the two components of the Hot 100 chart). It also spent two weeks at No. 1 on the

adult contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

. "Friends and Lovers" would be the only Top 40 hit for either performer. Loring left ''Days of Our Lives'' at the same time the single started to descend down the music charts. Anderson eventually died in 2004 from complications arising from a long battle with

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

Chart history

Country version

In 1986, country-pop singers Juice Newton and Eddie Rabbitt released a version of "Friends and Lovers", altering the title to emphasize the final line of the chorus. Technically, Newton and Rabbitt's recording is a

pre-release cover version In the music industry, a pre-release cover version is a type of cover version that arises when a cover artist releases a version of a song before the original artist does. This practise takes advantage of a 'release window'; it occurs when an upco ...

, since it was commercially available before the pop version was released. Therefore, even though Loring and Anderson recorded the song first, Newton and Rabbitt are credited with the original commercial version. Their duet was called "Both to Each Other (Friends and Lovers)", and although its arrangement differed from Loring and Anderson's recording, it is lyrically the same song. Both Newton ("

Queen of Hearts The queen of hearts is a playing card in the standard 52-card deck. Queen of Hearts or The Queen of Hearts may refer to: Books * "The Queen of Hearts" (poem), anonymous nursery rhyme published 1782 * ''The Queen of Hearts'', an 1859 novel by W ...

", "

Love's Been A Little Bit Hard On Me "Love's Been A Little Bit Hard On Me" is a song written by Gary Burr and recorded by the American country-pop singer Juice Newton for her album '' Quiet Lies''. The recording garnered Newton a Grammy nomination for Best Female Vocalist in the Pop ...

") and Rabbitt ("

I Love a Rainy Night "I Love a Rainy Night" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Eddie Rabbitt. It was released in November 1980 as the second single from his album '' Horizon''. It reached number one on the Hot Country Singles, ''Billb ...

", " Every Which Way but Loose") had already enjoyed considerable success on both the pop and country music charts, and their version of the duet went to No. 1 on the ''Billboard''

country chart Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

. This was Newton's final No. 1 though her last solo No. 1 had come eight months earlier with "Hurt".

Chart history

References

External links

* {{authority control 1980s ballads 1985 songs 1986 singles Atlantic Records singles Carrere Records singles Country ballads Days of Our Lives Eddie Rabbitt songs Epic Records singles Juice Newton songs Pop ballads RCA Records singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Richard Landis Songs written by Jay Gruska Songs written by Paul Gordon (composer) Male–female vocal duets

Pop version

Chart history

Country version

Chart history

See also

References

External links