"Just the Two of Us" is a song written by
Bill Withers, William Salter, and
Ralph MacDonald, and recorded by
Grover Washington Jr.
Grover Washington Jr. (December 12, 1943 – December 17, 1999) was an American jazz-funk and soul-jazz saxophonist. Along with Wes Montgomery and George Benson, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre.
He wr ...
with Withers on vocals. It was released in February 1981 through
Elektra Records
Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...
.
Background
The song originally appeared on Washington's album ''
Winelight'' (1980). An edited version reached number 2 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
, staying there for three weeks, behind "
Morning Train (9 to 5)
"9 to 5" (or "Morning Train") is a popular song written by British songwriter Florrie Palmer and recorded by Scottish singer Sheena Easton in 1980, becoming her biggest hit. It peaked at number three in the United Kingdom in August 1980 and was ...
" by
Sheena Easton and "
Bette Davis Eyes" by
Kim Carnes. It was Washington's only Top 40 hit. The song won a
Grammy Award for Best R&B Song. Bill Withers included the edited version on the 1981 compilation ''
Bill Withers' Greatest Hits
''Bill Withers' Greatest Hits'' is a compilation album featuring a selection of early hits by Bill Withers, released in 1981.
Track listing
# "Just the Two of Us" - 3:56
# " Use Me" - 3:45
# "Ain't No Sunshine" - 2:03
# "Lovely Day" - 4:14
# " ...
'' and many subsequent greatest hits collections.
The
Fender Rhodes electric piano, played in the introduction and throughout, is performed by
Richard Tee.
Composition
The tuning of the song is set to around A=444 Hz, as opposed to the standard A=440 Hz tuning. The song is in the key of
F minor. The main chord progression is D♭ major 7, C7, F minor, E♭ minor 7, A♭7. The song is played at around 96
beats per minute.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
All-time charts
Certifications
Toshinobu Kubota version
"Just the Two of Us" was covered by Japanese singer
Toshinobu Kubota as a duet with
Caron Wheeler
Caron Melina Wheeler (born 19 January 1963) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and musician. Born and raised in London, she performed in various singing competitions as a teenager and began her recording career as one of the found ...
in 1991, for his album ''
Kubojah: Parallel World I''. The song was listed as "Just the 2 of Us", featuring a reggae-style beat. In 1995, Kubota re-recorded the song with a more R&B-style beat for his album ''
Sunshine, Moonlight
''Sunshine Moonlight'' is the eighth studio album of Japanese singer Toshinobu Kubota, released on September 5, 1995. The album credited under the name, Toshi Kubota. This was also Kubota's first English-language album. The album's musical style ...
''. In 1996, he released the song as the second single from the album. The song charted at number 30 on the Oricon Weekly Singles chart and remained on the charts for five weeks. It was included in the setlist during the Oyeees! Tour. During the tour,
Joi Cardwell, who sang backing vocals during the tour, performed the song as a duet with Kubota. In 2007,
Double performed the song on the MTV Japan Icons Special; during the performance, Kubota walked onto the stage to complete the song with her. In 2012, Kubota performed the song with Japanese singer Yuri, who was also a background vocalist during his "Party Ain't A Party Tour". The performance was included on his concert DVD "Party Ain't A Party", which was released in May 2012.
Music video
In 1996, Toshi Kubota and Caron Wheeler shot a music video for the song. The video is set at night, at a party in Kubota's apartment. Wheeler watches the party from the fire escape of the next apartment building. The single version was used for the audio format of the video. There are also shots of other musicians playing their instruments during the party, a group of elderly men playing cards outside the apartment on the sidewalk, and a couple dancing in another room of the apartment.
Formats and track listing
*CD single
#"Just the Two of Us" (Butcher Bros. LP remix) (duet with
Caron Wheeler
Caron Melina Wheeler (born 19 January 1963) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and musician. Born and raised in London, she performed in various singing competitions as a teenager and began her recording career as one of the found ...
)
*Maxi single
#"Just the Two of Us" (Butcher Bros. LP remix)
#"Just the Two of Us" (Smooth R&B mix)
#"Just the Two of Us" (So So Def remix)
#"Just the Two of Us" (club mix radio edit)
#"Just the Two of Us" (Street mix) (featuring Fat Man Scoop and E. Bros.)
Other cover versions
*
Bill Cosby did a parody version, "Just the Slew of Us", as the theme music for his movie ''
Bill Cosby: Himself''. Ralph MacDonald was the writer/producer.
*In 1992, the New York City R&B vocal trio Around the Way sampled the song in "Really Into You". They reached No. 89 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the fall of that year.
*Between 1995-1996, the rapper
Don't Try To Xerox (DTTX) sampled "Just the Two of Us" for their song "Tha 2 Of Us", featuring
Christopher Williams singing its chorus. The song was part of 1996
Bulletproof film's
soundtrack and it is played on ending (casting list) of the film.
*
Tiro de Gracia sampled "Just the Two of Us" for their song "El Juego Verdadero", off their 1997 ''
Ser humano!!
''Ser Humano!!'' (English: ''Human Being!!'') is the debut studio album by Chilean hip-hop group Tiro de Gracia, released on 1997 through EMI Odeon. It was produced by Camilo Cintolesi and Patricio "Adonai" Loaiza, both members of the group, and Ga ...
'' album.
*
Will Smith released
a single
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
in 1997 which samples and incorporates lyrics from the original. Instead of love between a couple, "Just the Two of Us" focuses on the relationship between a father and son. Smith originally wrote a children's book with the same title and lyrics. For his album, he performed it in rap form.
*
Anal Cunt jokingly performed the song as a duet between singer
Seth Putnam and Hillary Logee on their 1997 album ''I Like It When You Die''. It features dissonant out of key keyboard noodling and mocking vocals from Putnam. The writers of the song are credited as "Some Fucking Retard" in the CD booklet.
[I Like It When You Die Liner Notes]
*
Dr. Evil parodied the Will Smith version in the
Mike Myers James Bond parody film ''
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me''.
*Adult Swim's online show entitled
FishCenter Live made a parody of the song entitled "Just the Ten of Us" about the fish.
*
Matt Dusk and
Margaret
Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian.
Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...
released a single to promote their collaborative jazz album ''
Just the Two of Us''.
*
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
sampled the song on 97’ Bonnie & Clyde off of his debut major label album
The Slim Shady LP.
*
Johnny Mathis
John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...
covered the song on his 2008 album, ''
A Night to Remember''.
*
Fanfare Ciocărlia's cover of the song was played over the end of the final scene and the beginning of the credits of
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
''Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'' (or simply ''Borat Subsequent Moviefilm'' or ''Borat 2'') is a 2020 mockumentary black comedy film directed by Jas ...
.
Appearances in media
In 2020, "Just the Two of Us" started trending on
TikTok, which prompted Withers' granddaughter, Jada Salter, to upload a video to the platform commemorating his work. The song appeared in the opening sequence of the 2022 film ''
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania''.
It has appeared in numerous
TV commercials.
References
External links
*
AllMusic Guide link*
{{authority control
1980 songs
1981 singles
1996 singles
2015 singles
Bill Withers songs
Male vocal duets
Songs written by Bill Withers
Toshinobu Kubota songs
Songs written by Ralph MacDonald
Elektra Records singles
Margaret (singer) songs
Magic Records singles
Sony Music Entertainment Japan singles
Music videos directed by David Dobkin