"Just You 'n' Me" is a song written by

James Pankow James Carter Pankow is an American trombone player, songwriter and brass instrument player, best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago. Early life, family and education Born in St. Louis, Missouri of German and Irish descent, Pa ...

for the group

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and recorded for their fifth studio album ''

Chicago VI ''Chicago VI'' is the fifth studio album (sixth overall) by American rock band Chicago and was released on June 25, 1973. It was the band's second in a string of five consecutive albums to make it to No. 1 in the US, was certified gold less th ...

'' (1973). The lead vocals are sung by bassist

Peter Cetera Peter Paul Cetera ( ; born September 13, 1944) is an American retired musician best known for being a lead vocalist and the bassist of the rock band Chicago from 1967 until his departure in 1985, before launching a successful solo career. His c ...

Background

The second single released from that album, it was more successful than the first single, "

Feelin' Stronger Every Day "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" is a song written by Peter Cetera and James Pankow for the group Chicago and recorded for their album ''Chicago VI'' (1973). The first single released from that album, it reached #10 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. ...

", reaching #4 on the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #1 on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Top 100.

Walter Parazaider Walter Parazaider (born March 14, 1945) is an American woodwind musician best known for being a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He plays a wide variety of wind instruments, including saxophone, flute, and clarinet. He also occasionally ...

plays a soprano saxophone solo during the instrumental section while guitarist

Terry Kath Terry Alan Kath (January 31, 1946 – January 23, 1978) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He played guitar and sang lead vocals on many of the band's early hit singl ...

uses a wah-wah pedal and phase shifter on his guitar. "Just You 'n' Me" was written after a fight between Pankow and his future wife Karen: :"We had had a huge fight, it was a nasty lovers' quarrel, if you will. She locked herself in the bathroom and wouldn't come out...'Just You 'n' Me' poured out of me in its entirety. Usually when I write songs I come up with an idea for a chorus or a hook and fill in the blanks in stages. This was a moment of clarity I've never experienced before or after. It remains a special event in my songwriting experience". ''

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 ...

'' called it one of Chicago's "best singles ever," with a "heartfelt and mature" love lyric. "Just You 'n' Me" was the final song played by Chicago AM radio station WLS before switching to a talk radio format in 1989.

Personnel

— bass, lead vocals *

Robert Lamm Robert William Lamm (born October 13, 1944) is an American keyboardist, guitarist, singer and songwriter best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He wrote many of the band's biggest hits, including " Questions 67 & 68", " Does ...

— keyboards, backing vocals *

— guitar, backing vocals *

Danny Seraphine Daniel Peter Seraphine (born August 28, 1948) is an American drummer, record producer, theatrical producer and film producer. He is best known as the original drummer and a founding member of the rock band Chicago, a tenure which lasted from F ...

— drums *

— trombone *

Lee Loughnane Lee David Loughnane (pronounced LOCK-nain; born October 21, 1946) is an American trumpeter, flugelhorn player, vocalist, and songwriter, best known for being a founding member of the rock band Chicago. Early life and education Lee David Loughna ...

— trumpet *

— soprano saxophone

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

1973 singles Chicago (band) songs Songs written by James Pankow Song recordings produced by James William Guercio Columbia Records singles 1973 songs Cashbox number-one singles {{1970s-single-stub