"That's What Friends Are For" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager. It was first recorded in 1982 by

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

for the soundtrack of the film '' Night Shift'', but it is better known for the 1985 cover version by

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles ch ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, Gladys Knight, and

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

. This recording, billed as being by "Dionne Warwick & Friends", was released as a charity single for

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

research and prevention. It was a massive hit, becoming the number-one single of 1986 in the United States, and winning the

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Song of the Year. It raised over $3 million for its cause.

Rod Stewart version

''That’s What Friends Are For'' was included on the expanded edition of the 2008 remaster of the album ''

Body Wishes ''Body Wishes'' is the twelfth studio album by Rod Stewart released in 1983 by Warner Bros. Records. The tracks were recorded and mixed at The Record Plant, Los Angeles. It produced three singles, " Baby Jane", "What Am I Gonna Do (I'm So in Lo ...

''.

Personnel

– vocals * Jim Cregan – guitar, background vocals * Jimmy "Z" Zavala – saxophone * Kevin Savigar – keyboards * Jay Davis – bass *

Tony Brock Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...

– drums, background vocals

Dionne Warwick version

A one-off collaboration headed by

and featuring Gladys Knight,

, and

, with a different second verse, was released as a charity single in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1985. The song is in the key of

E major E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equiva ...

. It was recorded as a benefit for American Foundation for AIDS Research, and raised over US$3 million for that cause. Warwick, who had previously raised money for blood-related diseases such as sickle-cell anemia, wanted to help combat the then-growing

AIDS epidemic The global epidemic of HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of 2021, HIV/AI ...

because she had seen friends die painfully of the disease. John plays piano and Wonder plays harmonica on the song; the two had previously worked together on 1983's " I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues". In the United States, the song held the number-one spot of the adult contemporary chart for two weeks, the number-one spot of the soul chart for three weeks, and the top spot of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for four weeks and became ''Billboard''s number one single of 1986. It was certified Gold on January 15, 1986, by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

(RIAA). It was the final US number one for all but John (John would have two more US number-ones during the 1990s). Due to Wonder's involvement, it also holds the distinction of being the last number-one song for anyone who had topped the charts before the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" o ...

(his first number-one hit, " Fingertips", came in 1963). Outside the United States, the song topped the charts in Canada and Australia and reached the top 10 in Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, and Sweden. On the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, the song debuted at number 49 and climbed to its peak of number 16 three weeks later, staying at that position for another week before descending the chart. It remained in the UK top 100 for a further five weeks, totaling 10 weeks on the chart altogether. The Dionne and Friends version of the song won the performers the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, as well as Song of the Year for its writers, Bacharach and Bayer Sager. This rendition is also listed at number 75 on ''Billboard's Greatest Songs of all time.'' Warwick, John, Knight, and Wonder performed the song live together for the first time in 23 years at the 25th Anniversary AmfAR Gala in New York City on February 10, 2011.

Personnel

– vocals *

– vocals, piano * Gladys Knight – vocals *

– vocals, harmonica * Freddie Washington - bass *

John Robinson John Robinson may refer to: Academics *John Thomas Romney Robinson (1792–1882), Irish astronomer and physicist * John J. Robinson (1918–1996), historian and author of ''Born in Blood'' * John Talbot Robinson (1923–2001), paleontologist *Joh ...

- drums * Carlos Vega - drums * Michael Landau - guitar * Randy Kerber - keyboards * David Foster - synthesizer * Paulinho da Costa - percussion 1985 Dionne Warwick & Friends @sessiondays.com
Retrieved November 28, 2021.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

1990 benefit concert

On March 17, 1990, an AIDS benefit titled ''That's What Friends Are For: Arista Records 15th Anniversary Concert'' was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. One month later, CBS aired a two-hour version of the concert on television. The celebrity guests and Arista label performers were: Air Supply,

Lauren Bacall Lauren Bacall (; born Betty Joan Perske; September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and received an Academy Honorary ...

, Burt Bacharach,

Eric Carmen Eric Howard Carmen (born August 11, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and keyboardist. He was first known as the lead vocalist of the Raspberries. He had numerous hit songs in the 1970s and 1980s, first as a member of the Rasp ...

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of '' Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

, Jane Curtin,

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 19 ...

, Taylor Dayne,

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AF ...

, Exposé, Whoopi Goldberg,

Melanie Griffith Melanie Richards Griffith (born August 9, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career in the 1970s, appearing in several independent thriller films before achieving mainstream success in the mid-1980s. Born in Manhattan, New York City, ...

, Hall & Oates, Jennifer Holliday,

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many ...

Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956), known professionally as Kenny G, is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the best-selling artis ...

, Melissa Manchester,

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include " Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", " I Write the Songs", " C ...

, Milli Vanilli, Jeffrey Osborne, Carly Simon, Patti Smith, Lisa Stansfield, The Four Tops, and

. "That's What Friends Are For" was the finale song sung by Warwick and cousin Houston before being joined on the stage by the other guests of the event. Over $2.5 million was raised that night for the Arista Foundation which gave the proceeds to various AIDS organizations.

References

{{Authority control 1980s ballads 1985 singles 1982 songs 1986 singles All-star recordings Arista Records singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Charity singles Dionne Warwick songs Elton John songs Gladys Knight songs Grammy Award for Song of the Year Helen Reddy songs Number-one singles in Australia Pop ballads Rod Stewart songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles Stevie Wonder songs Songs about friendship Songs with music by Burt Bacharach Songs written by Carole Bayer Sager Songs written for films Soul ballads