View source for That's What Friends Are For

{{Short description|1982 song by Rod Stewart}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2012}}
{{Infobox song
| name     = That's What Friends Are For
| cover    =
| alt      =
| type     =
| artist   = [[Rod Stewart]]
| album    = [[Night Shift (1982 film)#Soundtrack|Night Shift]]
| released = 1982
| recorded =
| studio   =
| venue    =
| genre    = [[Pop music|Pop]]
| length   = 3:54
| label    = [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]]
| writer   = {{hlist|[[Burt Bacharach]]|[[Carole Bayer Sager]]}}
| producer = 
}}
"'''That's What Friends Are For'''" is a song written by [[Burt Bacharach]] and [[Carole Bayer Sager]].

It was first recorded by [[Rod Stewart]] in 1982 for the soundtrack of the film ''[[Night Shift (1982 film)|Night Shift]]'', but it is best known for the 1985 version by [[Dionne Warwick]],<ref name="McEvoy" /> [[Elton John]], [[Gladys Knight]], and [[Stevie Wonder]]. This recording, billed as being by '''Dionne Warwick & Friends''', was released as a charity single for [[AIDS]] research and prevention. It was a massive hit, becoming the number-one single of 1986 in the United States, and winning the [[Grammy Awards]] for [[Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals|Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals]] and [[Grammy Award for Song of the Year|Song of the Year]]. It raised more than $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]]''.

===Personnel===
* [[Rod Stewart]] – vocals
* [[Jim Cregan]] – guitar, background vocals
* [[Jimmy Zavala|Jimmy "Z" Zavala]] – saxophone
* [[Kevin Savigar]] – keyboards
* Jay Davis – bass
* [[Tony Brock]] – drums, background vocals

==Dionne Warwick version==
{{Infobox song
| name       = That's What Friends Are For
| cover      = Dionne and Friends That's What Friends Are For.jpg
| alt        = 
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Dionne Warwick]], [[Elton John]], [[Gladys Knight]] and [[Stevie Wonder]] (as "Dionne & Friends")
| album      = [[Friends (Dionne Warwick album)|Friends]]
| B-side     = Two Ships Passing in the Night
| released   = October 1985
| recorded   =
| studio     = 
| venue      = 
| genre      = 
*[[Pop music|Pop]]
*[[Soul music|soul]]
*[[Contemporary R&B|R&B]]<ref name="Number Ones 2022">{{cite book|last= Breihan|first= Tom|chapter= Bon Jovi - "You Give Love a Bad Name|date= November 15, 2022|title= The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music|publisher=[[Hachette Book Group]]|location= New York|page= 183}}</ref>
| length     = {{Duration|m=4|s=15}}
| label      = [[Arista Records|Arista]]
| writer     =
* [[Burt Bacharach]]
* [[Carole Bayer Sager]]
| producer   =
* Burt Bacharach
* Carole Bayer Sager
| chronology = [[Dionne Warwick]]
| prev_title = [[Run to Me (Bee Gees song)|Run to Me]]
| prev_year  = 1985
| next_title = [[Whisper in the Dark]]
| next_year  = 1986
| misc       = {{Extra chronology
 | artist     = [[Elton John]]
 | type       = single
 | prev_title = Act of War
 | prev_year  = 1985
 | title      = That's What Friends Are For
 | year       = 1985
 | next_title = [[Nikita (song)|Nikita]]
 | next_year  = 1985
}}
{{Extra chronology
 | artist     = [[Gladys Knight]]
 | type       = single
 | prev_title = Till I See You Again
 | prev_year  = 1985
 | title      = That's What Friends Are For
 | year       = 1985
 | next_title = Send It to Me
 | next_year  = 1986
}}
{{Extra chronology
 | artist     = [[Stevie Wonder]]
 | type       = single
 | prev_title = [[Part-Time Lover]]
 | prev_year  = 1985
 | title      = That's What Friends Are For
 | year       = 1985
 | next_title = [[Go Home (song)|Go Home]]
 | next_year  = 1985
}}
{{External music video|{{YouTube|HyTpu6BmE88|"That's What Friends Are For"}}}}
}}

[[Dionne Warwick]]'s recording of "That's What Friends Are For" marked the first time she had worked with Bacharach since the 1970s, when Warwick felt abandoned by Bacharach and [[Hal David]] dissolving their partnership. Warwick said of their reconciliation:<ref name="McEvoy">{{cite news |last=McEvoy |first=Colin |title=What It Was Like to Work with Burt Bacharach, in the Words of his Collaborators |work= [[Biography (TV program)|Biography]] |date= February 9, 2023 |url=https://www.biography.com/musicians/a42815918/burt-bacharach-famous-collaborators |accessdate=February 11, 2023}}</ref>

{{blockquote|We realized we were more than just friends. We were family. Time has a way of giving people the opportunity to grow and understand ... Working with Burt is not a bit different from how it used to be. He expects me to deliver and I can. He knows what I'm going to do before I do it, and the same with me. That's how intertwined we've been.<ref name= "McEvoy" />}}

A one-off collaboration headed by Warwick and featuring [[Gladys Knight]], [[Elton John]], and [[Stevie Wonder]], with a different second verse, was released as a [[charity single]] in the UK and the US in 1985. The song is in the key of [[E-flat major|E{{music|flat}} major]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0164122|title=That's What Friends Are For by Dionne & Friends – Digital Sheet Music|date=November 14, 2016|publisher= | website= Musicnotes.com |access-date= April 9, 2021}}</ref> It was recorded as a benefit for the [[American Foundation for AIDS Research]], and raised more than 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]] because she had seen friends die painfully of the disease.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper= Washington Post |date=1988 |quote=So working against AIDS, especially after years of raising money for work on many blood-related diseases such as sickle-cell anemia, seemed the right thing to do. 'You have to be granite not to want to help people with AIDS, because the devastation that it causes is so painful to see. I was so hurt to see my friend die with such agony,' Warwick remembers. 'I am tired of hurting, and it does hurt. |title=That's What Friends Are For}}</ref> 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 US, 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|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] for four weeks. It became ''Billboard''{{'}}s number one single of 1986. It was certified Gold on January 15, 1986, by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (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]] (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 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 [[Grammy Award for Song of the Year|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.''<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.billboard.com/charts/greatest-hot-100-singles| title = Greatest of All-Time – Hot 100 Songs |website= Billboard.com| date= | accessdate = }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704132204576136581815276232 | work=The Wall Street Journal | first=Marshall | last=Heyman | title=Superstar 'Friends' Reunite | date=February 11, 2011}}</ref>

===Personnel===
* [[Dionne Warwick]] – vocals
* [[Elton John]] – vocals, piano
* [[Gladys Knight]] – vocals
* [[Stevie Wonder]] – vocals, harmonica
* [[Freddie Washington (bassist)|Freddie Washington]] – bass
* [[John Robinson (drummer)|John Robinson]] – drums
* [[Carlos Vega]] – drums
* [[Michael Landau]] – guitar
* [[Randy Kerber]] – keyboards
* [[David Foster]] – synthesizer
* [[Paulinho da Costa]] – percussion
Source:<ref>[https://www.sessiondays.com/2016/07/1985-dionne-warwick-friends/ 1985 Dionne Warwick & Friends @sessiondays.com] Retrieved November 28, 2021.</ref>

===Charts===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

====Weekly charts====
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Weekly chart performance for "That's What Friends Are For"
!Chart (1985–1986)
!Peak<br />position
|-
!scope="row"|Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref>{{cite book|title=[[Kent Music Report|Australian Chart Book 1970–1992]]|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=[[St Ives, New South Wales|St Ives, NSW]]|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6}}</ref>
|1
|-
{{single chart|Flanders|10|artist=Dionne & Friends|song=That's What Friends Are For|rowheader=true|access-date=June 8, 2018}}
|-
{{single chart|Canadatopsingles|1|chartid=0625|rowheader=true|access-date=June 8, 2018}}
|-
{{single chart|Canadaadultcontemporary|1|chartid=9353|rowheader=true|access-date=June 8, 2018}}
|-
!scope="row"|Europe ([[European Hot 100 Singles]])<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/80s/1986/M&M-1986-01-06.pdf|title=European Hot 100 Singles|magazine=[[Music & Media|Eurotipsheet]]|volume=3|issue=1|page=15|date=January 6, 1986|access-date=August 30, 2020}}</ref>
|19
|-
!scope="row"|Finland ([[The Official Finnish Charts|Suomen virallinen lista]])<ref>{{cite book|url=https://musiikkiarkisto.fi/oa/_tiedostot/julkaisut/sisaltaa-hitin.pdf#page=278|first=Timo|last=Pennanen|year=2021|title=Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021|section=Dionne Warwick|page=278|publisher=Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava|location=Helsinki|access-date=July 11, 2022|language=Finnish}}</ref>
|18
|-
!scope="row"|France ([[Institut français d'opinion publique|IFOP]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://infodisc.fr/Tubes_Artistes_W.php|title=InfoDisc : Les Tubes de chaque Artiste commençant par W|website=Infodisc|access-date=June 12, 2020}}</ref>
|79
|-
{{single chart|Ireland2|7|song=That s What Friends Are For|rowheader=true|access-date=June 8, 2018}}
|-
!scope="row"|Italy (''[[Musica e dischi]]'')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicaedischi.it/classifiche_archivio.php|title=Classifiche|work=[[Musica e dischi]]|language=it|access-date=June 8, 2022}} Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Dionne Warwick".</ref>
|5
|-
{{single chart|Dutch40|11|year=1985|week=48|rowheader=true|access-date=June 8, 2018}}
|-
{{single chart|Dutch100|13|artist=Dionne & Friends|song=That's What Friends Are For|rowheader=true|access-date=June 8, 2018}}
|-
{{single chart|New Zealand|3|artist=Dionne & Friends|song=That's What Friends Are For|rowheader=true|access-date=June 8, 2018}}
|-
{{single chart|Norway|6|artist=Dionne & Friends|song=That's What Friends Are For|rowheader=true|access-date=June 8, 2018}}
|-
!scope="row"|South Africa ([[Springbok Radio]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rock.co.za/files/sa_charts_1969_1989_songs_(T-V).html|title=SA Charts 1965 – 1989 Songs T-V|website=South African Rock Lists|access-date=June 8, 2018}}</ref>
|2
|-
{{single chart|Sweden|7|artist=Dionne & Friends|song=That's What Friends Are For|rowheader=true|access-date=June 8, 2018}}
|-
{{single chart|Switzerland|11|artist=Dionne & Friends|song=That's What Friends Are For|rowheader=true|access-date=June 8, 2018}}
|-
{{single chart|UK|16|date=19851130|rowheader=true|access-date=June 8, 2018}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardhot100|1|artist=Dionne Warwick|rowheader=true|access-date=June 8, 2018}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardadultcontemporary|1|artist=Dionne Warwick|rowheader=true|access-date=June 8, 2018}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardrandbhiphop|1|artist=Dionne Warwick|rowheader=true|access-date=June 8, 2018}}
|-
{{single chart|West Germany|36|songid=1360|artist=Dionne & Friends|song=That's What Friends Are For|rowheader=true|access-date=June 8, 2018}}
|}
{{col-2}}

====Year-end charts====
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Year-end chart performance for "That's What Friends Are For"
!Chart (1986)
!Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref name="aus86">{{cite magazine|url=https://i.imgur.com/F7ais40.jpg|title=National Top 100 Singles for 1986|magazine=[[Kent Music Report]]|issue=650|date=December 1986|via=Imgur|access-date= January 24, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=Illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6}}</ref>
|12
|-
!scope="row"|Canada Top Singles (''RPM'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.0760&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.0760.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.0760|title=Top 100 Singles of '86|magazine=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]|via=[[Library and Archives Canada]]|access-date=June 8, 2018}}</ref>
|10
|-
!scope="row"|New Zealand (RIANZ)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz/archive/annual-singles/1986-12-31|title=End of Year Charts 1986|publisher=[[Recorded Music NZ]]|access-date=March 13, 2020}}</ref>
|28
|-
!scope="row"|South Africa (Springbok Radio)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rock.co.za/files/sahits_1986.html|title=Top 20 Hit Singles of 1986|website=South African Rock Lists|access-date=June 8, 2018}}</ref>
|17
|-
!scope="row"|US ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref>{{cite magazine|title=1986 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles|magazine=Billboard|volume=98|issue=52|page=Y-21|date=December 27, 1986}}</ref>
|1
|-
!scope="row"|US Adult Contemporary (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine|title=1986 The Year in Music & Video: Top Adult Contemporary Singles|magazine=Billboard|volume=98|issue=52|page=Y-27|date=December 27, 1986}}</ref>
|1
|-
!scope="row"|US Hot Black Singles (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine|title=1986 The Year in Music & Video: Top Black Singles|magazine=Billboard|volume=98|issue=52|page=Y-23|date=December 27, 1986}}</ref>
|4
|}
{{col-end}}

===Certifications===
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "That's What Friends Are For"}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|title=That's What Friends Are For|artist=Dionne Warwick & Friends|type=single|award=Platinum|relyear=1985|certyear=1986|access-date=September 26, 2019}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|title=That's What Friends Are For|artist=Dionne Warwick, Elton John And Stevie Wonder|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=1986|certyear=2023|source=radioscope|access-date=April 23, 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|title=That's What Friends Are For|artist=Dionne Warwick|type=single|award=Silver|relyear=2004|certyear=2022|id=6542-52-1|access-date=October 4, 2022}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|title=That's What Friends Are For|artist=Dionne Warwick & Friends|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=1985|certyear=1986|access-date=June 8, 2018}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|streaming=true}}

== 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 performers were: [[Luther Vandross]], [[Air Supply]], [[Lauren Bacall]], [[Burt Bacharach]], [[Eric Carmen]], [[Chevy Chase]], [[Jane Curtin]], [[Clive Davis]], [[Taylor Dayne]], [[Michael Douglas]], [[Exposé (group)|Exposé]], [[Whoopi Goldberg]], [[Melanie Griffith]], [[Hall & Oates]], [[Jennifer Holliday]], [[Whitney Houston]], [[Alan Jackson]], [[Kenny G]], [[Melissa Manchester]], [[Barry Manilow]], [[Milli Vanilli]], [[Jeffrey Osborne]], [[Carly Simon]], [[Patti Smith]], [[Lisa Stansfield]], [[The Four Tops]], and [[Dionne Warwick]]. "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. More than $2.5 million was raised that night for the Arista Foundation which gave the proceeds to various AIDS organizations.

== Other versions ==

In September 2023, British actor-singers [[Denise van Outen]] and [[Duncan James]] released a duet version in aid of [[Macmillan Cancer Support]], which was recorded in tribute to their friend, singer [[Sarah Harding]], who died from breast cancer in 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://metro.co.uk/2023/09/01/duncan-james-and-denise-van-outens-touching-way-of-remembering-sarah-harding-19429966/|title=Duncan James and Denise Van Outen reveal touching way they're remembering Sarah Harding|website=Metro|last=O'Connor|first=Rachael|date=1 September 2023|access-date=8 September 2023}}</ref>

In 2024, Warwick took part in a parody version of the song for a [[Capital One]] commercial celebrating the annual [[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament]].<ref>{{cite web|title= NCAA - That's What March Is For :60 {{!}} Capital One |via= [[YouTube]] |date= March 13, 2024 |access-date= March 15, 2024 |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCRVsemdvJE}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Rod Stewart songs}}
{{Dionne Warwick}}
{{Gladys Knight}}
{{Stevie Wonder}}
{{Elton John songs}}
{{Grammy Award for Song of the Year 1980s}}
{{Billboard Year-End number one singles 1980–1999}}
{{Authority control}}

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