"That's What Friends Are For" is a song composed by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager. It was first recorded by Rod Stewart in 1982 for the soundtrack of the movie Night Shift. However, the version released in 1985 by Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder is most famous. This recording, credited to Dionne Warwick & Friends, was released as a charity single to help raise money for AIDS research and prevention. The song became very popular, reaching number one on the U.S. charts in 1986. It also won two Grammy Awards: Best Pop Performance by a Group and Song of the Year. The song helped raise more than $3 million for its cause.
Dionne Warwick version
Dionne Warwick's recording of "That's What Friends Are For" was the first time she worked with Bacharach since the 1970s. At that time, Warwick felt abandoned when Bacharach and Hal David ended their partnership. Warwick later spoke about their reconciliation.
A special collaboration led by Warwick and featuring Gladys Knight, Elton John, and Stevie Wonder was released as a charity single in the UK and the US in 1985. The song is in the key of E♭ major. It was recorded to support the American Foundation for AIDS Research and raised more than US$3 million for that cause. Warwick, who had previously helped raise money for blood-related diseases like sickle-cell anemia, wanted to help fight the growing AIDS epidemic because she had seen friends suffer from the disease. Elton John played piano, and Stevie Wonder played harmonica on the song. Both had previously worked together on the 1983 song "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues."
In the US, the song reached number one on the adult contemporary chart for two weeks, the soul chart for three weeks, and the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks. It became Billboard's number one single of 1986. The song received a Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on January 15, 1986. It was the final US number one for all performers except Elton John, who had two more US number ones in the 1990s.
Outside the US, the song topped charts in Canada and Australia and reached the top 10 in Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, and Sweden. In the UK, the song started at number 49 on the UK Singles Chart, reached number 16, and stayed there for one week. It remained in the UK top 100 for five more weeks, totaling 10 weeks on the chart.
The "Dionne and Friends" version of the song won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and the Grammy for Song of the Year for its writers, Bacharach and Bayer Sager. This version is listed at number 75 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of All Time.
Warwick, John, Knight, and Wonder performed the song together for the first time in 23 years at the 25th Anniversary amfAR gala in New York City on February 10, 2011.
- Dionne Warwick – vocals
- Elton John – vocals, piano
- Gladys Knight – vocals
- Stevie Wonder – vocals, harmonica
- Freddie Washington – bass
- John Robinson – drums
- Michael Landau – guitar
- Randy Kerber – keyboards
- David Foster – synthesizer
- Paulinho da Costa – percussion
1990 benefit concert
On March 17, 1990, an AIDS charity event titled That's What Friends Are For: Arista Records 15th Anniversary Concert took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. One month later, CBS broadcast a two-hour version of the concert on television. Celebrity guests and performers included Luther Vandross, Air Supply, Lauren Bacall, Burt Bacharach, Eric Carmen, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Clive Davis, Taylor Dayne, Michael Douglas, 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. The song That's What Friends Are For was performed as the finale by Warwick and her cousin Houston, who were later joined on stage by other guests. More than $2.5 million was raised that night for the Arista Foundation, which donated the funds to various AIDS organizations.
Other versions
In September 2023, British actor-singers Denise van Outen and Duncan James released a duet to help raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. The song was recorded as a tribute to their friend, singer Sarah Harding, who passed away from breast cancer in 2021.
In 2024, Warwick participated in a parody of the song for a Capital One commercial that celebrated the annual NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.