Just Good Friends (song)
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{for multi|the song by Rick Astley|Whenever You Need Somebody|the song by Peter Hammill|Patience (Peter Hammill album)}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Just Good Friends
| cover =
| alt =
| type = song
| artist = Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder
| album = Bad
| released = {{Start date|1987|08|31}}
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
| length = 4:06
| label = Epic
| writer =
| producer =
- Quincy Jones
- Michael Jackson ({{abbr|co.|co-producer}})
}}
"Just Good Friends" is a song from American recording artist Michael Jackson's 1987 album Bad. The song is one of two duets on the album, the other being "I Just Can't Stop Loving You". The song features Jackson and Stevie Wonder quarrelling over a girl in a light, cheerful manner. "Just Good Friends" is the fifth track on Bad with a duration of 4:06. It is the only song from the album to have never been released as a single. "Just Good Friends" is one of only two songs on Bad which were not written by Jackson himself, the other being "Man in the Mirror". The song was written and composed by the '80s songwriting partnership of Terry Britten and Graham Lyle.
Reception
Richard Cromelin of the Los Angeles Times liked what he called a relaxed and charming nature of Jackson and Wonder's vocal performances in the duet. He noted the song's "early Jackson 5 charge" and Motown links. He was impressed with both "Just Good Friends" and "Man in the Mirror" and thought they stood out in comparison to other tracks from Bad.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/la-archive-bad-review-aug31-story.html|title=Michael Jackson has a good thing in 'Bad'|work=Los Angeles Times|last=Cromelin|first=Richard|date=August 31, 1987}} On the other hand, Rolling Stone criticized "Just Good Friends" as being "the only mediocrity" on Bad.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/michaeljackson/albums/album/259584/review/6067877/bad|title=Album Reviews: Bad|access-date=2007-07-02|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205080737/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/michaeljackson/albums/album/259584/review/6067877/bad|archive-date=February 5, 2007|url-status=dead}} The reviewer attributed this to the fact that "Just Good Friends" is one of only two songs not actually written by Jackson on the album. Rolling Stone commented that the Stevie Wonder-duet starts well, but "devolves into a chin-bobbing cheerfulness that is unforced but also, sadly, unearned." Quincy Jones was also very critical of the song: "I made a mistake on the duet with him and Stevie ["Just Good Friends", written by Terry Britten and Graham Lyle]. That didn't work."{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/quincy-jones-looks-back-on-the-making-of-michael-jacksons-bad-117216/|title=Quincy Jones on the Making of Michael Jackson's 'Bad'|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=August 30, 2017}}
Credits
- Written and composed by Terry Britten and Graham Lyle
- Vocal duet with Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder
- Synthesizer solo: Stevie Wonder
- Drums: Ollie E. Brown, Humberto Gatica and Bruce Swedien
- Drum programming: Cornelius Mims
- Rhythm guitar and wah-wah guitar solo: Michael Landau
- Saxophones: Kim Hutchcroft and Larry Williams
- Trumpets: Gary Grant and Jerry Hey
- Percussion: Paulinho Da Costa
- Synclavier: Christopher Currell
- Synthesizers: Michael Boddicker, Rhett Lawrence, Greg Phillinganes and Larry Williams
- Rhythm, synthesizer and vocal arrangements by Terry Britten, Graham Lyle and Quincy Jones
- Horn arrangement by Jerry Hey
See also
- "The Girl Is Mine" – a 1982 song by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney with similar subject matter
References
{{reflist}}
{{Bad (album)}}
{{Michael Jackson songs}}
{{Stevie Wonder}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Michael Jackson songs
Category:Songs written by Terry Britten
Category:Songs written by Graham Lyle
Category:Song recordings produced by Michael Jackson