That's What Friends Are For is an album by American singers Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams, released in July 1978 by Columbia Records. The project was a continuation of the pairing of the artists that began on his previous LP, You Light Up My Life, which included "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late", the duet that was on its way to number one on three different charts in Billboard magazine as the recording sessions for this album got underway. On July 20, 1978, That's What Friends Are For received Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of 500,000 copies in the United States, and it debuted on Billboard's list of America's Top LP's & Tapes shortly thereafter, in the issue dated July 29, for the start of a 16-week chart run that took the album to number 19. That same issue also marked its debut on the magazine's Black Albums chart, where it remained for 11 weeks and peaked at number 14. The following month, on August 28, it made its first of 11 weekly appearances on the UK album chart, during which time it got as high as number 16, and October 31 of that year the British Phonographic Industry awarded the album with Gold certification for sales of 100,000 copies in the UK. The album was first released on CD in 1997 and reissued on July 1, 2003, with four additional songs by the duo, including a previously unreleased version of "Without Us", the theme from the television series Family Ties.

Singles

Following quickly on the heels of the June 3, 1978, issue of Billboard in which "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" enjoyed its week at number one on the magazine's Hot 100, this album's opener, a cover of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "You're All I Need To Get By", was released on June 15 and had a July 8 debut on the magazine's list of the 100 most popular R&B singles in the US, where it peaked at number 10 over the course of 12 weeks. The July 8 issue also marked its first appearance on the magazine's list of the 50 most popular Easy Listening records in the US, where it spent 11 weeks and got as high as number 16. The July 29 issue included the debut of the song on the Hot 100, where it stayed for eight weeks and reached number 47. The duet also became a new entry on the July 29 UK singles chart, where it made it to number 45 during a six-week run. The title song from the album (not to be confused with the Bacharach/Sager composition later popularized by Dionne Warwick) was released as a single in the fall of 1978 but did not have any chart appearances.

Critical reception

Billboard remarked, "For the most part this is a set of slick, pretty R&B pop duets, marked by Mathis' best, most uninhibited singing to date, and the equally important participation of Williams." Paul Sexton of Record Mirror commented that "their coupling is quite satisfactory from an artistic point of view." Dennis Hunt of the Los Angeles Times said that "Mathis' duets with Williams have rescued him from the MOR graveyard and given him new life in the pop/R&B market. This album, far superior to the last featuring this pair, brims with romantic material. To make sure no one mistakes these songs for MOR, producer Jack Gold has tacked on sprightly rhythm tracks which turn some of them into gentle rockers." Ron Wynn of AllMusic stated: "Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams made a fine team on this collection of sentimental love songs and light pop ballads."

Track listing

Side one

Side two

2003 CD bonus tracks

This album's 2003 CD release included four bonus duets: As with "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late", "Emotion" was also recorded for the You Light Up My Life album. "Love Won't Let Me Wait" was recorded in 1983 for Mathis's 1984 album A Special Part of Me.

2017 CD bonus tracks

This album's CD release as part of the 2017 box set The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection included three bonus tracks: "Comme ci, comme ça" and "So Deep in Love" had not been available before. The former was recorded during the sessions for this album, the latter at the same session as the theme song for the series.

Recording dates

From the liner notes for the 2003 CD release:

Bonus tracks

From the liner notes for The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection:

Personnel

Original album

From the liner notes for the original album:

Musicians

Production

2003 CD reissue

From the liner notes for the 2003 CD release: Bonus tracks Reissue credits

Charts