"Friends and Lovers" is a song written by
Jay Gruska and
Paul Gordon.[1] The song was first recorded as a
duet by
Gloria Loring and
Carl Anderson in 1985 for the soap opera Days of Our Lives, produced by
Doug Lenier. That recording remained unreleased until the summer of 1986, when it was released shortly after a version by
Juice Newton and
Eddie Rabbitt hit country radio. The country version featured the altered title of "Both to Each Other (Friends and Lovers)".
Pop version
Gloria Loring is a singer and actress who beginning in 1980 portrayed the character
Liz Chandler on the American
soap operaDays of Our Lives. Her character was a lounge singer, so Loring was often called upon to perform on-screen; one of the songs she performed during this period was "Friends and Lovers". The song became the theme music for one of the popular
supercouples on the show in the mid 1980s, Shane Donovan and Kimberly Brady (portrayed by
Charles Shaughnessy and
Patsy Pease).[2]
In 1985, Carl Anderson (known for his portrayal of
Judas Iscariot in both the
film and
stage versions of the
Andrew Lloyd Webber /
Tim Ricerock operaJesus Christ Superstar) appeared on Days of Our Lives and performed the duet with Loring. The commercial release of this duet was delayed for months before becoming available in the summer of 1986, first as a
single on the label USA Carrere, then later on Anderson's self-titled album on
Epic Records and Loring's eponymous album on
Atlantic Records. According to Loring, it had been turned down by most of the major American record labels at the time, and she had taken to referring to the song informally as "Friends and Lawyers".[2]
The song was a hit when released, spending two weeks at No. 2 on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart on September 27 and October 4, 1986, behind "
Stuck with You" by
Huey Lewis and the News. It remained in the
Top 40 for 14 of its 21 overall weeks on the chart.[3] It reached No. 1 on the Billboard sales chart and No. 2 on the airplay chart (the two components of the Hot 100 chart). It also spent two weeks at No. 1 on the
adult contemporary chart. "Friends and Lovers" would be the
only Top 40 hit for either performer. Loring left Days of Our Lives at the same time the single started to descend down the music charts. Anderson eventually died in 2004 from complications arising from a long battle with
leukemia.
In 1986, country-pop singers
Juice Newton and
Eddie Rabbitt released a version of "Friends and Lovers", altering the title to emphasize the final line of the chorus. Technically, Newton and Rabbitt's recording is a
pre-release cover version, since it was commercially available before the pop version was released. Therefore, even though Loring and Anderson recorded the song first, Newton and Rabbitt are credited with the original commercial version. Their duet was called "Both to Each Other (Friends and Lovers)", and although its arrangement differed from Loring and Anderson's recording, it is lyrically the same song. Both Newton ("
Queen of Hearts", "
Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me") and Rabbitt ("
I Love a Rainy Night", "
Every Which Way but Loose") had already enjoyed considerable success on both the pop and country music charts, and their version of the duet went to No. 1 on the Billboardcountry chart. This was Newton's final No. 1 though her last solo No. 1 had come eight months earlier with "Hurt".
^Nielsen Business Media, Inc (December 27, 1986). "1986 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 52. p. Y-21. {{
cite magazine}}: |last1= has generic name (
help)
