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Just Good Friends (song)

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"Just Good Friends"
Song by Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder
from the album Bad
ReleasedAugust 31, 1987 (1987-08-31)
Recorded1987[1]
Genre
Length4:06
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)

"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 song writing-partnership of Terry Britten and Graham Lyle.

Reception

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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.[2] On the other hand, Rolling Stone criticized "Just Good Friends" as being "the only mediocrity" on Bad.[3] 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.[3] Rolling Stone commented that the Stevie Wonder-duet starts well, but "devolves into a chin-bobbing cheerfulness that is unforced but also, sadly, unearned."[3] 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."[4]

Credits

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See also

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  • "The Girl Is Mine" – a 1982 song by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney with similar subject matter

References

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  1. ^ Lecocq, Richard (2018). Michael Jackson All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. London, England: Cassell. p. 1134. ISBN 9781788400572.
  2. ^ Cromelin, Richard (August 31, 1987). "Michael Jackson has a good thing in 'Bad'". Los Angeles Times.
  3. ^ a b c "Album Reviews: Bad". Rolling Stone. 2001. Archived from the original on February 5, 2007. Retrieved July 2, 2007.
  4. ^ "Quincy Jones on the Making of Michael Jackson's 'Bad'". Rolling Stone. August 30, 2017.