Awfully Bad Songs - "That's What Friends Are For"

Its the winter 1985-86 and you turn on the radio and you hope to hear something by Huey Lewis and The News, maybe Hall and Oates, you'd even take Billy Ocean...chances are though, you instead heard that familar harmonica intro to one of the worst songs ever created. Today I give you "That's What Friends Are For".

I vaguely remember the background for this song. It was written for charity which meant that Dionne "Psychic Friends Network" Warwick was all over it. She recruited some of the hottest acts of day...well if it was 1976 and not 1986...in Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, and a cocaine fueled Elton John. Each of them traded verses of the song saving Elton John's total bombast towards the end. Let's take a closer look at this video shall we?






I'll admit its hard to not stop watching Elton John. His mannerisms are so jerky and he appears completely into the song which is great, but at the same time he had to be high on something or at least jonsing for his next fix. Gladys Knight (who sang Midnight Train To Georgia) looks very mousy, timid, and completely overwhelmed by her the two grandstanding singers to her left. Dionne Warwick's ego is bursting out of her head and Stevie Wonder just plays the same damn harmonica line and sings a few lines here and there.

After putting this post together and hearing this song a few more times...I actually love to hate it even more than before.