That's What Friends Are For
Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder | Artist Essentials
First released: 1985 (year verified)
Original 1985 Dionne & Friends studio recording
MusicAtlas editorial note: The changing lead voices give the melody several distinct shades before the ensemble refrain.
YouTube opens a title-and-artist search. The selected recording and date are identified below.
Release evidence and recording details
First released: 1985 (year verified)
The original recording is documented in the 1985 release history of Friends. Only year precision is assigned; later singles, charts, remasters and live versions do not establish its first release.
Recording: Original 1985 Dionne & Friends studio recording
Credit: Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder
Role in this collection: Lead vocal with co-lead singers Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder
Original album: Friends
Friends - original 1985 quartet credit
The original program explicitly credits That's What Friends Are For with Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder; its 1985 single field precedes the album within the same year. The full quartet is retained instead of treating Dionne & Friends as an unrelated artist. | Reviewed 2026-10-18
In the yearly lists
These are listening-list appearances, separate from the first-release date.
About Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick brought a distinctive contralto and precise phrasing to the songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David in the early 1960s. Anyone Who Had a Heart and Walk On By are landmarks of that partnership. Her later work extended through R&B, jazz and soft-rock ballads, including I'll Never Love This Way Again. Across these settings, her recordings connect pop melody with gospel and soul vocal traditions.
Artist background sources
Dionne Warwick - Rock & Roll Hall of Fame biography
Vocal range and phrasing, Bacharach-David collaboration, representative recordings and later R&B/jazz/soft-rock directions. The source's album-date and B-side anecdote are not used. | Retrieved 2026-10-17
Profile reviewed: 2026-10-17. Artist background does not establish a song's creative origin or release date.
Continue listening
Recommended positions express one editorial listening sequence. They are not measured quality scores.
Browse by year
1960-2025. Each year contains 150 selections.