| "Just Good Friends" | |
|---|---|
| Song byMichael Jackson andStevie Wonder | |
| from the albumBad | |
| Released | August 31, 1987 (1987-08-31) |
| Recorded | 1987[1] |
| Genre | |
| Length | 4:06 |
| Label | Epic |
| Songwriters | |
| Producers |
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"Just Good Friends" is a song from American recording artistMichael Jackson's 1987 albumBad. The song is one of two duets on the album, the other being "I Just Can't Stop Loving You". The song features Jackson andStevie Wonder quarrelling over a girl in a light, cheerful manner. "Just Good Friends" is the fifth track onBad 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 onBad which were not written by Jackson himself, the other being "Man in the Mirror". The song was written and composed by the '80s songwriting partnership ofTerry Britten andGraham Lyle.
Richard Cromelin of theLos 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 "earlyJackson 5 charge" andMotown links. He was impressed with both "Just Good Friends" and "Man in the Mirror" and thought they stood out in comparison to other tracks fromBad.[2] On the other hand,Rolling Stone criticized "Just Good Friends" as being "the only mediocrity" onBad.[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]
