"Just the Two of Us" | ||||
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Single by Grover Washington Jr. & Bill Withers | ||||
from the album Winelight | ||||
B-side | "Make Me a Memory (Sad Samba)" | |||
Released | February 1981 | |||
Recorded | 1980 | |||
Genre | R&B, jazz, smooth jazz | |||
Length | 7:23 (album version) 3:58 (7" edit) |
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Label | Elektra Records | |||
Writer(s) | Bill Withers, Ralph MacDonald, William Salter | |||
Producer(s) | Grover Washington Jr., Ralph MacDonald | |||
Grover Washington Jr. singles chronology | ||||
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"Just the Two of Us" | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Single by Toshi Kubota featuring Caron Wheeler | ||||||||||||||||||||
from the album Kubojah: Parallel World I and Sunshine, Moonlight | ||||||||||||||||||||
Released | June 25, 1996 | |||||||||||||||||||
Format | CD, digital download | |||||||||||||||||||
Recorded | 1991 1995 (re-recorded) |
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Genre |
Reggae (Kubojah version) R&B, soul (Sunshine, Moonlight version) |
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Length | 4:28 (album version) 3:33 (single version) |
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Label | Sony Music Entertainment Japan | |||||||||||||||||||
Writer(s) | Bill Withers, Ralph MacDonald, William Salter | |||||||||||||||||||
Producer(s) | Toshinobu Kubota, Ralph MacDonald, William Salter, Bill Withers | |||||||||||||||||||
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"Just the Two of Us" is a 1981 R&B single written by Bill Withers, William Salter and Ralph MacDonald, which was recorded by Grover Washington Jr. and Bill Withers. The song originally appeared on Washington's 1980 album Winelight. An edited version reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, staying there for 3 weeks, behind "Morning Train (9 to 5)" by Sheena Easton and "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes. The song won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song. Bill Withers included the edited version on the 1981 compilation Bill Withers' Greatest Hits and many subsequent greatest hits collections.
"Just the Two of Us" was covered by Japanese singer Toshinobu Kubota as a duet with Caron Wheeler in 1991, for his album Kubojah: Parallel World I. The song was credited as "Just the 2 of Us", featuring a reggae-style beat. In 1995, Kubota re-recorded the song, which appeared on his album Sunshine, Moonlight, with a more R&B-style beat. In 1996, he released the song as the second single from the album. The song charted at number 30 on the Oricon Weekly Singles chart and remained on the charts for a duration of five weeks. The song was included the setlist during the Oyeees! Tour. During the tour, Joi Cardwell, who sang backing vocals during the tour, performed the song as a duet with Kubota. In 2007, Double performed the song the MTV Japan Icons Special. During the performance, Kubota walk onto the stage to complete the song with her. In 2012, Kubota performed the song with Japanese singer Yuri, who was also a background vocalist during his "Party Ain't A Party Tour". The performance was included on his concert DVD "Party Ain't A Party", which was released in May 2012.