Just the Two of Us (Grover Washington Jr. song)

"Just the Two of Us" is a 1980 song written by Bill Withers, William Salter, and Ralph MacDonald, and recorded by Grover Washington Jr. with Withers on vocals. Elektra Records released it in Washington's 1980 album Winelight and as a February 1981 single.

Background

"Just the Two of Us" was written by Bill Withers, Ralph MacDonald and William Salter. Originally an instrumental track written by MacDonald and Salter, MacDonald contacted Withers and he wrote the lyrics.

Composition

Harmony

"Just the Two of Us" is in the key of F minor. The chord progression D♭^maj7 – C^7♭9 – F^m7 – E♭^m7 A♭⁷ of its intro and verse can be thought of as a double-time modified reordering of the first four bars of the "Sunny" chord progression. "Just the Two of Us" restarts this progression but settles on the minor tonic: D♭^maj7 – C^7♭9 – F^m7 – %. Its chorus inserts an additional E^m7 chord to chromatically descend from the first F^m7 to E♭^m7 chord.

Instrumentation

The Fender Rhodes electric piano, played in the introduction and throughout, was performed by Richard Tee.

Chart performance

The song reached number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, staying there for three weeks, behind "Morning Train (9 to 5)" by Sheena Easton and "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes. It was Washington's only Top 40 hit.

The song won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song. Withers included the edited version on the 1981 compilation Bill Withers' Greatest Hits and many subsequent greatest hits collections.

The song propelled Winelight's success, often credited for leading to the 1980s smooth jazz explosion.

Charts

Certifications

Toshinobu Kubota version

"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 listed as "Just the 2 of Us", featuring a reggae-style beat. In 1995, Kubota re-recorded the song with a more R&B-style beat for his album Sunshine, Moonlight. 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 five weeks. It was included in 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 on the MTV Japan Icons Special; during the performance, Kubota walked 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.

Music video

In 1996, Toshi Kubota and Caron Wheeler shot a music video for the song. The video is set at night, at a party in Kubota's apartment. Wheeler watches the party from the fire escape of the next apartment building. The single version was used for the audio format of the video. There are also shots of other musicians playing their instruments during the party, a group of elderly men playing cards outside the apartment on the sidewalk, and a couple dancing in another room of the apartment.

Formats and track listing

• CD single

1. "Just the Two of Us" (Butcher Bros. LP remix) (duet with Caron Wheeler)

• Maxi single

1. "Just the Two of Us" (Butcher Bros. LP remix)
2. "Just the Two of Us" (Smooth R&B mix)
3. "Just the Two of Us" (So So Def remix)
4. "Just the Two of Us" (club mix radio edit)
5. "Just the Two of Us" (Street mix) (featuring Fat Man Scoop and E. Bros.)

Other cover versions

• Bill Cosby did a parody version, "Just the Slew of Us", as the theme music for his movie Bill Cosby: Himself. Ralph MacDonald was the writer/producer.
• In 1992, the New York City R&B vocal trio Around the Way sampled the song in "Really Into You". They reached No. 89 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in the fall of that year.
• Between 1995 and 1996, the rapper Don't Try To Xerox (DTTX) sampled "Just the Two of Us" for their song "Tha 2 Of Us", featuring Christopher Williams singing its chorus. The song was part of 1996 Bulletproof film's soundtrack and it is played on ending (casting list) of the film.
• In 1995, Smif-N-Wessun sampled “Just the Two of Us” on the remix to their song “Wreckonize” from their album Dah Shinin'.
• Tiro de Gracia sampled "Just the Two of Us" for their song "El Juego Verdadero", off their 1997 Ser humano!! album.
• Will Smith released a single in 1997 which samples and incorporates lyrics from the original. Instead of love between a couple, Smith's version focuses on the relationship between a father and son. Smith originally wrote a children's book with the same title and lyrics. For his album, he performed it in rap form.
• Anal Cunt jokingly performed the song as a duet between singer Seth Putnam and Hillary Logee on their 1997 album I Like It When You Die. It features dissonant out of key keyboard noodling and mocking vocals from Putnam. The writers of the song are credited as "Some Fucking Retard" in the CD booklet.
• Axelle Red in her album Parce que c'est toi (1999)
• Dr. Evil parodied the Will Smith version in the Mike Myers James Bond parody film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
• Adult Swim's online show titled FishCenter Live made a parody of the song entitled "Just the Ten of Us" about the fish.
• Matt Dusk and Margaret released a single to promote their collaborative jazz album Just the Two of Us.
• Eminem sampled the song on "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" off his debut major label album The Slim Shady LP.
• Johnny Mathis covered the song on his 2008 album, A Night to Remember.
• Fanfare Ciocărlia's cover of the song was played over the end of the final scene and the beginning of the credits of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.
• Raphael Saadiq covered the song on the Disney Channel series Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur in the episode "Skip This Ad...olescence".
• Theory of a Deadman did a parody version of the song entitled "Two Of Us (Stuck)" for their 2023 album, Dinosaur.
• Brazilian rapper MC VV sampled "Just the Two of Us" in his song "E No Fim Foram Dois", finale of his third album entitled "Bonda 3".
• Fujii Kaze covered the song in his 2022 cover album LOVE ALL COVER ALL (bonus disc to Love All Serve All).

Appearances in media

Movies and series

The song appeared in the opening sequence of the 2022 film Hotel Transylvania: Transformania. It was also featured in the Futurama season 7 episode, "Fry and Leela's Big Fling" and The Simpsons season 15 episode, "My Big Fat Geek Wedding" and season 34 episode, "One Angry Lisa".

Advertisement

The title was popularized in France to be the main music for advertising campaigns for Caprice des Dieux cheese since 2009.

TikTok

In late 2020, "Just the Two of Us" started trending on TikTok, which prompted Salters' granddaughter, Jada Salter, to upload a video to the platform commemorating his work.

References

External links

• AllMusic Guide link
• Grover Washington Jr. - Even Now on YouTube