Just Friends (John Klenner and Sam M. Lewis song)

"Just Friends" is a popular song that has become a jazz standard. The song was written in 1931 by John Klenner with lyrics by Sam M. Lewis. Although introduced by Red McKenzie and His Orchestra in October 1931, it first became a hit when singer Russ Columbo performed it with ’s Orchestra in 1932. It charted again the same year in a version by Ben Selvin and His Orchestra and has been recorded often since.^[1]

Other recordings[]

Tony Bennett with Stan Getz and Herbie Hancock – Jazz (1964)^[2]
Guitarist Larry Coryell – Toku Do (1988)^[3]
Dizzy Gillespie with Oscar Peterson, Freddie Hubbard, and Clark Terry – The Trumpet Summit Meets the Oscar Peterson Big 4 (1980)^[2]
Earl Hines – Fatha Plays Classics (1977)^[2]
Lee Konitz with Bill Evans – Live at the Half Note (1959/1994)^[2]
Red McKenzie – 1931^[2]
Charlie Parker – 1949^[2]
Chet Baker – 1955^[4]
Sonny Rollins with Coleman Hawkins – Sonny Meets Hawk (1963)^[2]
Cecil Taylor with John Coltrane – Coltrane Time (1959)^[2]
Pat Martino – El Hombre (1967)
Joe Pass – I Remember Charlie Parker (1979)
Sarah Vaughan – 1949^[2]
Joe Williams – In Good Company (1989)^[2]
Jack Sheldon - Jack Sheldon Sings (1993)

References[]

^ ASCAP
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Gioia, Ted (2012). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. New York City: Oxford University Press. pp. 214–216. ISBN 978-0-19-993739-4.
^ "Toku Do overview". Allmusic.com.
^ "Chet Baker - Sings And Plays With Bud Shank, Russ Freeman And Strings". Discogs. Retrieved 2021-03-15.