Stories of Standards: Just Friends

Tune in weekday mornings for Stories of Standards to hear our favorite versions of “Just Friends.” Rodney Franks presents Stories of Standards Monday through Friday at 7:50 and 8:50 a.m. starting Monday, February 24!

Stories of Standards is sponsored by ListenUp – If you love music, you’ll love ListenUp.

“Just Friends” by John Klenner and Sam M. Lewis was introduced in 1931 by Red McKenzie and His Orchestra and first hit the charts with Russ Columbo’s version with Leonard Joy’s Orchestra’s in 1932. Ben Selvin and His Orchestra also had a recording that year which hit the charts.

John Klenner (24 February 1899 – 13 August 1955), born in Germany , was a songwriter, composer, author, pianist and arranger. His training in piano and composition led to his composition of a number of classical works as well as music/lyrics for dozens of popular songs.  He joined ASCAP in 1932.

Sam M. Lewis (25 October 1885 – 22 November  1959) was a singer and lyricist who wrote a number of popular songs, including “For All We Know”, “Has Anybody Seen My Gal?”, “How Ya Goin’ to Keep Them Down on the Farm (After They’ve Seen Paree)?, “I’m Sitting On Top of the World” and “Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody”. A charter member of ASCAP (1914), he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.