The song originally appeared on Washington's album Winelight. An edited version reached number 2 on the US BillboardHot 100, staying there for three weeks, behind "Morning Train " 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.
Composition
The tuning of the song is set to around A=436.5 Hz, as opposed to the standard A=440 Hz tuning. The song is in the key of F minor. The main chord progression is D♭ major 7, C7, F minor, E♭ minor 7, A♭7. The song is played at around 96 beats per minute.
"Just the Two of Us" was covered by Japanese singer Toshinobu Kubota as a duet with Caron Wheeler in 1991, for his album . 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.
Music video
In 1996, Toshi Kubota and Caron Wheeler shot a music video for the song. The video setting takes place during the 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 video 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.
Bill Cosby did a parody version, "Just the Slew of Us", as the theme music for his movie '. 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.
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, "Just the Two of Us" 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.
Dr. Evil parodied the Will Smith version in the 1999 film '.
Adult Swim's online show entitled 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.
