[1] The song was first recorded as a duet by Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson in 1985 for the soap opera Days of Our Lives, produced by Doug Lenier.

That recording remained unreleased until the summer of 1986, when it was released shortly after a version by Juice Newton and Eddie Rabbitt hit country radio.

Gloria Loring is a singer and actress who, beginning in 1980, portrayed the character Liz Chandler on the American soap opera Days of Our Lives.

The song became the theme music for one of the popular supercouples on the show in the mid 1980s, Shane Donovan and Kimberly Brady (portrayed by Charles Shaughnessy and Patsy Pease).

[2] In 1985, Carl Anderson (a Golden Globe-nominee for his portrayal of Judas Iscariot in the film and stage versions of the Andrew Lloyd Webber / Tim Rice rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar) appeared on Days of Our Lives and performed the duet with Loring.

In 1986, country-pop singers Juice Newton and Eddie Rabbitt released a version of "Friends and Lovers", altering the title to emphasize the final line of the chorus.