I'll Be There for You (The Rembrandts song)

"I'll Be There for You"
Single by The Rembrandts
from the album LP
Released May 1, 1995
Format 7", CD single
Recorded 1994
Genre Power pop, pop rock, alternative rock, jangle pop
Length 3:09
Label East West, Atlantic
Writer(s) David Crane, Marta Kauffman, Michael Skloff, Allee Willis, Phil Sōlem, Danny Wilde
Producer(s) Kevin Bright, David Crane, Marta Kauffman
The Rembrandts singles chronology
"Waiting to Be Opened"
(1993)		 "I'll Be There for You"
(1995)		 "This House Is Not a Home"
(1995)

"I'll Be There for You" is a song recorded by the American pop rock duo The Rembrandts. It is best known as the theme song to the American sitcom Friends, which premiered during 1994 and ended in 2004.[1] The song was also released as the first single from the group's third studio album LP.

Song information

"I'll Be There for You" was co-written by Friends producers David Crane and Marta Kauffman, Kauffman's husband, composer Michael Skloff, and songwriter Allee Willis, along with Phil Sōlem and Danny Wilde, both of the Rembrandts. It is strongly influenced by The Beatles, especially reminiscent of the "I Feel Fine" guitar riff, and is also highly reminiscent of The Monkees' "Pleasant Valley Sunday."

The original theme, which is under one minute long, was later re-recorded as a three-minute pop song.[2] After Nashville program director Charlie Quinn, along with radio announcer and music director Tom Peace, looped the original short version into a full-length track and broadcast it on radio station WYHY, it became so popular that they had to re-record it. "Our record label said we had to finish the song and record it. There was no way to get out of it," lead singer Phil Sōlem said.[3]

Music video

The music video of the song featured the six main stars of Friends, taking the singing and dancing roles of the band after, amusingly, attacking them all and bemusing everyone else on the set with their daft behavior. The video was included as a bonus feature on several of the show's Complete Season DVD Boxsets.

Track listing

European CD maxi-single
  1. "I'll Be There for You" – 3:09
  2. "Fixin' to Blow" – 5:03
  3. "Just the Way It Is Baby" – 4:06
  4. "Snippets Medley" – 6:46

Chart performance

In the United States, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart for eight weeks. When the single was released 1995, it peaked at #3 on the UK Singles Chart in the United Kingdom and at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States as the flipside to "This House Is Not a Home". It also peaked at #1 on the U.S. Top 40 Mainstream and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts.[4]

The song was the most successful in Canada where it peaked at number 1 for 5 consecutive weeks.[5]

In April 2004, the song was ranked at #15 on Blender magazine's list of the "50 Worst Songs Ever".[6]

Charts

Chart (1995–1997) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[7] 3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 10
Canada (RPM)[9] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 20
France (SNEP)[11] 25
Germany (Official German Charts)[12] 77
Ireland (IRMA)[13] 3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 3
Norway (VG-lista)[15] 5
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 34
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[17] 3
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[18] 17
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay[18] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[18] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks[18] 7
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks[18] 23
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream[18] 1

Compilation usage

"I'll Be There for You" has been included on the following compilation albums:

Cover versions

In popular culture

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Rembrandts: 'So no one told me it was going to be this way'". Independent. London. April 27, 2004. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
  2. ↑ Etkin, Jaimie. "The Amazing Story Behind "I'll Be There For You," According To The Rembrandts". Buzzfeed News. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  3. ↑ "Nashville DJ helped turn "Friends" song into radio hit". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2004-12-21. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  4. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 202.
  5. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  6. ↑ Archived December 31, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – The Rembrandts – I'll Be There For You". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  8. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Rembrandts – I'll Be There For You" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  9. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  10. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Rembrandts – I'll Be There For You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  11. ↑ "Lescharts.com – The Rembrandts – I'll Be There For You" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  12. ↑ "Musicline.de – The Rembrandts Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  13. ↑ Jaclyn Ward. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  14. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – The Rembrandts – I'll Be There For You". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  15. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Rembrandts – I'll Be There For You". VG-lista. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  16. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – The Rembrandts – I'll Be There For You". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  17. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1995" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 The Rembrandts. "The Rembrandts | Biography, Albums, & Streaming Radio". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  19. ↑ Paravonian, Rob (2007). "The Friends Theme and Sugar Ray". RobPRocks. Retrieved October 2, 2014.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.