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F.R.I.E.N.D.S' "I'll Be There For You": The story behind the undying theme song for today

Vineeta Kumar | Updated on: 2 August 2015, 16:34 IST
I'll be there for you
(When the rain starts to pour)
I'll be there for you
(Like I've been there before)
I'll be there for you
('Cause you're there for me too)
The 1994 TV show Friends' theme song by The Rembrandts is arguably one of the most popular television theme songs. It's not that nothing else explains the meaning of friends and friendship better than the song, but it is undoubtedly the simplest, most logical explanation for friendship worldwide. And today, as the world celebrates International Friendship Day, we tell you how "I'll Be There For You" came into existence.

1. The Rembrandts duo Danny Wilde and Phil Solem wrote most of their songs. But, 'I'll Be There For You' was written by Michael Skloff and Allee Willis, the makers of Friends.

2. Kevin S. Bright, Executive Producer of Friends was initially looking for something a bit different for the Friends theme song. The basic idea was that he wanted a melody similar to that of REM's 1987 hit "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)." While the song was initially offered to the rock bands They Might Be Giants and REM., it landed in the kitty of The Rembrandts, as Bright was a fan of the duo.

3. As the band sat down with Skloff and Willis to pitch the song, they thought that it should be anything but 'rembrandt-ified'. So both Solemn and Wilde started thinking on the lines of their own friendship and came out with something that purely belongs to them.

4. It took three days for the creative brains to prepare the song. Just after the final mix of recording got over, the studio had sounds of claps. And since the makers of the show wanted it to be a part of the theme song, it was finally incorporated in 'I'll Be There For You.'

5. Soon after the song got released,it became a sensation. Wilde was surprised to hear their creation on radio within a week of its release, provided that it was just a 1-minute song.

Friends TV Show
Photo: Twitter/ @HookedonFriends

6. The song got 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 Solemn said.

7. The duo recorded the song in its pop version and included it in their album LP, released in 1995, at the last moment. There was a fear that if they had released the song as a single, it would have pushed their album to the low.

8. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart for eight weeks at a stretch.

9. Later, when the single got released, it reached number two in the UK and number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

10.The song was frequently played on UK pop radio in 2004 around the time of the Friends series finale.

Here's the memorable video. Sing along.

First published: 2 August 2015, 16:24 IST
THE
 
Vineeta Kumar @VineetaKumar_09

Vineeta brings Bollywood fun and intricate showbiz details to Catch/Speed News. She has worked with IndiaTV, Zee News, and is here to provide Catch readers with the best of 'quality entertainment'. A Delhi girl, Vineeta pursued BMMMC from I P College for Women, Delhi University, and craves to know more all the time. When she is not indulging in a serious cinematic discussion over a film she just watched, Vineeta is either reading a fantasy book or polishing her artistic skills.