"I'll Be There for You", performed by The Rembrandts is the theme song of Friends, which premiered in 1994. Although The Rembrandts write most of their own songs, this one was written specifically for the show by Michael Skloff and Allee Willis and was initially offered to They Might Be Giants and R.E.M.
After a Tennessee disc jockey looped the original short version into a full-length track and played it on the air, it became so popular that they had to 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.
The song made it onto L.P., the album The Rembrandts released in 1995, at the last moment. The song was not released as a single at first, a then common practice by record companies who feared it would cannibalize album sales.
The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart for eight weeks. When the single was finally released, it reached number two in the United Kingdom and reached number seventeen on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 as the flipside to "This House is not a Home".
Rarely heard on UK radio after its early popularity, the song was frequently played on UK pop radio in 2004 around the time of the series finale.
"I'll Be There for You" has been included on the following albums:
- Friends: Music From The TV Series (1994 soundtrack compilation)
- LP - The Rembrandts (1995)
- Friends Again (1999 soundtrack compilation)
- Serial TV: Les Plus Grands Hits Des Séries TV (compilation)
- Happy Songs (compilation)
- Billboard Top Hits: 1995 (compilation)
The music video of this song was also popular worldwide, featuring all the six main stars of the show where they gradually take the singing and dancing roles of the band. The video was included as a bonus feature on several of the show's Complete Season DVD Boxsets.
European Maxi CD tracklist
- "I'll Be There for You" (3:09)
- "Fixin' to Blow" (5:03)
- "Just The Way It Is Baby" (4:06)
- "Snippets Medley" (6:46)
- Don't Hide Your Love
- End Of The Beginning
- Lovin' Me Insane
- Drowning In Your Tears
- This House Is Not A Home
Additional Information
- American rock band The Goo Goo Dolls recorded their own version of this song which contained slightly altered lyrics, and a more uptempo, rockier sound.
- "Weird Al" Yankovic made a parody of the song entitled "I'll Repair For You" to be used on the show Home Improvement. However, The parody was not used, and was only performed during The Bad Hair Day Tour.