Friends (Elton John song)

"Friends"
side-A label
One of side-A labels of the US single
Single by Elton John
from the album Friends
B-side"Honey Roll"
Released10 March 1971
RecordedSeptember 1970
GenrePop
Length2:20
LabelUni
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Gus Dudgeon
Elton John singles chronology
"Your Song"
(1970) 		"Friends"
(1971) 		"Levon"
(1971)

"Friends" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was John's third U.S. hit, and his second to reach Top 40 after the breakthrough success of "Your Song".

The song rose to number 34 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number 17 on the Cash Box Top 100.[1] On the Canadian singles chart "Friends" peaked at number 13.[2] "Friends" also became a medium hit on the Adult Contemporary charts of both nations.

Background

"Friends" was not the follow-up single to "Your Song," but was rather the title track and theme song from the movie Friends starring Sean Bury, and was included on the soundtrack. It was the only hit single from the LP. The most recent performance of "Friends" was in 1999.[3]

Reception

Cash Box described the song as lacking "the effortless commercial magnetism of 'Your Song.'"[4] Record World called it "another performance to be remembered, cherished and charted."[5]

Chart performance

Chart (1971) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) 96
Canada RPM Top Singles[2] 13
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[6] 25
France 12
Italy Charts 5
New Zealand (Listener)[7] 19
US Billboard Hot 100[8] 34
US Billboard Easy Listening[9] 17
US Cash Box Top 100[10] 17

References

  1. ^ "Top 100 1971-05-01". Cashbox. Retrieved 22 May 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ a b "Image : RPM Weekly – Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Friends by Elton John Song Statistics | setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  4. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 13 March 1971. p. 26. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 13 March 1971. p. 1. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Image : RPM Weekly – Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  7. ^ "flavour of new zealand – search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  8. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 – ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  9. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 128.
  10. ^ "Top 100 1971-05-01". Cashbox. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2016.