Friends (film soundtrack)

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"Friends" Original Soundtrack Recording
Friendsalbum.jpg
Soundtrack album by
Elton John
Released5 March 1971
RecordedSeptember 1970
Studio Trident Studios, London
Genre Film music, soft rock
Length37:51
Label Paramount
Producer Gus Dudgeon
Elton John chronology
Tumbleweed Connection
(1970)		"Friends" Original Soundtrack Recording
(1971)		 17-11-70
(1971)
Singles from Friends
  1. "Friends"
    Released: 10 March 1971
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]

"Friends" Original Soundtrack Recording, released in 1971, is the fourth official album release by Elton John. It was a project John and Bernie Taupin took on before their breakout success in the US, and served as the soundtrack album for the Friends film released in the same year. It was certified Gold in April 1971 by the RIAA. It became John's third gold record in as many months in that market (following the albums Elton John in February and Tumbleweed Connection in March). [3] The title track was a minor hit in the US (#34 on the pop chart) despite the film's mediocre performance. The album also received a 1972 Grammy nomination for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special at the 14th Annual Grammy Awards. [4]

Contents

The rights to the soundtrack are now with Universal Music Group, which shares ownership of John's music with him, and which also owns the Paramount Records catalogue.

Apart from the original vinyl release in 1971, it has yet to be issued as a standalone CD, but the Friends soundtrack is available on the Rare Masters (1992) 2-CD set, tracks 10–19 on Disc One, albeit with the tracks in a different order to the original LP. The difference is that "Michelle's Song" changes places with "Honey Roll" and "Variations on Friends".

In the early 1970s, John performed the title track and "Can I Put You On" in concert, with the latter appearing on the next release, the live recording 17-11-70 (retitled 11-17-70 in North America). "Seasons Reprise" was heard on The Wonder Years season 3 episode "Night Out" where Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage) and Winnie Cooper (Danica McKellar) have their first kiss. The most recent performance of "Friends" was during the An Evening with Elton John tour in 1999.

Track listing

All tracks written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Friends" 2:20
2."Honey Roll" 3:00
3."Variations on Friends Theme (The First Kiss)" (instrumental)John, Paul Buckmaster 1:45
4."Seasons" 3:52
5."Variation on Michelle's Song (A Day in the Country)" (instrumental)John, Buckmaster2:44
6."Can I Put You On" 5:52
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Michelle's Song" 4:16
2."I Meant to Do My Work Today (A Day in the Country)"John, Buckmaster, lyrics: Richard Le Gallienne 1:33
3."Four Moods" (instrumental)Buckmaster10:56
4."Seasons Reprise" 1:33

Personnel

Information taken from the original LP's liner notes. [5]

Production

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [11] Gold100,000^
United States (RIAA) [12] Gold500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. "Friends [Original Soundtrack]". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
  2. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). "John, Elton". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. p. 2,003. ISBN   978-0-85712-595-8.
  3. ↑ "Elton John's Gold & Platinum Albums". Neosoul.com. 28 August 2000. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  4. ↑ "Discography". Archived from the original on 11 May 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  5. ↑ "LP's liner notes". albumlinernotes.com. Retrieved 7 December 2020.[ permanent dead link ]
  6. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  7. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5382". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  8. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack / Elton John – Friends" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  9. ↑ "Elton John Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  10. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1971" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  11. ↑ "great britain's million sellers, 1971-72" (PDF). Cash Box . 6 July 1974. p. 8, Part II. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  12. ↑ "American album certifications – Elton John – Friends". Recording Industry Association of America.
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