Why Can't We Be Friends? (song)

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"Why Can't We Be Friends?"
War Why Can't We Be Friends single.jpg
Single by War
from the album Why Can't We Be Friends?
B-side "In Mazatlan"
ReleasedApril 1975
Genre
Length3:50
Label United Artists
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Jerry Goldstein
War singles chronology
"Ballero"
(1974)
"Why Can't We Be Friends?"
(1975)
"Low Rider"
(1975)
Music video
Why Can't We Be Friends on YouTube

"Why Can't We Be Friends?" is a song by American funk band War, from their 1975 studio album of the same name. It has a simple structure, with the phrase "Why can't we be friends?" being sung four times after each two-line verse amounting to forty-four times in under four minutes. The song reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1975, and uniquely features each band member singing their own verse. It was played in outer space when NASA beamed it to the linking of Soviet cosmonauts and U.S. astronauts for the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project. [3] Billboard ranked it as the No. 23 song of that year.

Contents

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [10] Gold1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Smash Mouth version

"Why Can't We Be Friends?"
Smash Mouth - Why Can't We Be Friends (single cover).jpg
Single by Smash Mouth
from the album Fush Yu Mang
ReleasedJanuary 12, 1998 (1998-01-12) [11]
Genre
Length
  • 4:46 (album version)
  • 3:17 (radio edit)
Label Interscope
Songwriter(s) Papa Dee Allen, Harold Ray Brown, B. B. Dickerson, Lonnie Jordan, Charles Miller, Lee Oskar, Howard E. Scott
Producer(s) Eric Valentine
Smash Mouth singles chronology
"The Fonz"
(1997)
"Why Can't We Be Friends?"
(1998)
"Can't Get Enough of You Baby"
(1998)
Music video
"Why Can't We Be Friends?" on YouTube

American pop rock band Smash Mouth covered the song on their debut album, Fush Yu Mang , and released it as the album's third single in January 1998.

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Hot on the heels of 'Walkin' On The Sun' comes a wonderfully festive, anthemic rendition of War's pop/R&B chestnut. The song's original funk-flavored arrangement proves perfectly accessible to Smash mouth's pop/ska style. The heartfelt 'let's get along' tone of the lyrics remains as relevant as ever to today's social and political climate, and the band's rousing approach makes the message all the more user-friendly to the pop masses. Another sure-fire multi-format hit from the album Fush Yu Mang ." [13]

Charts

Chart (1998)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [14] 67
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) [15] 19
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade) [16] 19
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [17] 89
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [18] 39
Spain (AFYVE) [19] 5
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [20] 29
US Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [21] 28

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