Song Information
"I'll Be There for You" was co-written by Friends producers David Crane and Marta Kauffman, Kauffman's husband, composer Michael Skloff, and songwriter Allee Willis, along with Phil Sōlem and Danny Wilde, both of the Rembrandts. It was initially offered to the rock bands They Might Be Giants and R.E.M. It is strongly influenced by The Beatles, especially the guitar riff, reminiscent of I Feel Fine, itself influenced by blues singer Bobby Parker's "Watch Your Step".
The original theme, which is under one minute long, was later re-recorded as a three-minute pop song. After Nashville program director Charlie Quinn, along with radio announcer and music director Tom Peace looped the original short version into a full-length track and broadcast it on radio station WYHY Y-107, it became 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 Sōlem said.
The song made it onto The Rembrandts' album LP at the last moment. The song was not initially released as a single, a then-common practice by record companies who feared it would cannibalize album sales.
Read more about this topic: I'll Be There For You (The Rembrandts Song)
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