"Friends" (also titled "(You Got to Have) Friends") is a 1973 hit single by

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;'' Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received numerous accolades, including four Golden ...

. It was written by

Buzzy Linhart William Charles "Buzzy" Linhart (March 3, 1943 – February 13, 2020) was an American rock performer, composer, multi-instrumentalist musician and actor. Early life Linhart was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and raised in Cleveland, Oh ...

and Mark "Moogy" Klingman. In the United States, the song reached No. 9 on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart and reached No. 40 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart.

Background

A version of "Friends" was recorded by one of the song's co-writers,

. More of a rock sound than a pop sound, Linhart's version had an alternative title, "(You Got to Have) Friends". Bette Midler was one of Linhart's close friends during the early 1970s. While rehearsing for an audition for a Broadway show called ''Mirror Cracked'', Linhart sang to Midler a song that he and his songwriting partner Mark "Moogy" Klingman had just written, called "Friends". After hearing the song, Midler asked Linhart if she could sing "Friends" during a show that she was performing in at the

Continental Baths The Continental Baths was a gay bathhouse in the basement of The Ansonia Hotel in New York City, which was operated from 1968-1976 by Steve Ostrow. It was advertised as reminiscent of "the glory of ancient Rome". It opened after Ostorow observ ...

in New York. Klingman and Linhart attended the show and were impressed with the performance. Soon after, Midler recorded the song on her debut album ''

The Divine Miss M ''The Divine Miss M'' is the debut studio album by American singer and actress Bette Midler, released in 1972 on the Atlantic Records label. The title of the album refers to Midler's famous stage persona. The album was co-produced by Barry Manilo ...

'', which was a nickname she always wanted to be known as having personified.

Charts

In popular culture

The song "Friends" can be heard during the final scene and closing credits of the 1973 mystery film ''

The Last of Sheila ''The Last of Sheila'' is a 1973 American whodunnit mystery film directed by Herbert Ross and written by Anthony Perkins and Stephen Sondheim. It starred Richard Benjamin, Dyan Cannon, James Coburn, Joan Hackett, James Mason, Ian McShane, and Ra ...

''. The song was also sung by the 1974-75 cast of '' Zoom'' during the "ZOOM was presented by" end credits reintroducing the cast members. Also, the song was performed on ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as ...

'' Episode 115 by the Muppets and

Candice Bergen Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of the title character on the CBS sitcom ''Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also kno ...

, who is the guest star on that episode. A rendition of the song is heard on the film ''

Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 book of the same name by William Steig. It is the first installment in the ''Shrek'' franchise. The film was directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jen ...

'', performed by

Donkey The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as ...

, voiced by

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...

. A cover version of this song is played during a car chase in Hardcastle and McCormick Season 3 Episode 12.

References

1973 singles Bette Midler songs Song recordings produced by Ahmet Ertegun {{1970s-single-stub