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"Friends" Original Soundtrack Recording
Soundtrack album by Elton John
Released	5 March 1971
Recorded	September 1970
Studio	Trident Studios, London
Genre	Film music, soft rock
Length	37:51
Label	Paramount
Producer	Gus Dudgeon
Elton John chronology
Tumbleweed Connection (1970) "Friends" Original Soundtrack Recording (1971) 17-11-70 (1971)
Singles from Friends
"Friends" Released: 10 March 1971

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music

"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). 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.

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 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.

Personnel

Information taken from the original LP's liner notes.

• Elton John – piano, vocals
• Caleb Quaye – guitar ("Can I Put You On", "Honey Roll")
• Barry Morgan—drums ("Friends", "Michelle's Song")
• Dee Murray – bass guitar ("Can I Put You On", "Honey Roll")
• Nigel Olsson – drums ("Can I Put You On", "Honey Roll")
• Paul Buckmaster – orchestral arrangement
• Rex Morris – saxophone ("Honey Roll")
• Madeline Bell – backing vocals
• Lesley Duncan – backing vocals
• Liza Strike – backing vocals

Production

• Gus Dudgeon – producer
• John Gilbert – executive producer
• Robin Geoffrey Cable – engineer

Charts

Certifications

References

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

External links

• Friends at Discogs (list of releases)

• Romance film soundtracks
• Albums produced by Gus Dudgeon
• 1971 soundtrack albums
• Elton John soundtracks
• Paramount Records (1969) soundtracks
• Albums recorded at Trident Studios
• Albums arranged by Paul Buckmaster
• Single-artist film soundtracks