The Rembrandts’ ‘I’ll Be There For You’ may be one of the world’s most instantly familiar TV theme tunes, but its success split up the band, amid fears they’d lost everything about them that was cool.
Danny Wilde, one half of the alt-rock duo, told the UK’s Guardian newspaper that the band were initially asked to record a 43-second version of the song for the pilot of Friends – something with the same tempo as R.E.M.’s ‘Shiny Happy People.’
Wilde explained why the band, comprising himself and Phil Solem, were initially reluctant to have their name associated with the sit-com:
“It didn’t have our name on the credits. We were a pretty hip band, so stipulated that we didn’t want anyone to know we’d sold out.”
Then, when the show quickly found its mark, the cast and band joined together in...
Danny Wilde, one half of the alt-rock duo, told the UK’s Guardian newspaper that the band were initially asked to record a 43-second version of the song for the pilot of Friends – something with the same tempo as R.E.M.’s ‘Shiny Happy People.’
Wilde explained why the band, comprising himself and Phil Solem, were initially reluctant to have their name associated with the sit-com:
“It didn’t have our name on the credits. We were a pretty hip band, so stipulated that we didn’t want anyone to know we’d sold out.”
Then, when the show quickly found its mark, the cast and band joined together in...
- 3/12/2023
- by Caroline Frost
- Deadline Film + TV
No one told them the song was gonna blow up this way.
The Rembrandts were putting finishing touches on their third album, “L.P.,” when a sidestep into television drastically altered their course in 1994. Now, 26 years since “I’ll Be There for You” debuted on “Friends,” band member Phil Solem is reflecting on the ups and downs caused by the track, how a few beers led to its iconic claps and witnessing Brad Pitt enjoy a performance of the hit more than the cast.
Solem and bandmate Danny Wilde, who previously had a hit with 1990’s “Just the Way It Is, Baby,” will forever be associated with “Friends,” yet they initially asked to remain anonymous while working on the tune after viewing the pilot. “In those days, it was uncool for a band like ours to be involved in television,” Solem explains.
Musical director Michael Skloff had composed a piano melody,...
The Rembrandts were putting finishing touches on their third album, “L.P.,” when a sidestep into television drastically altered their course in 1994. Now, 26 years since “I’ll Be There for You” debuted on “Friends,” band member Phil Solem is reflecting on the ups and downs caused by the track, how a few beers led to its iconic claps and witnessing Brad Pitt enjoy a performance of the hit more than the cast.
Solem and bandmate Danny Wilde, who previously had a hit with 1990’s “Just the Way It Is, Baby,” will forever be associated with “Friends,” yet they initially asked to remain anonymous while working on the tune after viewing the pilot. “In those days, it was uncool for a band like ours to be involved in television,” Solem explains.
Musical director Michael Skloff had composed a piano melody,...
- 5/27/2021
- by Leena Tailor
- Variety Film + TV
A little over 17 years since the series finale of Friends aired, the cast is finally reuniting for a special appearing today on HBO Max. But this isn’t like Return to Mayberry or A Very Brady Christmas where he cast appears in character and has a new zany adventure. It’s instead in the style of the recent Fresh Prince of Bel-Air special where everyone returns to the set to share memories, visit with surprise guests, and make a boatload of money promoting the show’s arrival on a new streaming platform.
- 5/27/2021
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
“When it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month/ Or even your year, but/ I’ll be there for you.”
It’s safe to say that, for many, those 25-year-old lyrics to the “Friends” theme song have never rung more true.
“Friends” composer Michael Skloff came to the realization amid quarantine, as the coronavirus pandemic took its toll on the U.S., and created a new version of the classic theme song “I’ll Be There for You.” What started as a taped performance for NewGround — a community-building organization promoting dialogue between Jews and Muslims — during a public iftar on Facebook Live, turned into much more. He shared the video publicly on Facebook and Instagram on May 28, and following positive reception, plans on performing it live on a still-to-be-determined social media platform soon. The idea is to hold 30-minute concerts with original material and covers as a fundraising effort.
It’s safe to say that, for many, those 25-year-old lyrics to the “Friends” theme song have never rung more true.
“Friends” composer Michael Skloff came to the realization amid quarantine, as the coronavirus pandemic took its toll on the U.S., and created a new version of the classic theme song “I’ll Be There for You.” What started as a taped performance for NewGround — a community-building organization promoting dialogue between Jews and Muslims — during a public iftar on Facebook Live, turned into much more. He shared the video publicly on Facebook and Instagram on May 28, and following positive reception, plans on performing it live on a still-to-be-determined social media platform soon. The idea is to hold 30-minute concerts with original material and covers as a fundraising effort.
- 7/1/2020
- by Maane Khatchatourian
- Variety Film + TV
Thought Manhattan’s Central Perk pop-up coffeeshop couldn’t get any cooler? Think again. (I should note right up top that I’m using the word “cool” relatively.)
Last night, a preview of the temporary space—which officially opened Wednesday—featured a very special musical guest. Nope, it wasn’t Lisa Kudrow as Central Perk mainstay Phoebe Buffay, or David Schwimmer’s Ross showing off his “sound”: It was the pop-rock duo of Phil Solem and Danny Wilde, better known as The Rembrandts. Really, though, they’re best known as the guys who sing Friends’ clap-happy earworm of a theme song.
Last night, a preview of the temporary space—which officially opened Wednesday—featured a very special musical guest. Nope, it wasn’t Lisa Kudrow as Central Perk mainstay Phoebe Buffay, or David Schwimmer’s Ross showing off his “sound”: It was the pop-rock duo of Phil Solem and Danny Wilde, better known as The Rembrandts. Really, though, they’re best known as the guys who sing Friends’ clap-happy earworm of a theme song.
- 9/17/2014
- by Hillary Busis
- EW.com - PopWatch
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