Thank You for Being a Friend
Encyclopedia
"Thank You For Being A Friend" is a song written by Andrew Gold
, who recorded it for his third album, All This and Heaven Too. The single version reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart in 1978.
The song was later re-recorded by Cynthia Fee to serve as the theme song for the NBC
sitcom The Golden Girls
, and re-recorded again for the series' CBS
spin-off The Golden Palace
.
The song was also featured on Casey Kasem
's final American Top 40
, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
" episode "Mac's Mom Burns Her House Down", The Simpsons
episode "Double, Double, Boy in Trouble
" and on a May 2010 episode of Saturday Night Live
hosted by Betty White
in which past and present cast members sang the song followed by a death metal
version of the song performed by White while wearing a ski mask.
Elaine Paige
and Dionne Warwick
released a recording of the song on Paige's duet album 'Elaine Paige and Friends
' in 2010.
Andrew Gold
Andrew Maurice Gold was an American singer, musician and songwriter. His works include the Top 10 single "Lonely Boy" , as well as the singles "Thank You for Being a Friend" , and "Never Let Her Slip Away" ....
, who recorded it for his third album, All This and Heaven Too. The single version reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart in 1978.
The song was later re-recorded by Cynthia Fee to serve as the theme song for the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
sitcom The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
, and re-recorded again for the series' CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
spin-off The Golden Palace
The Golden Palace
The Golden Palace is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from September 18, 1992, to May 14, 1993. The show was a spin-off and continuation of the sitcom The Golden Girls....
.
The song was also featured on Casey Kasem
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
's final American Top 40
American Top 40
American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...
, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. New episodes continue to air on FX, with reruns playing on Comedy Central, general broadcast syndication, and WGN America—the first-ever cable-to-cable syndication deal for a sitcom...
" episode "Mac's Mom Burns Her House Down", The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "Double, Double, Boy in Trouble
Double, Double, Boy in Trouble
"Double, Double, Boy in Trouble" is the third episode of the The Simpsons twentieth season, and first aired October 19, 2008. Bart meets the rich Simon Woosterfield, who happens to be Bart's exact look-alike...
" and on a May 2010 episode of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
hosted by Betty White
Betty White
Betty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...
in which past and present cast members sang the song followed by a death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
version of the song performed by White while wearing a ski mask.
Elaine Paige
Elaine Paige
Elaine Paige OBE is an English singer and actress best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, North London, Paige attended the Aida Foster stage school, making her first professional appearance on stage in 1964, at the age of 16...
and Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
released a recording of the song on Paige's duet album 'Elaine Paige and Friends
Elaine Paige and Friends
Elaine Paige and Friends is a duet album from Elaine Paige, released on November 1, 2010. Phil Ramone produced the album for Rhino/Warner Bros Records. The CD debuted on the UK top 20 chart at #18. Paige toured the UK in concert in support of the recording in the beginning of 2011...
' in 2010.