"Touch a Hand, Make a Friend" is a 1974 single written by Homer Banks

Homer Banks

Homer Banks was an African-American songwriter, singer and record producer, best known for his songs for Stax Records in the 1960s and 1970s...

, Raymond Jackson, and Carl Hampton and recorded by The Staple Singers

The Staple Singers

The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples , the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha , Pervis , Yvonne , and Mavis...

. "Touch a Hand, Make a Friend" was one of The Staple Singers most successful singles and peaked at number three on the soul chart and number twenty-three on the Hot 100.

The Oak Ridge Boys versions

In 1985, The Oak Ridge Boys

The Oak Ridge Boys

The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet.The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in southern gospel during the 1950s...

recorded the song and it was their thirteenth number one on the country chart.

Chart performance

Chart (1985)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1