"Touch a Hand, Make a Friend" is a song written by

Homer Banks Homer Banks (August 2, 1941 – April 3, 2003) was an African American songwriter, singer and record producer. Although best known by many for his songwriting for Stax Records in the 1960s and 1970s, some of his own releases from the 1960s are co ...

, Raymond Jackson and Carl Hampton, and first recorded by

The Staple Singers The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples (December 28, 1914 – December 19, 2000), the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha (April 11, 1934 – February 21 ...

on their album '' Be What You Are''. "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 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

in 1973.

Chart performance

The Oak Ridge Boys version

The Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was change ...

released the song in August 1985 as the second single from their album '' Step On Out''. It was their thirteenth number one on the country chart.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

Songs about friendship 1973 singles 1985 singles The Staple Singers songs The Oak Ridge Boys songs Songs written by Homer Banks Song recordings produced by Ron Chancey MCA Records singles Songs written by Raymond Jackson (songwriter) 1973 songs Songs written by Carl Hampton {{1985-country-song-stub