"You Are My Friend" is a ballad co-written and recorded by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

singer Patti LaBelle, released as the second single off her self-titled debut album, in 1978 on the Epic label. While it only reached as high as number sixty-one on the Billboard Hot-Selling Soul Singles chart upon its initial release, it has gone on to become one of the singer's signature anthems.

Overview

Background

Patti LaBelle ended an eighteen-year association with Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash as their group Labelle had decided to break up. LaBelle reluctantly carried on with a solo career with the support of then-husband Armstead Edwards, who signed on as her personal manager. In the middle of recording her debut album in

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with '' Chameleon'' producer David Rubinson, Labelle and Edwards wrote lyrics to a James "Budd" Ellison composition they called "You Are My Friend". The song was a tribute to the couple's only child, Zuri Edwards. The song was one of the last to be recorded for LaBelle's debut self-titled solo album.

Background and composition

"You Are My Friend" was musically composed by James Ellison, otherwise known as "Budd". Ellison was a longtime background musician for Labelle and had befriended the singer following Labelle's split. Prior to recording the song, Ellison and another Labelle musician, Edward Batts, co-wrote the song, "What Can I Do For You", for Labelle's 1974 album, ''

Nightbirds ''Nightbirds'' is an album by the all-female singing group Labelle, released in 1974 on the Epic label. The album features the group's biggest hit, the song "Lady Marmalade," and it became their most successful album to date. Background Labe ...

'', which became a modest hit. The lyrics were by Edwards and LaBelle themselves. Edwards and LaBelle wrote on previous Labelle albums together. The majority of the song was recorded under E major. Rubinson, who produced the song, included rhythm guitar, bass, drums and

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

. Ellison played

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

on the song and some of the background vocals were handled by The Waters and members of

The Valentinos The Valentinos (also known as The Womack Brothers) was an American family R&B group from Cleveland, Ohio, best known for launching the careers of brothers Bobby Womack and Cecil Womack. Bobby went on to find greater fame as a solo artist whil ...

(

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing gui ...

's former family group). One of its members,

Cecil Womack Cecil Dale Womack (September 25, 1947 – January 25, 2013) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He was one of the musical Womack brothers, and had success both as a songwriter and recording artist, notably with his wife Lind ...

, would later collaborate with LaBelle on her material with

Philadelphia International Records Philadelphia International Records (PIR) was an American record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1971 by songwriting and production duo Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff along with their longtime collaborator Thom Bell. ...

in the early eighties. While the majority of the song was arranged as a pop ballad,

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

elements were included. This inclusion wouldn't be noticed until LaBelle's live performances of the song, which she and Ellison arranged.

Reception

Released in early 1978 as the second single from ''Patti LaBelle'', the song was a relative failure on the R&B chart only peaking as high as number 61 and failing to even enter the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The success of the song in its early years was due to LaBelle's live performances of the song. When she first performed the song in her first solo concert in

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, LaBelle received a standing ovation, she received a similar one when she performed the song on TV the first time on ''

Don Kirshner's Rock Concert ''Don Kirshner's Rock Concert'' is an American television music variety show that ran during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by Don Kirshner and syndicated to television stations, initially through Viacom Enterprises, and later ...

'' as the last song she performed before leaving the stage. The song received radio airplay on urban radio stations, which still continues today, and is regarded as one of LaBelle's signature songs.

Covers

One of the covers of the song was from singer Sylvester, recorded in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

for his live album '' Living Proof''. During the song, Sylvester was joined by

The Weather Girls The Weather Girls are an American female duo whose best-known line-up comprised Martha Wash and Izora Armstead. Formed in 1976 in San Francisco, California, The Weather Girls members began their musical career as Two Tons O' Fun, the female back ...

, who started off as Sylvester's backup singers, Two Tons Of Fun. While he dedicated the song to LaBelle, it was clear that it was a love about him and The Weather Girls. That same year, disco group Kenny & Friends did a dance version of the song. In 2003 gospel singer Shirley Caesar recorded the song for her album ''Shirley Caesar & Friends'' which featured Patti LaBelle on the recording.

Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 for a career in the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al ...

did a live version paying tribute to LaBelle in 2001. LaBelle re-recorded the song for her album ''

The Gospel According to Patti LaBelle ''The Gospel According to Patti LaBelle'' is the first gospel album by American singer Patti LaBelle. It was released on November 21, 2006 through music executive Jheryl Busy's indie label Umbrella Recordings and Bungalo Records. Background The pr ...

'', in 2006, as a tribute to her deceased collaborator, James Ellison.

Live performances

* Patti LaBelle hardly leaves the stage without singing "You Are My Friend". In the early 1980s Labelle would include "What A Friend We Have In Jesus" which would lead her into "You Are My Friend".

Credits

*Lead vocals by Patti LaBelle *Background vocals by James Gadson, Norma Harris,

Ray Parker Jr. Ray Erskine Parker Jr. (born May 1, 1954) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. As a solo performer, he wrote and performed the theme song to the 1984 film '' Ghostbusters''. Previously, Parker achieved a US top-10 h ...

, Rosie Casals, Sherri Barman,

Yvonne Fair Flora Yvonne Fair Strain (''née'' Coleman; October 21, 1942 – March 6, 1994), known professionally as Yvonne Fair, was an American singer, best known for her 1975 recording of " It Should Have Been Me". Life and career Flora Yvonne Coleman ...

, Curtis Womack, Friendly Womack, Julia Waters & Maxine Waters *Lyrics written by Patti LaBelle and Armstead Edwards *Music written and arranged by James "Budd" Ellison *Produced by David Rubinson

References

{{Sylvester 1978 singles Patti LaBelle songs Sylvester (singer) songs Rhythm and blues ballads 1978 songs Epic Records singles Songs about friendship 1970s ballads Songs written by Patti LaBelle