''Friends'', released in 1971, is the fourth official album release by

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

. It was a project John and Bernie Taupin took on before their breakout success in the US, and served as the soundtrack album for the ''Friends'' film released in the same year. It was certified Gold in April 1971 by the RIAA. It became John's third gold record in as many months in that market (following the albums ''

'' in February and '' Tumbleweed Connection'' in March). The title track was a minor hit in the US (#34 on the pop chart) despite the film's poor performance. The album also received a 1972 Grammy nomination for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture. The rights to the soundtrack are now with

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

, which shares ownership of John's music with him, and which also owns the Paramount Records catalogue. Apart from the original vinyl release in 1971, it has yet to be issued as a standalone CD, but the ''Friends'' soundtrack is available on the ''

Rare Masters ''Rare Masters'' is a compilation album by Elton John that was released in 1992. It includes all A-side and B-sides released by John between 1968 and 1975 that were not included on original studio albums or on ''Elton John's Greatest Hits Volum ...

'' (1992) 2-CD set, tracks 10–19 on Disc One, albeit with the tracks in a different order to the original LP. The difference is that "Michelle's Song" changes places with "Honey Roll" and "Variations on Friends". In the early 1970s, John performed the title track and "Can I Put You On" in concert, with the latter appearing on the next release, the live recording '' 17-11-70'' (retitled ''11-17-70'' in North America). The most recent performance of "Friends" was in 1999.

Track listing

All tracks written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, except where noted.

Personnel

Information taken from the original LP's liner notes. *

–

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 keyboa ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

* Caleb Quaye –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

("Can I Put You On", "Honey Roll") *Barry Morgan—drums ("Friends", "Michelle's Song") * Dee Murray –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

("Can I Put You On", "Honey Roll") * Nigel Olsson –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

("Can I Put You On", "Honey Roll") *

Paul Buckmaster Paul John Buckmaster (13 June 1946 – 7 November 2017) was a Grammy Award-winning British cellist, arranger, conductor and composer, with a career spanning five decades. He is best known for his orchestral collaborations with David Bowie, Sha ...

– orchestral

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orche ...

*Rex Morris –

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

("Honey Roll") * Madeline Bell –

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

* Lesley Duncan – backing vocals * Liza Strike - backing vocals

Production

* Gus Dudgeon - producer * Executive Producer - John Gilbert * Engineer – Robin Geoffrey Cable

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Friends (Soundtrack) Romance film soundtracks Albums produced by Gus Dudgeon 1971 soundtrack albums Elton John soundtracks Paramount Records (1969) soundtracks Albums recorded at Trident Studios Albums arranged by Paul Buckmaster Single-artist film soundtracks