"You're a Friend of Mine" is a 1985 hit song, written by

Narada Michael Walden Narada Michael Walden ( ; Michael Walden; born April 23, 1952) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He acquired the nickname Narada from Sri Chinmoy. He began his career as a drummer, working primarily in the jazz ...

and Jeffrey Cohen, with lead vocals by

Clarence Clemons Clarence Anicholas Clemons Jr. (January 11, 1942 – June 18, 2011), also known as The Big Man, was an American saxophonist. From 1972 until his death in 2011, he was the saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band. Clemons rel ...

and

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...

in a duet. At the time of the song's release, Clemons was already well known nationally as the saxophonist in

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band that has been the primary backing band for rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972. In 2014, the E Street Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the bulk of Springsteen's recordin ...

. The song was released on Clemons's solo album ''

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

'' (1985). Browne's then-girlfriend

Daryl Hannah Daryl Hannah (born December 3, 1960) is an American actress and environmental activist. She made her film debut in Brian De Palma's supernatural horror film ''The Fury (1978 film), The Fury'' (1978). She has starred in various films across the ...

provides background vocals and appears in the song's

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

painting and later filming the duo. Also appearing in the video is a backing band, including songwriter Walden on drums. The B-side was "Let the Music Say It", a non-album track written by Clemons and

Michael Jonzun Michael Jonzun is a musician and music producer. His specialty genres are electro, electronic dance, and electrofunk. Born in Florida, he formed the Jonzun Crew in Boston with Steve Thorpe and Gordy Worthy. In the early 1980s, the group recorded ...

. The song was a commercial success, reaching the top 20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (#18), Mainstream Rock (#16), and the top 40 on the Adult Contemporary (#21) charts in the U.S. The song also reached the top 20 in Ireland on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

(#18). A live version of the song was recorded on Clemons's 2004 album with Temple of Soul entitled '' Live in Asbury Park, Vol. 2''. Singing cousins

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick ( ; born Marie Dionne Warrick; December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Wa ...

sang a live version of "You're a Friend of Mine" on '' Solid Gold'' in January of 1986, which can be found on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. This song was used by the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

(WWE) in early 1986, to cement a storyline involving a feud between "Rowdy"

Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his work with the Wo ...

and "Ace" Cowboy

Bob Orton Robert Keith Orton Sr. (July 21, 1925 – July 16, 2006) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. The patriarch of the Orton wrestling family, his two sons Bob Orton Jr. and Barry Orton, and grandson Randy Orton, have all wr ...

, culminating with a montage of their work together from 1984 to 1986. It was also used again on 02/03/1989 on NBC's ''The Main Event'' to show the close friendships of The Mega Powers: Hulk Hogan, Randy "Macho Man" Savage, and Miss Elizabeth.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

"You're a Friend of Mine"
on

Song lyrics
at SongFacts {{Authority control 1985 singles Jackson Browne songs Male vocal duets Songs written by Narada Michael Walden Song recordings produced by Narada Michael Walden Songs written by Jeffrey E. Cohen 1985 songs CBS Records singles Songs about friendship