How much did the Rembrandts make from Friends theme song?

Q: Why did they shorten the Friends theme song?

Its about getting more commercials into the half-hour. Friends” originally aired when commercial breaks were shorter than they are today, the TBS publicist said. To fit an episode into todays standard half-hour time slot without sacrificing any of its story line, the opening theme is sometimes trimmed.”

The Friends theme-tune was a worldwide hit and became the soundtrack for a generation. But its success nearly destroyed the men who recorded it. Fiona Sturges talks to The Rembrandts' Danny Wilde about That Song

Tuesday 27 April 2004 00:00

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The Friends theme-tune was a worldwide hit and became the soundtrack for a generation. But its success nearly destroyed the men who recorded it. Fiona Sturges talks to The Rembrandts' Danny Wilde about That Song
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1/0The Rembrandts: 'So no one told me it was going to be this way'
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Does the Friends theme song get royalties?
Who owns the Friends theme song?
Why did they shorten the Friends theme song?
What happened to the Rembrandts?

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"Oh sure," he exclaims. "We completely made it our own. I remember thinking it was awesome, a really cool little pop tune. It had great harmonies and this upbeat vibe. More than anything, it was fun. Plus, Phil and I were really jacked to hear it on the TV show. It was only when it all blew up and we became known for this Monkees-style jingle, that the shine kind of wore off."

As the series' popularity burgeoned, US radio stations found themselves besieged by requests for "the Friends theme tune." But, being only 40 seconds long, the song wasn't available as a single. In the end, DJs at a Nashville station took matters into their own hands and, with the help of some studio trickery, made their own extended version. Spotting an opportunity to make some cash, The Rembrandts' record company then dispatched the band to an LA studio to record a full-length single. "I'll Be There" stayed at Number One in the charts for 11 consecutive weeks. Against the band's wishes, it was also tacked on to their third album, LP, which went on to sell two millioncopies.

"It wasn't so much added at the eleventh hour as the thirteenth," grumbles Wilde. "We felt that the song went against the more serious, alternative vibe of the album. It sounded like nothing else we had done. Mind you, we stopped complaining when we saw the sales figures."

Wilde concedes that the band's split in 1997 was a direct result of the single. "You could say it became something of a curse, yes. We were tired of it being the only thing we were known for, and we were tired of being on the road. After the third album came out and did so well we toured for three years. We weren't writing any new songs and we weren't spending any time in the studio. The whole thing became a grind. There was no outright animosity between us, but we needed a break from each other."

Wilde subsequently made music as a solo performer, while the bass player, Graham Edwards, went on to become part of the production team The Matrix, which produced hits for Avril Lavigne and Liz Phair. The drummer, Pat Mastelotto, joined prog-rockers King Crimson. After a four-year period of silence, Wilde and Solem finally got in touch again in 2001. "We decided to let bygones be bygones and get back to work," Wilde remembers. "We always knew we had this great chemistry in the studio. It seemed a shame to let that go."

Now in their late forties, Wilde and Solem have struggled to make their presence felt in a pop landscape dominated by scantily clad teens and graduates of reality TV. In a last-ditch attempt to capitalise on glories past, they are preparing to put out a collection of greatest hits which will, yes, include "I'll Be There" along with "a couple of new tunes for the kids".

Wilde admits that, when all's said and done, he's got much to be thankful for. The success of Friends indirectly turned The Rembrandts into millionaires and, briefly, the toast of the music scene. But he still comes over all bashful when I ask if dollar signs appear in his eyes whenever he sees Friends on the telly. "To be honest I don't even notice it anymore," he mumbles unconvincingly.

But you can't be short of a bob or two

"Well, let's just say I'm not going to retire on it, but I've managed to put both my kids through college. We get paid for performance, which means we make something every time it's on TV, but we never got publishing royalties."

Now, even with the show coming to an end, Wilde knows that there will be no escaping That Song. "With the repeats, that show is sure to outlive me," he says with a sigh, adding, "But I guess that's kind of cool, isn't it? That way, The Rembrandts will never be forgotten."

I CAN'T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD: OTHER THEME SONGS WE HAVE LOVED

Dawson's Creek

As soppy and melodramatic as the show's protagonists, the theme to the teen series Dawson's Creek, "I Don't Want To Wait", was the work of Paula Cole, an acutely sensitive singer-songwriter from Rockport, Massachusetts. Cole, who toured on Peter Gabriel's Secret World Tour in 1993, included the track on her second album, 1996's This Fire which went double platinum. "I Don't Want To Wait" was in fact the second choice for the series' producers. The intended theme tune was Alanis Morissette's "Hand In My Pocket", though - perhaps wisely - Morissette changed her mind at the last minute and withdrew the song.

Ally McBeal

Blonde bombshell Vonda Shepard's wistful ditties fell on deaf ears until she landed her big break through her friend David E Kelley, the creator of Ally McBeal. In 1996, Kelley invited Shepard, who started her career as a backing singer for Jackson Browne, to sing the theme tune "Searchin' My Soul". She also become a regular cast member, playing the house performer at Ally's local bar. As the series grew in popularity, Shepard's career took off and a bidding war for the rights to the soundtrack began. Sony won and Shepard recorded three "Ally McBeal" albums, a mix of covers and originals. Since the series was axed in 2002 Shepard has continued to tour, though a new album is yet to appear.

Cheers

Everybody may know your name in the Boston bar where Sam Malone and his motley group of barflies set the world to rights, but few knew the name of the man who sang the theme tune. The voice was, in fact, that of the singer-songwriter Gary Portnoy. Before landing the Cheers gig, Portnoy released a self-titled debut album on Columbia in 1980, to little fanfare. Sadly, little has been heard of him since, although an original Cheers bar stool, inscribed with the song's lyrics and the singer's autograph, was reportedly auctioned off over the internet in 2001 for a four-figure sum.

Moonlighting

Al Jarreau, the Wisconsin R&B singer who started his professional life as a social worker, attracted a modest following in the mid-Seventies with the albums Glow and Look to the Rainbow and won a fistful of Grammys. However, it wasn't until he landed the theme tune to the comedy series Moonlighting ("there is the sun and moon/ They sing their own, sweet tune"), starring Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd, that he had a bona fide hit. Since then, his popularity has waned with a series of less-than-impressive albums and compilations.

The White Horses

The tune to the Yugoslavian children's TV show about a girl's equine adventures, recorded by the young Irish singer Jackie Lee under the name "Jacky", topped a list of best songs in the Penguin Television Companion last year. Written by Michael Carr and Ben Nisbet, the track reached the top ten in 1968. This was to be one of only two hits that Lee had in Britain (the other was the theme to another children's series, Rupert The Bear). Lee's career limped on for another six years before she took early retirement in 1973.

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1/0The Rembrandts: 'So no one told me it was going to be this way'

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Does the Friends theme song get royalties?

The Creators of the Show Co-Wrote the Theme Although the figure isn't known, the group did take home some royalties, with Wilde admitting that the financial benefits have "managed to put both [his] kids through college."

Who owns the Friends theme song?

American rock band R.E.M. was originally asked to allow one of their songs to be used for the Friends theme, but they turned the opportunity down. "I'll Be There for You" was subsequently written and Warner Bros. Television selected the only available band on Warner Bros. Records to record it: the Rembrandts.

Why did they shorten the Friends theme song?

It's about getting more commercials into the half-hour. “Friends” originally aired when commercial breaks were shorter than they are today, the TBS publicist said. “To fit an episode into today's standard half-hour time slot without sacrificing any of its story line, the opening theme is sometimes trimmed.”

What happened to the Rembrandts?

In 1997, the duo split, with Solem returning to Minneapolis to concentrate on his band Thrush. In 1998, Wilde released the album Spin This, credited to "Danny Wilde + The Rembrandts". In 2000, Solem and Wilde reunited, and released the album Lost Together as The Rembrandts the following year.