Friends theme song writer Michael Skloff knew sitcom would be a hit

27 May 2021

The composer of the 'Friends' theme tune instantly knew that the show would be "magical".

Friends Reunion

Michael Skloff arranged The Rembrandts song 'I'll Be There for You' which soundtracked the title credits of every episode of the iconic NBC sitcom - which aired from 1994 to 2004 - and he knew that the show was going to be a monster hit when he read the script for the first time.

He said: "When I first read the script, I just knew it was magical. It felt much more special than anything I had previously read."

Michael - who was married to 'Friends' co-creator Marta Kauffman for 31 years until they divorced in November 2015 - revealed that he took inspiration from The Beatles as he worked on the theme tune and tried to recreate the upbeat "feeling" provided on Paul McCartney and co's song 'Paperback Writer'.

In an interview with Sky News, he said: "I turned on the radio and The Beatles song 'Paperback Writer' comes on and I immediately go, 'Oh my God that is the perfect feeling for this show, there's just this uplift and this energy."

Skloff added that the record was only supposed to be brief for TV but he was asked to write a full-length version as the tune became popular with viewers.

The composer said: "It was written as a 45-second TV theme. Disc jockey's kept getting requests to play it on their programmes so Warner Bros. said to me that we should write a full-length version of the song and put it on The Rembrandts album. The TV show created the demand for the full-length version."

Michael is looking forward to the hotly-anticipated 'Friends' reunion special, in which main cast members Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer reflect on their memories of the show, and he thinks it will be very "moving" for fans.

He said: "They have such an incredible chemistry. People have been dying for this cast to get back together since the show went off the air. It's like seeing your best friends get back together again, just seeing the actors together and feeling how much they mean to each other is going to be quite moving."