Thank You for Being a Friend (Betty White Tribute) (1978) 1/2/22

In honor of the late, great, INCOMPARABLE Betty White, I am re-posting my "Great Songs" blog entry from 7/29/21. Thank you, Betty, for your decades of being America's friend!

Trivia Question: Can you name a "Gold" record that was a moderate hit, but when it was covered for use as a TV theme, it became iconic, and retroactively made the song a "Great Song of the '70s?"

If you said, "Thank You For Being a Friend," you were right.

The song was originally released in 1978, when singer/songwriter Andrew GOLD took it to #15 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart. In Canada, it did even better: #5 on the matching chart.

Not too shabby...but then, in 1982, singer Cynthia Fee was tapped to re-record the song as the theme for a new TV show centering around 4 women-of-a-certain age living in Florida.

When "The Golden Girls" debuted on NBC, it was an instant hit...and so was "Thank You for Being a Friend." Again!

Cynthia's version has become so iconic, Andrew Gold's original version has almost been forgotten. Well, not really.

But whether you prefer the original version, or the "Golden Girls" version, you've got to admit the song itself is pretty iconic--and therefore a "Great Song of 1978--and 1982."

Rest in Peace, Betty White, as well as Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty.

Andrew Gold:

Cynthia Fee: