“You can’t not be proud of it. It’s humongous. It’s like the biggest thing we could’ve imagined,” the song’s co-writer Phil Solem of the Rembrandts tells Inside Edition.
The death of actor Matthew Perry has led to renewed interest in the hit television show “Friends,” including its theme song, which is back on the charts after 30 years.
Perry’s fans have streamed the iconic theme song 1.3 million times since his death.
Phil Solem of the Rembrandts co-wrote the song and recorded it in 1994 for the premiere of “Friends.” The entire cast was goofing around in the music video. But the famous song almost did not happen.
The show’s creators wanted R.E.M.’s “Shiny Happy People,” to be the theme song, but the band refused to give permission. The producers went with their backup plan, “I’ll Be There For You,” and the rest was history.
“You can’t not be proud of it. It’s humongous. It’s like the biggest thing we could’ve imagined,” Solem tells Inside Edition.
The song has been covered by many singers including the Jonas Brothers. Now fans across the world are turning to it for comfort.
Meanwhile, Athena Crosby, who was photographed having lunch with Perry the day before he was found dead, says she is facing backlash for coming forward as the woman in the photo.
“The amount of messages that I’ve been getting the last couple of days have been worrying me, to be honest,” Crosby says. “The strangest message that I’ve gotten so far is somebody emailed me asking to pay $5,000 for my autographed copy of his memoir,” Crosby says.
On the inside cover of Crosby’s copy, Perry wrote, “A number one New York Times Bestseller for the Number One girl.”
“I just thought that was really strange because he did in his niceness address it to me so I’m not sure how they’re really gonna feel about that if they see that it’s not for them. Pretty confusing,” Crosby says.
The former Miss Teen USA says she revealed herself as the woman in the photograph to tell people about how great of a person Perry was.
“I just wanted to come and clear the air about Matthew’s state before he passed away. That’s really my only intention in doing this, is to assure all of the people, all over the world that loved him that he was exactly the guy they thought he was and that he was an optimistic happy person the day before he passed away,” Crosby says.
The Matthew Perry Foundation has been set up to help others struggling with addiction. It is donor-funded and maintained by the National Philanthropic Trust.
