Friday Featured Track for June 4, 2010: Farewell to Rue McClanahan
The song that has been on my brain the most this week:
- “Thank You for Being a Friend,” the theme song from “The Golden Girls.”
The entertainment world has been mourning this week the death of Oklahoma-born and bred actress Rue McClanahan, best known for playing sexually liberated Southern vixen Blanche on the hit ’80s and ’90s sitcom “The Golden Girls.” The Healdton native died early Thursday after suffering a stroke. She was 76.
Since the sad news broke, I’ve been unable to get the theme song to “The Golden Girls” out of my head. I remember so clearly watching that show as a kid, and deep in the recesses of my mind, I knew every word to “Thank You for Being a Friend” that ran over the opening credits sequence.
According to Wikipedia, Andrew Gold wrote the song and recorded it for his third album, “All This and Heaven Too.” The single version reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978. Cynthia Fee recorded the version used as “The Golden Girls” theme.
So, in honor of McClanahan and co-star Betty White, the last living “Golden Girl,” take a tuneful trip in the way-back machine, courtesy YouTube.
Warning: I’ve been reminded in the last 24 hours that once this song gets lodged in your gray matter, it’s nearly impossible to dislodge. I’m sure I’ll be hearing it well into the weekend, or until a different song gets stuck in there.
-BAM
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And apparently the Royalties that Andrew got over the years made him very happy too.