"You're a Friend of Mine" is a 1985 hit song, written by Narada Michael Walden

Narada Michael Walden

Narada Michael Walden is an American producer, drummer, singer, and songwriter. He was given the name Narada by guru Sri Chinmoy in the early 1970s and his musical career spans three decades, in which he was awarded several gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards...

 and Jeffrey Cohen, with lead vocals by Clarence Clemons

Clarence Clemons

Clarence Anicholas Clemons, Jr. , also known as The Big Man, was an American musician and actor. From 1972 until his death, he was a prominent member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, playing the tenor saxophone. He released several solo albums and in 1985, had a hit single with "You're a...

 and Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....

 in a duet. At the time of the song's release, Clemons was already well known nationally as the saxophonist in Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...

's E Street Band

E Street Band

The E Street Band has been rock musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Tom Morello, Sting, Ian...

. The song was released on Clemons' solo album Hero of that year. Browne's then-girlfriend Daryl Hannah

Daryl Hannah

Daryl Christine Hannah is an American film actress. After making her screen debut in 1978, Hannah starred in a number of Hollywood films throughout the 1980s, notably Blade Runner, Splash, Wall Street and Roxanne and Kill Bill.-Early life:Hannah was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Susan...

 provides background vocals and appears in the song's music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 painting and later filming the duo. Also appearing in the video is a backing band, including songwriter Walden on drums.

Bolstered by the enormous popularity of Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...

 at the time, the song was a success commercially, reaching the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 (#18), Mainstream Rock (#16), and Adult Contemporary (#21) charts in the U.S.

The song was named #100 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s in 2009.

A live version of the song was recorded on Clarence's 2004 album with Temple of Soul entitled Live in Asbury Park, Vol. 2

Live in Asbury Park, Vol. 2

Live in Asbury Park, Vol. 2 is a Clarence Clemons and Temple of Soul album that was recorded live at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey on September 2–3, 2001...

.

Chart performance

Chart (1985)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	18
US Billboard Adult Contemporary	21
US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	16