Songfacts®:

• Patti LaBelle's husband, Armstead Edwards, never intended for anyone to read the words of what would become "You Are My Friend," which he wrote in his journal after an emotional incident with their toddler son, Zuri. Edwards was trying to recuperate after a night of too much weed and alcohol when Zuri, sensing there was something wrong with his dad, comforted him by stroking his forehead and repeating, "It's okay, Daddy. You my friend." Edwards was so moved, he wrote about what happened in his journal. Over time, he added more thoughts and phrases to his son's words, never thinking anyone, let alone his wife, would snoop. But she did.
  
  LaBelle came across the journal when she and her musical director, James "Budd" Ellison, were working on tunes for her solo debut album and she decided to sneak a peek. When Edwards caught the pair leafing through the book, he flipped his lid.
  
  "We had no right to invade his privacy," she admitted in her 1996 autobiography, Don't Block The Blessings: Revelations Of A Lifetime. "Later, when Armstead cooled off, we all wound up agreeing that his words were the makings of a beautiful song. While I was in the kitchen cooking, Budd was at the piano composing. By the time we finished dinner, the three of us had finished the song Zuri inspired: 'You Are My Friend.'"
• Although the single only reached #61 on the R&B chart, it became popular through LaBelle's live performances and remains one of her signature songs.
• LaBelle spent the early part of her career as the lead singer in vocal group The Blue Belles, which evolved into Labelle, the trio behind the disco-funk hit "Lady Marmalade." When they split in the mid-'70s, she wasn't sure if audiences would accept her as a solo artist. That all changed when she got on stage by herself for the first time. When she did this tune as an encore, she got a standing ovation. Since then, she almost always sings it to close out her shows.
• LaBelle sang this at her mother's funeral in 1978.
• LaBelle stayed friendly with her former groupmates Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash, and they showed up to support each other when they could. When LaBelle performed at the Savoy Ballroom in New York in support of her 1981 album, The Spirit's In It, Dash attended on the closing night and joined her on stage to sing this song, much to the audience's delight.
• The song also soundtracked LaBelle's reunion with Cindy Birdsong, who abruptly left the Blue Belles in 1967 to join The Supremes. LaBelle held a grudge against her old friend for years until she spotted Birdsong sitting in the audience on opening night of her Look To The Rainbow Tour in 1984. She invited her on stage, along with Mary Wilson of The Supremes, where the three of them sang the tune.
• After her best friend died in 1984, LaBelle honored her memory by singing this backed by a gospel choir and pairing it with the Christian hymn "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."
• Soul singer Sylvester covered this for his 1979 live album, Living Proof. His version, which features backing vocals from The Weather Girls (formerly known as Two Tons O' Fun), peaked at #30 on the R&B chart.