Lisa Kudrow Had A Hand In Writing Phoebe’s Friends Songs

If ever you’ve found yourself with one of Phoebe from Friends’ oddball musical numbers stuck in your head, it turns out that you have Lisa Kudrow herself to thank.

The Emmy winner recently reflected on her performance as Phoebe Buffay during a video interview with Vanity Fair, where she also discussed some of her character’s infamous musical performances.

“With Phoebe and the songs, at first, I took a guitar lesson or two,” she recalled. “And then, I realised I don’t like playing guitar.

“My brother is a phenomenal guitar player, and there’s real musical talent in my family, but not with me. And I also just felt like the point of this character is that she thinks she’s great, and she loves doing it. It doesn’t mean that she’s talented and I think it’s even funnier and more worthwhile if she just sort of knows some chords and doesn’t really play them well.”

With that in mind, it was decided that while Friends’ writers would come up with Phoebe’s melodies, Lisa would work on the melodies, after reasoning that they should sound as amateur-ish as possible.

“I would then have to work on the songs during the week,” Lisa continued. “On a multi-camera show, you rehearse all week, and then you shoot it on one night. And I thought it would be easier if I can come up with the tune of the ditty, because I thought, ‘they can’t be too good’.”

By far, Phoebe’s most famous Friends number is Smelly Cat, which the character performed on multiple occasions during the show’s 10-season run.

In the two decades that Friends has been off the air, Lisa has also performed Smelly Cat with Taylor Swift on her 1989 world tour and Lady Gaga on the show’s 2021 reunion special.

However, she’s admitted that Smelly Cat isn’t even her favourite offering from Phoebe’s oeuvre.

“I thought some of the other Phoebe songs were so much funnier,” she revealed. “When she’s at this nursery school or this kids’ programme, and singing these songs that are so inappropriate – your dog is dead, grandma is, too – those things are really funny. They’re so inappropriate!”

Lisa previously claimed that she’d never actually enjoyed Friends as a viewer, but decided to revisit the show in the wake of Matthew Perry’s death.

During a recent interview, the Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion star admitted she’d been crying with laughter while watching one particular sequence from the sitcom’s hey-day.