Why Ca n't We Be Friends ? ( Song ) - wikipedia Why Ca n't We Be Friends ? ( Song ) `` Why Ca n't We Be Friends ? '' Single by War from the album Why Ca n't We Be Friends ? B - side `` In Mazatlan '' Released April 1975 Format 7 '' Recorded Genre R&B funk reggae Length 3 : 50 Label ABC, United Artists Songwriter ( s ) Papa Dee Allen, Harold Ray Brown, B.B. Dickerson, Lonnie Jordan, Charles Miller, Lee Oskar, Howard E. Scott Producer ( s ) Jerry Goldstein War singles chronology `` Ballero '' ( 1974 ) `` Why Ca n't We Be Friends ? '' ( 1975 ) `` Low Rider '' ( 1975 ) `` Ballero '' ( 1974 ) `` Why Ca n't We Be Friends ? '' ( 1975 ) `` Low Rider '' ( 1975 ) `` Why Ca n't We Be Friends ? '' is a song by the funk band War for their 1975 studio album of the same name. The song has a simple structure, with the phrase `` Why ca n't we be friends ? '' being sung four times after each two - line verse amounting to over forty times in under four minutes. The song reached # 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1975. The song is unique as various members of the band exchange vocal duties from verse to verse. It was played in outer space when NASA beamed it to the linking of Soviet cosmonauts and U.S. astronauts for the Apollo -- Soyuz Test Project. Billboard ranked it as the No. 23 song of that year. Contents 1 Chart performance 1.1 Weekly charts 1.2 Year - end charts 2 Inclusion in media 3 Smash Mouth version 3.1 Chart performance 4 References Chart performance Weekly charts Chart ( 1975 ) Peak position Canada RPM 6 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 6 U.S. Billboard R&B 9 U.S. Cash Box Top 100 Year - end charts Chart ( 1975 ) Rank Canada 75 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 23 Inclusion in media The song is played during the freshman hazing scene in Dazed and Confused. It also plays over the end credits in Lethal Weapon 4 during the farewell montage ( which shows flashback photographs from all four of the films ), was covered in BASEketball, the short film The ChubbChubbs ! and Bridge to Terabithia, and was played in The Final Destination. A clip of the song is played as Homer Simpson 's entrance music in Season 8 Episode 3 of The Simpsons, `` The Homer They Fall ''. A different version of the song relating to war was featured on The Muppet Show. The Smash Mouth version was used for commercials and TV spots for the film Ice Age. The song was also used in the intro video of the video game Operation Flashpoint : Red River. The opening of the song was used in a trailer for W. Kamau Bell 's United Shades of America show on CNN. Smash Mouth version `` Why Ca n't We Be Friends ? '' Single by Smash Mouth from the album Fush Yu Mang Released April 7, 1998 Format CD single Recorded Genre Ska punk Length 4 : 46 ( Album Version ) 3 : 17 ( Radio Edit ) Label Interscope Songwriter ( s ) Papa Dee Allen, Harold Ray Brown, B.B. Dickerson, Lonnie Jordan, Charles Miller, Lee Oskar, Howard E. Scott Producer ( s ) Eric Valentine Smash Mouth singles chronology `` Walkin ' on the Sun '' ( 1997 ) `` Why Ca n't We Be Friends ? '' ( 1998 ) `` The Fonz '' ( 1998 ) `` Walkin ' on the Sun '' ( 1997 ) `` Why Ca n't We Be Friends ? '' ( 1998 ) `` The Fonz '' ( 1998 ) American pop rock band Smash Mouth covered the song on their debut album Fush Yu Mang on April 7, 1998, releasing it as their second single and was also featured in the 1998 movie Wild Things. Chart performance Chart ( 1998 ) Position Australian Singles Chart 67 Dutch Singles Chart 89 Spain ( Los 40 Principales ) New Zealand Singles Chart 39 Swedish Singles Chart 29 U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs 28 References Jump up ^ Gabriel San Roman ( December 23, 2010 ). `` WAR Is the Answer ( and the Question ) for Lonnie Jordan ''. OC Weekly. Retrieved February 5, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada ''. Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved October 10, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Top Singles -- Volume 24, No. 14, December 27, 1975 ''. RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 28, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Top 100 Hits of 1975 / Top 100 Songs of 1975 ''. Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved October 10, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Music -- Why Ca n't We Be Friends ? - Single by Smash Mouth ''. Amazon. Retrieved March 9, 2016. Jump up ^ `` The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart Week Ending 24 May 1998 ''. ARIA. Retrieved February 4, 2016. War Lonnie Jordan Marcos Reyes Howard E. Scott Harold Ray Brown Lee Oskar Morris `` B.B. '' Dickerson Charles Miller Eric Burdon Pat Rizzo J.B. Eckl Albums Eric Burdon Declares `` War '' ( 1970 ) The Black - Man 's Burdon ( 1970 ) Love Is All Around War ( 1971 ) All Day Music ( 1971 ) The World Is a Ghetto ( 1972 ) Deliver the Word ( 1973 ) War Live ( 1974 ) Why Ca n't We Be Friends ? ( 1975 ) Platinum Jazz ( 1976 ) Galaxy ( 1977 ) Youngblood ( 1978 ) The Music Band ( 1979 ) The Music Band 2 ( 1979 ) Outlaw ( 1982 ) The Music Band -- Jazz ( 1983 ) Life ( Is So Strange ) ( 1983 ) ☮ ( Peace Sign ) ( 1994 ) Smash Mouth Steve Harwell Paul De Lisle Michael Klooster Randy Cooke Sam Eigen Kevin Coleman Greg Camp Michael Urbano Mark Cervantes Mitch Marine Jason Sutter Leroy Miller Sean Hurwitz Charlie Paxson Mike Krompass Rob Schwartz Kristian Attard Studio albums Fush Yu Mang Astro Lounge Smash Mouth Get the Picture ? The Gift of Rock Summer Girl Magic Compilations All Star Smash Hits Singles `` Walkin ' on the Sun '' `` Why Ca n't We Be Friends ? '' `` Ca n't Get Enough of You Baby '' `` All Star '' `` Then the Morning Comes '' `` I 'm a Believer '' `` Story of My Life '' `` So Insane '' Other songs `` Come On Come On '' Related articles Discography PopMart Tour Old Habits Mouth Sounds Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Why_Can%27t_We_Be_Friends%3F_(song)&oldid=852640049 '' Categories : 1975 singles 1998 singles War ( band ) songs Anti-war songs Songs against racism and xenophobia Songs about friendship Smash Mouth songs Song recordings produced by Jerry Goldstein ( producer ) Song recordings produced by Eric Valentine 1975 songs United Artists Records singles ABC Records singles Interscope Records singles Songs written by Lonnie Jordan Music videos directed by McG Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Italiano Edit links This page was last edited on 30 July 2018, at 11 : 11 ( UTC ). 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Question: who made why can't we be friends
Answer: War