page_title: Smelly Cat
section_title: Background and writing
hierarchical_section_title: Smelly Cat / Background and writing
caption_attribution_description: © 2001-13 Photo-Grafitti
context_page_description: "Smelly Cat" is a comedy song from the American sitcom Friends, originally performed by American actress Lisa Kudrow. The song was written by Friends writers Adam Chase and Betsy Borns, with musician Chrissie Hynde and Kudrow for the latter's character Phoebe Buffay, and first appears in the sixth episode of the show's second season, "The One with the Baby on the Bus". Hynde guest stars in the episode as a singer hired to replace Phoebe as Central Perk's in-house musician, to whom Phoebe eventually teaches "Smelly Cat". Borns originally intended to write the song about a dog, initially basing it on her own pet dog Gouda, but ultimately decided that a song about a pungent cat would be funnier.
  Following its debut, Kudrow would continue to frequently perform "Smelly Cat" throughout Friends' ten-year run, most prominently during the show's second season, with the song becoming a running gag and integral component of Phoebe's role. The song's popularity grew among fans to the point at which they asked that it be released as an album track.
context_section_description: On the sitcom Friends, actress Lisa Kudrow portrays Phoebe Buffay, an eccentric masseuse and amateur singer-songwriter with poor rhythm. The character regularly performs her original, peculiar songs at Central Perk, a New York-based coffeehouse at which she and her five friends often socialize. "Smelly Cat" was written for the character by Kudrow with Adam Chase, Betsy Borns and Chrissie Hynde. The song was conceived in 1995 by Borns, a Friends writer who originally intended for its lyrics to be about a pungent dog entitled "Smelly Dog". Having a tendency to incorporate aspects of her personal life into Friends episodes, Borns initially based the song on a malodorous dog she had once owned named Gouda (named after the cheese), at first penning it "as an ode to her childhood pet", before ultimately deciding a song about a foul-smelling cat would be more humorous. Chase, another writer on Friends, also contributed lyrics. Kudrow composed the melody herself, as she had done for all of her character's original songs.
  "Smelly Cat" first appears in the sixth episode of the second season, "The One with the Baby on the Bus" (1995), which Borns also wrote. Hynde (lead singer of rock band The Pretenders) guest stars in the episode as Stephanie Schiffer, a professional singer originally hired to replace Phoebe as Central Perk's resident musician, to whom Phoebe teaches "Smelly Cat" at the end of the episode. Hynde co-wrote the song's music with Kudrow. The musician had agreed to guest star on Friends with little knowledge as to how popular the relatively new sitcom had already become in the United States, having not heard of the show prior to being cast. Kudrow described writing with Hynde as "amazing". Critics believe Hynde's guest appearance bolstered sales of The Pretenders' cover of "Angel of the Morning", which Hynde also performs in the episode.
  "Smelly Cat" grew increasingly popular among fans of the show, who sent letters to producers asking that they release the song on an album. Upon realizing the song's popularity, Reprise Records' Howie Klein expressed interest in developing a concept album based around "Smelly Cat" as a follow-up to the previous years' Friends album, but Kudrow's participation in the project was undecided. An updated version of the song entitled "Smelly Cat Medley" was eventually released on the soundtrack album Friends Again (1999), credited to Phoebe Buffay and The Hairballs. The track is a combination of "Smelly Cat" excerpts from various episodes, featuring vocals from Kudrow and The Pretenders. Although the album's cover features all six of the show's main cast members – Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer – Kudrow was the only main cast member to contribute a song.
caption: In addition to guest starring in "The One with the Baby on the Bus", musician Chrissie Hynde co-wrote "Smelly Cat" with Lisa Kudrow and performs it in the episode.[1][2]
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