Written with his friend, Steven Curtis Chapman, Geoff Moore’s A Friend Like You has been a phenomenal success for the Christian artist. It was registered in 1992 by Starstruck Music/ASCAP/Careers-BMG Music Publishing Inc. and Sparrow Song. When it was first released, Geoff Moore was with The Distance. This was the first song of his that earned them regular radio play on US Christian radio stations.
The song, actually titled A Friend Like U, was also the title of the album it first appeared on. It was released by Forefront in 1992. At the time, Geoff Moore was recording with “The Distance”, his band. Members of The Distance on this album included: Roscoe Meek, Greg Herrington, Gary Mullet and Geof Barkley. Additional musicians or “friends” on this album included: Phil Madeira and Carl Marsh, and backing vocals Ashley Cleveland, Bob Bailey, Joy Gardner, Bob Carlisle, and Guy Penrod. Bruce Carroll appears on the “Listen and Learn” album. Although he co-wrote A Friend Like U and Listen to our Hearts with Geoff Moore, Steven Curtis Chapman only appears on the album to duet with Geoff once. “Listen to our Hearts” became Geoff and Steven’s duet on this album. However, they have performed A Friend Like U in a music video and in concerts together.
A Friend Like U was included as a bonus clip in the “Life Together” video that Geoff made with The Distance in 1994. It is one of the songs among the hits on the “Geoff Moore & The Distance Greatest Hits Double-Disc Set”. released in 1996 by Forefront. In 2006, it was part of the album “Very Best of Geoff Moore & The Distance”, also released by Forefront. Success trickled down to another album, “Geoff Moore Presents Every Single One Part I”, released on an independent label in 2005. A Friend Like U found a home on Geoff’s “All Along the Road Volume I” in 2007, also on a independent label.
The song has a happy sound. Gary Mullet did a good job on bass on the original release. Geoff Moore sounds happy when he’s singing it. Not surprise. His sincerity is manifested in every song he records. He seems like he can’t sing a song he doesn’t believe in. His admirable authenticity is one of his best qualities as a person and an artist.
My favorite line from the song is “Through all the wins, losses, and tries, I’ll be by your side.” This song is a treasure because it brings unconditional love into the spotlight. Truly loving someone despite everything is not easy to do, but it is the foundation and the construction of the legacy.
