About The Song
“Daytime Friends” is a 1977 single by Kenny Rogers, written by Nashville songwriter Ben Peters and released on United Artists Records. The song came out on August 1, 1977, as the lead single from Rogers’ album Daytime Friends, his third solo studio LP after the breakup of The First Edition. Produced by Larry Butler and running about 3:14, it arrived during the same year that Rogers had broken through worldwide with “Lucille,” helping to confirm him as one of country music’s dominant voices of the late 1970s.
The album Daytime Friends was recorded in 1977 at American Sound Studio in Memphis and at Jack Clement Recording in Nashville. It continued the partnership between Rogers and Butler that had already yielded major hits, blending country instrumentation with pop-leaning arrangements aimed at both country and adult-contemporary radio. The title track was positioned as the anchor of the LP: it opened the record on some pressings and was used heavily in promotion, with its success helping the album reach No. 2 on the U.S. country albums chart.
As a single, “Daytime Friends” performed strongly across several formats. On the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart it became Rogers’ second solo No. 1, spending one week at the top and twelve weeks in total on the country listing. It also crossed over to the pop market, peaking at No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached No. 13 on the adult contemporary chart, reflecting substantial airplay on softer pop stations. Internationally, it hit No. 1 on Canada’s RPM country and adult-contemporary charts, made the Canadian pop Top 25, entered the New Zealand Top 20 and reached the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked just outside the Top 30.
The single was backed in most territories with “We Don’t Make Love Anymore,” a song co-written by Rogers and his then-wife Marianne Gordon. That B-side later gained a second life when Anne Murray recorded it for her 1978 album Let’s Keep It That Way. In Germany, the flip side was “Lying Again,” another track from the Daytime Friends album. These choices underlined the strength of the material on the LP and provided additional exposure for Rogers’ growing catalogue as his profile rose on both country and pop charts.
“Daytime Friends” is set at a mid-tempo and uses a smooth country-pop arrangement typical of Rogers’ late-1970s work. The track features rhythm section, acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards and backing vocals, with small touches of steel guitar that keep it grounded in country even as the production aims for crossover appeal. Larry Butler’s approach puts Rogers’ voice clearly in the foreground, with the band kept tight and unobtrusive, and the recording length tailored for radio play. This balance between Nashville instrumentation and pop polish became one of Rogers’ trademarks and helped his singles fit comfortably on multiple formats.
The lyric describes an affair between two people whose spouses are also friendly with each other. In public and during the day, the central pair must behave as ordinary friends, but at night they become “loving lovers,” sneaking away for secret meetings. The contrast between “daytime friends” and “nighttime lovers” runs through the verses and chorus, giving the song a clear, memorable hook while sketching a situation of deception and divided loyalties. Although the scenario is morally ambiguous, the language remains relatively restrained, which made the song acceptable to mainstream country and adult-contemporary audiences of the period.
Songwriter Ben Peters later explained that the idea came from an offhand phrase on a local television weather report. Watching Nashville station WSM-TV in 1975, he heard meteorologist Pat Sajak refer to “daytime trends and nighttime showers,” a contrast that suggested to him the structure of “daytime” and “nighttime” opposites. Peters adapted that contrast into the “daytime friends and nighttime lovers” framing that shapes the finished lyric. This kind of wordplay, built on a simple but striking phrase, is typical of many country hits of the era and helped the song stand out on radio.
Over time, “Daytime Friends” has remained a fixture in Kenny Rogers compilations and reissues. It appears on the album Daytime Friends – The Very Best of Kenny Rogers, on numerous hits packages, and on digital collections that survey his 1970s work. The song is often grouped with “Lucille,” “Sweet Music Man,” “The Gambler” and later crossover singles as part of the run that established Rogers as an international star. Its chart profile, memorable hook and blend of country storytelling with pop production have kept it in circulation as a representative example of his late-1970s style.
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Lyric
And he’ll tell her he’s working late again
But she knows too well there’s something going on
She’s been neglected, and she needs a friend
So her trembling fingers dial the telephone
Lord, it hurts her doing this again
He’s the best friend that her husband ever knew
When she’s lonely, he’s more than just a friend
He’s the one she longs to give her body to
Daytime friends and nighttime lovers
Hoping no one else discovers
Where they go, what they do, in their secret hideaway
Daytime friends and nighttime lovers
They don’t want to hurt the others
So they love in the nighttime
And shake hands in the light of day
When it’s over, there’s no peace of mind
Just a longing for the way things should have been
And she wonders why some men never find
That a woman needs a lover and a friend
Daytime friends and nighttime lovers
Hoping no one else discovers
Where they go, what they do, in their secret hideaway
Daytime friends and nighttime lovers
They don’t want to hurt the others
So they love in the nighttime
And shake hands in the light of day
Daytime friends and nighttime lovers
Hoping no one else discovers
Where they go, what they do, in their secret hideaway
Daytime friends and nighttime lovers
They don’t want to hurt the others
So they love in the nighttime
And shake hands in the light of day
Daytime friends and nighttime lovers
Hoping no one else discovers
Where they go, what they do, in their secret hideaway