Stand by Me (Ben E. King song)



"Stand by Me" is a song originally performed by American singer-songwriter Ben E. King and written by King, Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller. According to King, the title is derived from, and was inspired by, a spiritual written by Sam Cooke and J. W. Alexander called "Stand by Me Father," recorded by the Soul Stirrers with Johnnie Taylor singing lead. The third line of the second verse of the former work derives from Psalm 46:2c/3c.

There have been over 400 recorded versions of the song, performed by many artists. It was featured on the soundtrack of the 1986 film Stand by Me, and a corresponding music video was released to promote the film. In 2012 it was estimated that the song's royalties had topped $US 22.8 million (£17 million), making it the sixth highest-earning song as of that time. 50% of the royalties were paid to King. In 2015 King's original version was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress, as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", just under five weeks before his death. Later in the year, the 2015 line up of the Drifters recorded it, in tribute to him.

Song information
In 1960, Ben E. King was inspired to update the early 20th century gospel hymn by Charles Albert Tindley, which was based around the psalm, "will not we fear, though the Earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea."

According to the documentary History of Rock 'n' Roll, King had no intention of recording the song himself. King had written it for the Drifters, who passed on recording it. After the "Spanish Harlem" recording session in 1960, King had some studio time left over. The session's producers, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, asked if he had any more songs. King played it on the piano for them. They liked it and called the studio musicians back in to record it.

Stoller recalls it differently: I remember arriving at our office as Jerry and Ben were working on lyrics for a new song. King had the beginnings of a melody that he was singing a cappella. I went to the piano and worked up the harmonies, developing a bass pattern that became the signature of the song. Ben and Jerry quickly finished the lyrics ... .

In another interview, Stoller said: "Ben E. had the beginnings of a song—both words and music. He worked on the lyrics together with Jerry, and I added elements to the music, particularly the bass line. To some degree, it's based on a gospel song called 'Lord Stand By Me'. I have a feeling that Jerry and Ben E. were inspired by it. Ben, of course, had a strong background in church music. He's a 50% writer on the song, and Jerry and I are 25% each.... When I walked in, Jerry and Ben E. were working on the lyrics to a song. They were at an old oak desk we had in the office. Jerry was sitting behind it, and Benny was sitting on the top. They looked up and said they were writing a song. I said, 'Let me hear it.'... Ben began to sing the song a cappella. I went over to the upright piano and found the chord changes behind the melody he was singing. It was in the key of A. Then I created a bass line. Jerry said, 'Man that's it!' We used my bass pattern for a starting point and, later, we used it as the basis for the string arrangement created by Stanley Applebaum."

The personnel on the song included Romeo Penque on sax, Ernie Hayes on piano, Al Caiola and Charles McCracken on guitars, Lloyd Trotman on double bass, Phil Kraus on percussion, and Gary Chester on drums, plus a wordless mixed chorus and strings. Songwriting credits on the single were shown as King and Elmo Glick—a pseudonym used by Leiber and Stoller.

King's record went to No. 1 on the R&B charts and was a Top Ten hit on the US charts twice—in its original release, entering the Billboard chart on May 13, 1961 and peaking at No. 4 on June 16, 1961, and a 1986 re-release coinciding with its use as the theme song for the movie of the same name following its appearance in the film, when it peaked at No. 9 on 20 December 1986 - 3 January 1987, and also in an advertisement for Levi Jeans. It also reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in 1987 after its re-release, mostly because of the jeans spot, originally reaching No. 27 on its first release.

The song was not released on an album until it had been out as a single for two years. The song appeared on King's Don't Play That Song! album.

The song was ranked 122nd on Rolling Stone ' s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 1999, BMI named it as the fourth most-performed song of the 20th century, with about seven million performances.

On March 27, 2012, the Songwriters Hall of Fame announced that the song would receive its 2012 Towering Song Award and that King would be honored with the 2012 Towering Performance Award for his recording of it.

Structure
The song uses a version of the common chord progression now called the 50s progression, which has been called the "'Stand by Me' changes" after the song.

Other notable versions

 * Adriano Celentano's 1962 Italian version, "Pregherò" (meaning "I will pray") reached no. 1 on the Italian charts.
 * Muhammad Ali (as Cassius Clay) released a version on his 1963 spoken-word/comedy album I Am the Greatest. Clay's recording was released as the B-side of the eponymous single in 1964, charting on the Billboard "Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles". It was included on the CD Beat Of The Pops Vol 34.
 * Spyder Turner's 1967 version climbed to No. 3 on the US Billboard Black Singles chart and No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
 * John Lennon recorded his version of the song for his 1975 album Rock 'n' Roll. Lennon's remake was his last hit prior to his five-year retirement from the music industry. Lennon filmed a performance of the song for The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1975. On May 3, 1975 this version was in its second of two weeks at the peak position #20 on the US Hot 100, right in front of King's comeback hit "Supernatural Thing - Part I" at #21.
 * Mickey Gilley released his version of the song in 1980, and it was included in the movie Urban Cowboy. It was his eighth #1 on the US country charts and also reached #22 on the US Hot 100.
 * Maurice White's 1985 cover got to Nos. 6 & 11 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Adult Contemporary charts respectively.
 * Pennywise in the 1989 album Wildcard.
 * "Stand By Me" was covered by Timon and Pumbaa, two characters from The Lion King, in one episode of Timon & Pumbaa.
 * A version of the song released by American R&B group 4 The Cause in 1998 was a #1 hit in Switzerland, reached No. 2 of the Austrian and German singles charts and number three in New Zealand, and was a top-ten hit in several other countries.
 * Prince Royce recorded a bachata version of the song as his debut single, changing parts of the lyrics into Spanish. This version peaked No. 8 on US Hot Latin Tracks and No. 1 on US Tropical Airplay. At the Latin Grammy Awards of 2010, Royce performed a live version of the song along with Ben E. King. Royce's remake received a Lo Nuestro award for "Tropical Song of the Year".
 * Florence + the Machine recorded the song for the soundtrack and trailer of Final Fantasy XV in 2016. The cover peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot Rock Singles in December 2016.
 * Skylar Grey recorded the song which appeared for a Budweiser commercial for Super Bowl LII, with proceeds for the song to go to the American Red Cross.

Ben E. King
For the year-end charts in the US, the song was the #63 song of 1961 and #67 of 1987.

4 the Cause

 * Weekly charts


 * Year-end charts