| "Stand by Me" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Single by Ben E. King | ||
| Writer | Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller | |
"Stand by Me" is the title of a song performed by Ben E. King and written by Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The song is based on a 1955 Gospel song of the same name by The Staples Singers. Leiber and Stoller gave it a more contemporary sound. Since its release, there have been many cover versions of the song, though none have achieved the fame of the original. When he wrote the song, King had had no intention of recording the song himself.[1] King had written the song for The Drifters, who passed on the chance to record it. In the documentary History of Rock 'n' Roll, Ben E. King says that he never planned on recording it by himself. It wasn't until after the Spanish Harlem recording session that he had some studio time left over. The producer asked if he had any more songs and King played Stand By Me on the piano for him. The producer liked it and called all the studio musicians back in to record it. If Mr. King hadn't finished recording his other songs early, Stand By Me might never have been recorded. The song was not released on an album until it had been out as a single for 2 years. King's version was a Top Ten hit on the U.S. charts twice—in its original release in 1961, and a 1986 rerelease coinciding with its use as the theme song for the movie of the same name following its appearance in the film and also in an advertisement for Levi Jeans. It reached #8 in the United World Chart. It also reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart on its re-release, originally reaching #27 on its first release. "Stand by Me" was ranked number 121 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 7 million performances.
Contents |
Chords
The song uses a version of the common chord progression now called the 50s progression.
John Lennon cover version
| "Stand by Me" | |||||
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| Single by John Lennon from the album Rock 'n' Roll |
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| Released | 1975 | ||||
| Format | 7" vinyl | ||||
| Recorded | 1974 | ||||
| Genre | Rock/Pop | ||||
| Writer | Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller | ||||
| Producer | John Lennon | ||||
| John Lennon singles chronology | |||||
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John Lennon recorded his version of the song for his 1975 album Rock 'n' Roll. Lennon's cover of "Stand by Me" was his last hit prior to his five-year retirement from the music industry. This version of the song had a more rock sound than R&B (logically because John Lennon was a rock singer). The beginning of this version sounds like the beginning of Ringo Starr's "Only You (And You Alone)". The B-side of the single was "Move Over Ms. L", a rare and raucous track also covered by The Who drummer Keith Moon.
Chart Run
03/05/1975: 48-37-32-30-32-34-42 (UK) 15/03/1975: 78-67-52-36-30-24-20-20-49 (US)
Other cover versions
- Muhammed Ali recorded it in 1964 with a song called "I Am The Greatest" as the flip side. Ali was the heavyweight boxing champion at the time. The song is included on the second volume of the comedy compilation Golden Throats.
- The Kingsmen have covered versions of this song and sung it in various concert performances.
- Punk band Pennywise have also covered the song on their 1989 EP Wildcard.
- Otis Redding also covered the song once.
- It has been covered by Marvin Gaye.
- Adriano Celentano, one of the most famous italian singers, covered the song as Pregherò (I will pray), a quite original interpretation [2].
- A cover of the song was recorded by R&B pop group 4 The Cause.
- The song was also a featured song in the hit movie Urban Cowboy where it was performed by Mickey Gilley.
- The Fugees released their cover of the song.
- Sam Cooke recorded a cover of the song.
- London based beatboxer "Faith SFX" covered the song.
- Boston punkrock band The Ducky Boys covered this song on their 2005 album Three Chords And The Truth.
- In 2007 the Spanish group D'NASH included a cover of "Stand by Me" in the reissue of their first album Capaz de todo (under the title Capaz de todo - Mision Eurovision).
- It is also featured on the rare bootleg A Toot and a Snore in '74.
Live performances, references, appearances in other media, etc.
- Jimmy & David Ruffin recorded a live cover in 1970, released as a single on the Soul (Motown) label.
- U2 performed the song frequently during that group's Joshua Tree and Zoo TV tours between 1987 and 1993, notably in one performance in Philadelphia where Bruce Springsteen joined the band on stage for the song. During U2's 1997-1998 PopMart Tour, the band often played snippets of "Stand by Me" after "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For".
- The song has been performed live by punk rock group Green Day, who often used elements of the song during a medley with The Isley Brothers' "Shout" during their 2005 American Idiot tour.
- In July, 2007 Incubus covered "Stand by Me" in Indianapolis, Chicago, Detroit and Philadelphia in August 2007, Cleveland and New Hampshire, and in September 2007, Chula Vista.
- The song was used for a 1995 short film starring The Lion King's Timon and Pumbaa that was released as a bonus feature with the Disney film starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Tom and Huck. This odd 3-minute short features Timon singing the song, while Pumbaa is constantly hit by objects every time Timon says "Stand by me".
- In 2001, Banyo Queen, a rap tune by Philippine rapper Andrew E., sampled the song to the point that the tune uses the first line of the song ("When the night has come").
- "Beautiful Girls", a 2007 single by Sean Kingston, samples the famous bass riff and chord progression as well as a melody that closely resembles parts of the violin solo from the original song.
- The song is one of three mentioned by name in Eric Carmen's song Make Me Lose Control.
References
- ^ "Good Rockin' Tonight." The History of Rock 'n' Roll. (c) 1995 Time-Life Video.
- ^ Youtube video: http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=4K8BxEk96BE
External links
| Preceded by "Dancin' Cowboys" by Bellamy Brothers |
Billboard Hot Country Singles number one single August 9, 1980 by Mickey Gilley |
Succeeded by "Tennessee River" by Alabama |
| Preceded by "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" by George Michael and Aretha Franklin |
UK number one single (Ben E. King version) February 15 1987 |
Succeeded by "Everything I Own" by Boy George |
