Stand by Me

Stand By Me, a song originally performed by Ben E, King in 1961, has been covered more than 400 times. This is the story of a memorable cover.

Image: Amazon.com

The making of a spiritual rock 'n roll song

In 1960, American singer-songwriter Ben E. King was inspired to update a spiritual written by Sam Cooke and J. W. Alexander called “Stand by Me Father”. It 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.”

Although King didn't intend to record it, he had some studio time left over. The session's producers, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, asked if he had any more songs. Stoller recalls:

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 ...

The song was titled Stand By Me.

King's record went to No. 1 on the R&B charts and reached No. 4 on the Billboard chart on May 13, 1961, on its first release. 25 years later, on 20 December 1986, a re-release of the record reached No. 9 on the Billboard chart.

The song has over 400 recorded versions, most notably the 1975 John Lennon recording on his album Rock 'n Roll.

A performance around the world

I wrote the following piece for ReasonCheck on July 21, 2009:

Playing For Change is a movement that uses music to inspire, connect and bring peace to the world. These connections come through beautifully in this virtual ensemble performance of Stand By Me — Playing For Change's first song.

Four years ago while walking down the street in Santa Monica, CA the voice of Roger Ridley singing “Stand By Me” was heard from a block away. His voice, soul and passion set us on a course around the world to add other musicians to his performance. This song transformed Playing For Change from a small group of individuals to a global movement for peace and understanding. This track features over 35 musicians collaborating from all over the world. They may have never met in person, but in this case, the music does the talking.

It is great to see so many South African performers, including the excellent Vusi Mahlasela. But there is one glaring omission. As any cricket lover will know, all matches played at Port Elizabeth's St George's cricket ground are accompanied by the constant sound of a rag-tag brass band sitting among the crowds. As far as I can tell they play only one tune: Stand By Me.

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Reference:
Wikipedia: Stand by Me (Ben E. King song)

Also posted on Weku, @tim-beck, 2018-12-27