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"Stand by Me" is the title of a song originally
performed by
Ben E. King and written by King,
Jerry Leiber, and
Mike Stoller, based on the spiritual "Lord Stand by Me,",[1]
plus two lines rooted in Psalms 46:2-3. There have been over 400
recorded versions of "Stand by Me", including versions by
John Lennon,
Otis Redding,
Jimi Hendrix,
U2, and
Elton John.
According to the documentary History of Rock 'n' Roll, Ben E.
King had no intention of recording the song himself when he wrote it.[2]
King had written the song for
The Drifters, who passed on the chance to record it. It was not
until after the "Spanish
Harlem" recording session that he had some studio time left over.
The session's producers, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, asked if he had
any more songs and King played "Stand by Me" on the piano for them. They
liked it and called the studio musicians back in to record it.
Mike 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 capella. 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…"[3]
The fact that arranger Stan Applebaum could not possibly have dashed off
an entire string chart at the end of a session, much less copied and
distributed all the parts, supports this less dramatic version of the
events.
Either way, King's record went to #1 on the R&B charts[4]
and was a Top Ten hit on the U.S. charts twice—in its original release
in 1961, when it peaked at #4, 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 #9, and also in an advertisement for
Levi Jeans. It also reached #1 on the
UK Singles Chart in 1987 after its re-release, mostly because of the
jeans spot, originally reaching #27 on its first release.
The song was not released on an album until it had been out as a
single for two years. After those two years the song appeared as track
seven on King's
Don't Play That Song album.
"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.[5]
The song uses a version of the common
chord progression now called the
50s progression, which have been called the "'Stand by Me' changes"[6]
after the song. |
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