Stand by Me (song)
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"Stand by Me" is the title of a song originally performed by Ben E. King and written by Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.
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[edit] Song information
According to the documentary History of Rock 'n' Roll, Ben E. King had no intention of recording the song himself when he wrote it.[1] 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 all the studio musicians back in to record it. If 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 two years. After those two years the song appeared as track seven on King's Don't Play That Song.
King's version went to number one on the R&B charts,[2]. 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 rerelease 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 due to the jeans spot, 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.
[edit] Structure
The song uses a version of the common chord progression now called the 50s progression, also known as a "turn-around", which have been called the "'Stand by Me' changes"[3] after the song.
[edit] Notable covers, remixes and samples
- Ben E. King recorded a song that paraphrased it musically, "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)".[citation needed]
- Otis Redding recorded a version for his album Pain in My Heart.
- 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. The acoustic introduction of this version is reminiscent of Ringo Starr's "Only You (And You Alone)" from 1974. Lennon suggested Starr cover that song, and Lennon plays guitar on both songs. The B-side of the single was "Move Over Ms. L", a rare and raucous track also covered by The Who drummer Keith Moon.
- Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller have a version which was featured in the hit musical Smokey Joe's Cafe.
- Playing for Change made a music video rendition of "Stand By Me" which is a collaboration of over 35 street performers and musicians from all over the world.
- Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire recorded his version of the song on his 1985 album Maurice White. White's remake of "Stand by Me" peaked at number 6, 11 and 50 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, Adult Contemporary and Billboard Hot 100 charts respectively.[4]
- Mickey Gilley performed a version which was featured in the hit 1980 film Urban Cowboy. It was a #1 country hit for him in August of that year, also reaching #22 on the Pop charts and #3 at Adult Contemporary.
- Pennywise recorded a punk cover which was originally released on the EP Wildcard in 1989.
- Ronnie Milsap recorded a gospel-altered version on his recent album, Then Sings My Soul.
- Gigi D'Agostino released a dance version of this song.
- Seal covered the song on his album Soul.
- Lemmy Kilminster performed the song with Dave Lombardo and DJ Baron for the soundtrack of the 2009 Flip Skateboards video "Extremely Sorry."
- Overboard performed an a cappella version of the song for their 2008 album, Castaways.
- Boxer Cassius Clay, later known as Muhammad Ali, released a version of the song in 1963.
- J.R. Rotem interpolated Stand By Me when he produced Beautiful Girls by Sean Kingston
- U2 has covered it many times while on tour, and once with Bruce Springsteen during the The Joshua Tree Tour. It was also sung during the U2 360° Tour at the Rose Bowl at the end of their song I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
- Andy Madadian, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora recorded a version of this song (available only on web) in 2009 as a musical message of "worldwide solidarity with the people of Iran".
[edit] Chart performance
[edit] Mickey Gilley
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 22 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 3 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 3 |
[edit] Maurice White
| Chart (1985)[4] | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 6 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 11 |
| U.S. Billboard The Billboard Hot 100 | 50 |
[edit] References
- ^ "Good Rockin' Tonight." ' (c) 1995 Time-Life Video.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 325.
- ^ "The So-Called 'Flattened Seventh' in Rock". Allan Moore. Popular Music, Vol. 14, No. 2 (May, 1995), pp. 185-201. Published by: Cambridge University Press.
- ^ a b The album Maurice White on allmusic.com
[edit] External links
| Preceded by "Mother-in-Law" by Ernie K-Doe |
Billboard Hot R&B Singles number-one single (Ben E. King version) May 29, 1961 – June 19, 1961 (four weeks) |
Succeeded by "Every Beat of My Heart" by The Pips |
| 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 |
| Preceded by "Dancin' Cowboys" by The Bellamy Brothers |
Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single (Mickey Gilley version) August 9, 1980 |
Succeeded by "Tennessee River" by Alabama |
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