"Stand by Me" is a song originally performed in 1961 by American singer-songwriter
Ben E. King
Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later i ...
and written by him, along with
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Lyricist Jerome Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933) were American songwriting and record producing partners. They found success as the writers of such crossover hit songs as " Hound Dog" ( ...
, who together used the pseudonym Elmo Glick. According to King, the title is derived from, and was inspired by, a
spiritual written by
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...
and
J. W. Alexander called "Stand by Me Father," recorded by
the Soul Stirrers
The Soul Stirrers were an American gospel music group, whose career spans over eighty years. The group was a pioneer in the development of the quartet style of gospel, and a major influence on soul, doo wop, and Motown, some of the secular musi ...
with
Johnnie Taylor
Johnnie Harrison Taylor (May 5, 1934 – May 31, 2000) was an American recording artist and songwriter who performed a wide variety of genres, from blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel to pop, doo-wop, and disco.
In 2022, Taylor was ...
singing lead. The third line of the second verse of the former work derives from
Psalm 46:2c/3c.
It was featured on the
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
of the 1986
film of the same name, and a corresponding
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
, featuring King along with actors
River Phoenix
River Jude Phoenix (; August 23, 1970 – October 31, 1993) was an American actor, musician and activist.
Phoenix grew up in an itinerant family, as the older brother of Rain Phoenix, Joaquin Phoenix, Liberty Phoenix, and Summer Phoenix. He ha ...
and
Wil Wheaton
Richard William Wheaton III (born July 29, 1972) is an American actor. He portrayed Wesley Crusher on the television series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', Gordie Lachance in the film ''Stand by Me (film), Stand by Me'', Joey Trotta in '' ...
, was released to promote the film. It was also featured in a 1987 European commercial of
Levi's 501
Levi Strauss & Co. () is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's () brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, to ...
jeans, contributing to greater success in Europe. In 2012, its royalties were estimated to have topped $22.8 million (£17 million), making it the sixth highest-earning song as of its era. 50% of the royalties were paid to King. In 2015, King's original version was inducted into the
National Recording Registry
The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservati ...
by the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
, as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", just under five weeks before his death. Later in the year, the 2015 lineup of
the Drifters
The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/Soul music, soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, f ...
recorded it in tribute.
There have been over 400 recorded versions of the song, performed by many artists, notably
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...
,
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
, Cassius Clay (later
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...
),
4 the Cause
4 the Cause were a 1990s Germany based band from Oak Park, Illinois, near Chicago. The band consists of the family members Shonna Edwards , Bennie Edwards , Reshonda Landfair and Jason Edwards.
Background
Founded in March 1993 under the name Young ...
,
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. Chapman is best known for her hit singles "Fast Car" and "Give Me One Reason".
Chapman was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she released ...
, musicians of the
Playing for Change
Playing For Change is a multimedia music project, featuring musicians and singers from across the globe, co-founded in 2002 by American Grammy award-winning music producer/engineer and award-winning film director Mark Johnson and film producer/ph ...
project,
Florence and the Machine
Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band that formed in London in 2007, consisting of lead vocalist Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, harpist Tom Monger, and ...
, and
the Kingdom Choir
The Kingdom Choir is a British gospel choir based in London. It was founded by choir conductor and workshop leader Karen Gibson. After performing for more than 20 years, the choir became world-famous after being invited to perform at the wedding o ...
.
A-League
A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
club
Melbourne Victory FC
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...
play this song before home matches, while fans raise their scarves above their heads and sing the lyrics.
History and production
![Ben E](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Ben_E._King_1990s.jpg)
In 1960, Ben E. King was inspired to update the early 20th-century
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
hymn "
Stand by Me" by
Charles Albert Tindley, which was based around
psalm 46
Psalm 46 is the 46th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin V ...
, "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
The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/Soul music, soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, f ...
, who passed on recording it. After the "
Spanish Harlem
East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fif ...
" 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
Alexander Emil Caiola (September 7, 1920 – November 9, 2016) was an American guitarist, composer and arranger, who spanned a variety of music genres including jazz, country, rock, and pop. He recorded over fifty albums and worked with some of ...
and Charles McCracken on guitars,
Lloyd Trotman
Lloyd Nelson Trotman (May 25, 1923 – October 3, 2007), born in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, was an American jazz bassist, who backed numerous jazz, dixieland, R&B, and rock and roll artists in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He resided ...
on double bass, Phil Kraus on percussion, and
Gary Chester
Gary Chester (born Cesario Gurciullo; October 27, 1924 – August 17, 1987) was an American studio drummer, author, and teacher. Beginning in the 1960s, he played on hundreds of records for bands such as The Coasters, The Monkees, and The Lovin ...
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 number 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 number 4 on June 16, 1961, and a 1986 re-release coinciding with its use as the theme song for the
film of the same name following its appearance in the film, when it peaked at number 9 on December 20, 1986 – January 3, 1987. The song is also heard in the televised advertisement of
Levi's 501
Levi Strauss & Co. () is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's () brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, to ...
jeans. In the commercial, a man wearing a black denim jeans is able to enter a nightclub whose policy is "no blue jeans". "Stand by Me" also topped the charts in Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom upon its re-release. In the latter country, the song topped the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in January 1987, mostly because of the jeans TV commercial, originally peaking at number 27 on the UK Singles Chart on its original release in Britain in 1961.
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
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
''
's list of the
500 Greatest Songs of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...
. 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
The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work, represent, and maintain, the her ...
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. In February 2019, the
Smooth Radio network in the United Kingdom called it one "of the best love songs of the 1960s".
Structure
The song uses a version of the common
chord progression
In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...
now called the
50s progression
The 50s progression (also known as the "Heart and Soul" chords, the "Stand by Me" changes, the doo-wop progression and the "ice cream changes") is a chord progression and turnaround used in Western popular music. The progression, represented in Ro ...
, which has been called the "'Stand by Me' changes" after the song.
Chart performance
For the year-end charts in the US, the song was the number 63 song of 1961 and number 67 of 1987.
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
All-time charts
Certifications and sales
John Lennon version
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
recorded his version of the song for his 1975 album ''
Rock 'n' Roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...
''. Lennon's remake became a single three weeks after the album's release
and 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
''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. ...
'' in 1975. ''
Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' said of it that "John's serenading guitar chords herald this bright new production of one of rockdom's favorites," and that it displays Lennon's "magical, mysterious voice...at his finest."
On the week of May 3, 1975, this version was in its second of two weeks at the peak position number 20 on the US Hot 100, right in front of King's comeback hit "
Supernatural Thing – Part I" at number 21. Both tunes fell off the top 40 the next week and off the chart the week after that. Lennon's version stayed on top 100 of the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
for seven weeks, peaking at number 30 on its fourth week on the week of May 18–24, 1975. It peaked at number 13 on Canada's ''
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
'' Top Singles chart on the week ending May 3, 1975 and stayed on the peak position the following week. It peaked at number 11 on the
Official New Zealand Music Chart
The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Musi ...
on the week of July 14, 1975.
The single's B-side track is "Move Over Ms. L", initially intended for Lennon's previous album ''
Walls and Bridges
''Walls and Bridges'' is the fifth studio album by English musician John Lennon. It was issued by Apple Records on 26 September 1974 in the United States and on 4 October in the United Kingdom. Written, recorded and released during his 18-month ...
'' but was cut from the final lineup due to his dissatisfaction with his early takes.
Keith Moon
Keith John Moon (23 August 19467 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour and addiction to drugs and alcohol.
Moon grew ...
covered "Move Over Ms. L" for his 1975 solo album ''
Two Sides of the Moon
''Two Sides of the Moon'' is the only solo album by English rock musician Keith Moon, drummer for the Who. It peaked at No. 155 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album title was credited to Ringo Starr. Rather than using the album as a chance to ...
''.
Before the parent album's official release, during Lennon's March 1974 sessions with
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ove ...
for Nilsson's album ''
Pussy Cats
''Pussy Cats'' is the tenth album by American singer Harry Nilsson, released by RCA Records in 1974. It was produced by John Lennon during his " Lost Weekend" period. The album title was inspired by the bad press Nilsson and Lennon were getting ...
'', Lennon recorded two takes of the song in collaboration with former Beatles member
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
. McCartney performed on the drums; Lennon on guitar. The unreleased recordings would eventually be included in a bootleg album ''
A Toot and a Snore in '74
''A Toot and a Snore in '74'' is a bootleg album consisting of the only known recording session in which John Lennon and Paul McCartney played together after the break-up of the Beatles in 1970. First mentioned by Lennon in a 1975 interview, mo ...
''.
''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' regarded Lennon's version as "the best version since the original."
''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
'' writer
Marc Hogan
Marc Hogan (born October 3, 1981) is an American journalist. He currently works as a senior staff writer at Pitchfork.
Hogan has been a music critic at Pitchfork since 2004. He has contributed to a number of other publications, including '' SPIN ...
found Lennon's version "more affecting (just barely)" than the original due to the "acoustic guitar and Lennon's fervent vocals". A 2007 book ''The Words and Music of John Lennon'' by Ben Urish and Ken Bielen called Lennon's version one of the "stronger" tracks of the album.
Journalist and book author Robert Webb in 2013 called this version one of the "greatest cover versions".
Personnel
Personnel per John Lennon Website
*
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
- vocals, acoustic guitar
*
Jesse Ed Davis
Jesse Edwin Davis III (September 21, 1944 – June 22, 1988) was a Native American guitarist. He was well regarded as a session artist and solo performer, was a member of Taj Mahal's backing band and played with musicians such as Eric Clapton, J ...
, Peter Jameson – electric guitar
*
Eddie Mottau
Eddie Mottau (born December 10, 1943) is an American guitarist. His career has included membership in the duo Two Guys from Boston, The Bait Shop, Bo Grumpus, Jolliver Arkansaw, and Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary. He was a sought after ...
– acoustic guitar
*
Ken Ascher
Kenneth Lee Ascher (born October 26, 1944 in Washington, D.C.) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger who is active in jazz, rock, classical, and musical theater genres — in live venues, recording studios, and cinema productio ...
– piano
*
Klaus Voormann
Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann (born 29 April 1938) is a German artist, musician, and record producer.
Voormann was the bassist for Manfred Mann from 1966 to 1969, and performed as a session musician on a host of recordings, including "You're So V ...
– bass guitar
* Joseph Temperly,
Frank Vicari
Frank Vicari (April 11, 1931 – October 20, 2006) was a jazz saxophonist.
Career
After serving in the Air Force from 1951–55, where he played in service bands, Vicari returned to New York City and played in bands until he joined Maynard Fergu ...
– saxophone
* Dennis Morouse – tenor saxophone
*
Jim Keltner
James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America".Howard Sounes. ''Down ...
– drums
*
Arthur Jenkins – percussion
Mickey Gilley version
Mickey Gilley
Mickey Leroy Gilley (March 9, 1936 – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he started out singing straight-up country and western material in the 1970s, he moved towards a more pop-friendly sound in the 1 ...
released his version of the song in 1980, and it was included in the movie ''
Urban Cowboy
''Urban Cowboy'' is a 1980 American romantic Western film directed by James Bridges. The plot concerns the love-hate relationship between Buford Uan "Bud" Davis (John Travolta) and Sissy (Debra Winger). The film's success was credited for spur ...
''. It was his eighth No. 1 on the US country charts and also reached No. 22 on the US Hot 100. This version also peaked at No. 3 in Canadian ''RPM'' Country Singles in September 1980 and No. 51 in ''RPM'' Top Singles the following month. The song would "become one of Gilley's
signature song
A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...
s."
Playing for Change version
Documentary filmmaker Mark Johnson, who also created the
Playing for Change
Playing For Change is a multimedia music project, featuring musicians and singers from across the globe, co-founded in 2002 by American Grammy award-winning music producer/engineer and award-winning film director Mark Johnson and film producer/ph ...
project based on an idea he had in the late 1990s and established the eponymous Foundation, witnessed street performer Roger Ridley (died November 16, 2005) singing "Stand by Me" in
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
, in March 2005. Johnson was inspired to film Ridley's performance
and another thirty-six musicians' individual performances of the song "around the world"
and then mix the clips into one music video.
The music video was featured in an October 2008 episode of ''
Bill Moyers Journal
''Bill Moyers Journal'' was an American television current affairs program that covered an array of current affairs and human issues, including economics, history, literature, religion, philosophy, science, and most frequently politics. Bill Mo ...
'', where Johnson was promoting the documentary film ''Playing for Change: Peace Through Music'',
which includes the music video and was shown as part of the 2008
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...
in New York City.
The music video was uploaded via the Playing for Change
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel in November 2008, garnering more than 10 million views in May 2009.
The total amount of views of the YouTube video increased to more than 24 million in December 2010, 30 million in March 2011, 40 million in March 2012, 50 million in some time between 2012 and 2014, 60 million in 2014, 74 million in May 2015, 100 million in 2017, and 140 (or 142) million in March 2020.
The musicians' performance of the song would be later included in their 2009 debut album ''Songs Around the World''. The debut album has nine other tracks, comes with the seven-track bonus DVD, and sold about 26,000 units on its first week, 85% of sales from online sales and "nontraditional retail stores (including
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain.
As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...
locations)" and 25% from outside the United States.
Prince Royce version
Prince Royce
Geoffrey Royce Rojas (born May 11, 1989), known professionally as Prince Royce, is an American singer. At an early age, Royce took an interest in music, and in his teenage years began experimenting with music and writing poetry. By age nineteen ...
recorded a
bachata version of the song as his debut single, changing parts of the lyrics into Spanish. This version peaked number eight on US Hot Latin Tracks and number one on US Tropical Airplay. At the
Latin Grammy Awards of 2010
The 11th Annual Latin Grammy Awards were held on Thursday, November 11, 2010, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the third time the annual event had taken place at this location. The eligibility period for recordings t ...
, Royce performed the song live along with Ben E. King. Royce's remake received a
Lo Nuestro award for "
Tropical Song of the Year". Royce performed the song live again at a July 2016
Philips Arena
State Farm Arena (formerly Philips Arena) is a multi-purpose arena located in Atlanta, Georgia. The arena serves as the home venue for the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Atlanta Hawks. It also served as home to the National Hockey Leag ...
concert in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Georgia alongside a male fan, at a 2017
Amway Center
Amway Center is an indoor arena located in Downtown Orlando, Florida. The arena is home to the Orlando Magic of the NBA, the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL, and the Orlando Predators of the National Arena League.
Amway Center hosted the 2012 N ...
concert in
Orlando, Florida
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
, as the second song for the 2019
RodeoHouston
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, also called RodeoHouston or abbreviated HLSR, is the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world. It includes one of the richest regular-season professional rodeo events. It has been held at NRG S ...
concert, and at the third night of the
2020 Democratic National Convention
The 2020 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that was held from August 17 to 20, 2020, at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and virtually across the United States. At the convention, delegates of ...
. He also made a dance version for his debut album as well.
Other notable versions
1960s and 1970s
Adriano Celentano
Adriano Celentano (; born 6 January 1938) is an Italian musician, singer, composer, actor, and filmmaker. He is dubbed "''il Molleggiato''" (the springy one) because of his dancing.
Celentano's many albums frequently enjoyed both commercial and ...
's 1962 Italian version, "Pregherò" (meaning "I will pray") reached number 1 on the Italian charts.
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...
(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
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...
". It was included on the CD Beat Of The Pops Vol 34.
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...
covered the song for his 1964 debut album ''
Pain in My Heart
''Pain in My Heart'' is the debut album of soul singer-songwriter Otis Redding. Redding recorded for Volt Records, a subsidiary of Stax Records, based in Memphis, Tennessee. Volt LPs were initially issued on the Atco label, which released this a ...
'';
Kenny Lynch
Kenneth Lynch, OBE (18 March 1938 – 18 December 2019) was an English singer, songwriter, entertainer, and actor. He appeared in many variety shows in the 1960s. At the time, he was among the few black singers in British pop music. He was app ...
's 1964 version stayed on the top 100
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
for seven weeks, peaking at number 39 on the week of May 7–13, 1964, its fourth week.
Spyder Turner
Spyder Turner (born Dwight David Turner, February 4, 1947, Beckley, West Virginia) is an American soul singer. Turner was raised in Detroit, and sang in doo wop groups and high school choirs while young. He first began recording after winning a ...
's 1967 version climbed to number 3 on the US ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' Black Singles chart, number 12 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...
, and number 10 in Canada.
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
and
Jimmy Ruffin
Jimmy Lee RuffinRibowsky, Mark (2010), ''Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations'', Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, p. 89. . (May 7, 1936 – November 17, 2014) was an American soul singer, and ...
(credited as The Ruffin Brothers) remade the song for their only collaborative album ''
I Am My Brother's Keeper
''I Am My Brother's Keeper'' is a 1970 album by Motown vocalists and siblings Jimmy Ruffin and David Ruffin,Ribowsky, Mark (2010). ''Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations''. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wil ...
'' (1970). Released as a single, the version stayed at its peak position number 61 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for two weeks on the weeks ending November 28 (its sixth week) and December 5, 1970 (seventh week). It also peaked at number 24 on ''Billboard''
Soul Singles on the week ending November 21, 1970, its fourth week.
1980s
Maurice White
Maurice White (December 19, 1941 – February 4, 2016) was an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter, and producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, and served as the ...
's 1985 cover from his
self titled album reached No. 6 on the US ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart
and No. 11 on the US ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Adult Contemporary Songs
The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...
chart.
White's version also topped at No. 5 on the
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
Canadian Adult Contemporary Songs chart and No. 8 on the
New Zealand Singles chart.
Julian Lennon
Julian Charles John Lennon (born John Charles Julian Lennon; 8 April 1963) is an English musician. He is the son of Beatles member John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia, and he is named after his paternal grandmother, Julia Lennon. Julian in ...
, son of John Lennon, performed the song at a spring 1985 concert, seen in the 1985 home video release ''Stand by Me: A Portrait of Julian Lennon''. This version later appeared on the
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
to the 1986 film, ''
Playing for Keeps''.
U2 performed the song with
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
at the
John F. Kennedy Stadium (Philadelphia) concert on September 25, 1987, during
the Joshua Tree Tour
The Joshua Tree Tour was a concert tour by the Irish rock band U2, which took place during 1987, in support of their album ''The Joshua Tree''. The tour was depicted by the video and live album '' Live from Paris'' and in the 1988 studio/live ...
.
Anita Mui
Anita Mui Yim-fong (; 10 October 1963 – 30 December 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actress who made major contributions to the Cantopop music scene and received numerous awards and honours. She remained an idol throughout her career, and i ...
recorded the Cantonese version for her 1987 Cantonese album ''Mung Leui Gung Tseui''. In 1988, Mui's version was awarded as one of top ten gold songs by Hong Kong telecommunication stations
RTHK
Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service in Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Econom ...
and by
TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and ...
. After Mui's death in 2003, Hong Kong singers and actors
Miriam Yeung
Miriam Yeung (born 3 February 1974) is a Hong Kong actress and Cantopop diva. As of 2020, she has released more than 35 albums and has starred in more than 40 films. In 2012, Yeung won the Award for Best Actress at the 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards ...
,
Denise Ho
Denise Ho Wan-see (born 10 May 1977) is a Hong Kong-based Cantopop singer and actress. She is also a pro-democracy and Hong Kong human rights activist. In 2012, Ho came out as lesbian, the first mainstream Cantonese singer to do so. In 2014, Ho ...
,
Alex To
Alex To (born Alejandro Delfino on 10 February 1962) is a Hong Kong- and Taiwan-based singer and actor. He is the winner of the 4th annual New Talent Singing Awards in 1985. He has released numerous albums throughout his career and mainly ha ...
,
Edmond Leung
Edmond Leung Hon-man (; born 5 November 1971) is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter, record producer, actor and television host.
Background
Born in British Hong Kong on 5 November 1971, he was a youth development footballer and coach until 17. At ag ...
, band members of
Grasshopper
Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago.
Grasshopp ...
,
Andy Hui
Andy Hui Chi-on (born 12 August 1967) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. Hui is considered one of the most successful Hong Kong singers, with an extensive list of Cantonese and Mandarin hits to his credit.
Early life
Hui's mother is Vietnamese. ...
, and
William So
William So Wing Hong (; born 24 September 1967) is a Hong Kong actor and a Cantopop singer. He began his musical career by participating the New Talent Singing Awards in 1985 and won the competition as the first runner up to Alex To. His perfor ...
performed Mui's version at ''Anita Mui. 10. Memory. Music. Gather.'' (), the December 30, 2013 tribute concert for Mui.
1990s
In a 1995 music video entitled ''Disney's
Timon & Pumbaa in "Stand by Me"'', Timon performs the song with slightly altered lyrics, while every time Timon sings the chorus, Pumbaa survives physical mishaps and ferocious creatures. A trio of frogs then finish the song at the end. It's the only media in the series to use
digital ink and paint
Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation.
Proce ...
. It was shown before ''
Tom and Huck
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
'' in theaters.
A version of the song was released by American R&B group
4 the Cause
4 the Cause were a 1990s Germany based band from Oak Park, Illinois, near Chicago. The band consists of the family members Shonna Edwards , Bennie Edwards , Reshonda Landfair and Jason Edwards.
Background
Founded in March 1993 under the name Young ...
as their debut single in 1998. It was a
number-one hit in Switzerland, reached number two of the Austrian and German singles charts and number three in New Zealand, and was a top-ten hit in several other countries.
2010s
Florence and the Machine
Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band that formed in London in 2007, consisting of lead vocalist Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, harpist Tom Monger, and ...
recorded the song for the soundtrack and trailer of ''
Final Fantasy XV
is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix. The fifteenth main installment of the ''Final Fantasy'' series, it was released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2016, Microsoft Windows in 2018, and as a launch title ...
'' in 2016. The band released its EP ''
Songs from Final Fantasy XV
English indie rock band Florence and the Machine have released five studio albums, three live albums, six extended plays, 24 single (music), singles, four promotional singles and 29 music videos.
Florence and the Machine released their first ex ...
'' on August 12, 2016, containing the band's remake. The cover peaked at number fifteen on the Billboard Hot Rock Singles in December 2016. In February 2017, voice actors of ''Final Fantasy XV''
Ray Chase (Noctis),
Adam Croasdell
Adam Croasdell is a Zimbabwean-born English actor. He played the role of Dr. Al Jenkins on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' and has appeared on shows such as ''Blood of Zeus'', ''Castlevania'', ''Monarch'', '' NCIS'' and ''Preacher''. He has a ...
(Ignis),
Robbie Daymond
Robert Daymond Howard (né Niles; born March 11, 1982) is an American voice actor who is mostly known for his roles in audiobooks, video games, and animation, best known for voicing Jesse Cosay in the second season of '' Infinity Train'', Spider ...
(Prompto), and
Max Mittelman
Maxwell Braden Mittelman (born September 5, 1990) is an American voice actor who provides voices for English versions of anime, animation and video games. Some of his major roles include Saitama in ''One-Punch Man'', Kousei Arima in ''Your Lie ...
(Tredd Furia of the 2016 film ''
Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV'') performed King's song all together while streaming their ''FFXV''
playthrough
This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players.
0–9
A
...
in a
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...
livestream video, viewed by almost 800 users.
Skylar Grey
Holly Brook Hafermann (born February 23, 1986), known professionally as Skylar Grey, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Mazomanie, Wisconsin. In 2004, at the age of 17, Grey signed a publishing deal with Universal Music ...
recorded the song which appeared for a Budweiser commercial for
Super Bowl LII
Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles defeated the American Football Conferen ...
, with proceeds for the song to go to the
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...
.
The Kingdom Choir
The Kingdom Choir is a British gospel choir based in London. It was founded by choir conductor and workshop leader Karen Gibson. After performing for more than 20 years, the choir became world-famous after being invited to perform at the wedding o ...
performed the song at the
wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was held on Saturday 19 May 2018 in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom. The groom is a member of the British royal family; the bride is American and previously worked as an ...
on May 19, 2018. Their version debuted and peaked at number one on the ''Billboard''
Hot Gospel Songs
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...
chart on the week ending June 2, 2018.
It also entered the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number 94 on its first and only week, the week of May 25–31, 2018. It is included in their debut album, ''Stand by Me'', released later that year.
2020s
On October 24, 2021,
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...
performed the song alongside the audience at a Big Night Live concert in Boston as a tribute to his mother Beverly Tate, who died at age 70 earlier on the same night.
Chart performances
Maurice White
4 the Cause
=Certifications (4 the Cause)
=
Florence + the Machine
The Kingdom Choir
See also
*
List of number-one R&B singles of 1961 (U.S.)
*
List of UK Singles Chart number ones
The UK Singles Chart is a weekly record chart which for most of its history was based on single sales from Sunday to Saturday in the United Kingdom. Since July 2014 it has also incorporated streaming data, and from 10 July 2015 has been based o ...
*
List of number-one singles of 1987 (Ireland)
This is a list of singles which have reached number one on the Irish Singles Chart in 1987.
*27 Number Ones
*Most weeks at No.1 (song): "Hold Me Now" - Johnny Logan, "You Win Again" - The Bee Gees (4)
*Most weeks at No.1 (artist): U2 (6)
*Most ...
*
List of number-one Billboard Hot Tropical Songs of 2010
The Latin Tropical Airplay, ''Billboard'' Tropical Songs is a chart that ranks the best-performing tropical songs of the United States. Published by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine, the data are compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Syst ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stand By Me
1961 singles
1975 singles
1980 singles
1985 singles
1998 debut singles
2010 debut singles
Songs written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Soul ballads
Bachata songs
Songs written by Ben E. King
Song recordings produced by John Lennon
Song recordings produced by Jim Ed Norman
Song recordings produced by Sergio George
Ben E. King songs
John Lennon songs
Otis Redding songs
Mickey Gilley songs
Prince Royce songs
Jay and the Americans songs
Florence and the Machine songs
RPM Top Singles number-one singles
UK Singles Chart number-one singles
Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
Number-one singles in Switzerland
Atco Records singles
Apple Records singles
Epic Records singles
Columbia Records singles
RCA Records singles
Island Records singles
Spanglish songs
The Walker Brothers songs
1961 songs
Top Stop Music singles
United States National Recording Registry recordings
Final Fantasy music
1960s ballads
Kenny Lynch songs