"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 ...

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 music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is common ...

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 ...

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 soundtrac ...

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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

, 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 ...

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'', Joey Trotta in '' Toy Soldiers'', ...

, 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 Preservat ...

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 libra ...

, 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 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, formed i ...

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, ...

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 Youn ...

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 ...

play this song before home matches, while fans raise their scarves above their heads and sing the lyrics.

History and production

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 a ...

hymn " Stand by Me" by

Charles Albert Tindley Charles Albert Tindley (July 7, 1851 – July 26, 1933) was an American Methodist minister and gospel music composer. His composition "I'll Overcome Someday" is credited as the basis for the U.S. Civil Rights anthem "We Shall Overcome". Another ...

, 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

, 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, Fi ...

" 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 i ...

on double bass, Phil Kraus on percussion, and Gary Chester 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

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! ''Don't Play That Song!'' is the third studio album by Ben E. King. The album was released by Atlantic Records as an LP in 1962 and was home to five notable singles: " Stand by Me", "Ecstasy", "First Taste of Love", "Here Comes the Night", and t ...

'' 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, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'''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 i ...

. 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, 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 last television interview Tomorrow show 1975 (cropped 2)

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 onli ...

'' 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

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'' 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''. 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 ov ...

for Nilsson's album '' Pussy Cats'', 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''. ''

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 adverti ...

'' 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 ...

'' writer Marc Hogan 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 *

- 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 s ...

– 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 ...

– 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 Fergus ...

– 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. ''Dow ...

– 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 19 ...

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 handwritten (and often 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 intent. The writer of a ...

s."

Playing for Change version

Documentary filmmaker Mark Johnson, who also created the

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: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

, 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 Moy ...

'', 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. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...

in New York City. The music video was uploaded via the Playing for Change

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and 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 Google, and is the second mo ...

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 cou ...

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 Bachata may refer to: * Bachata (music), a genre of Latin American music **Traditional bachata, a subgenre of bachata music * Bachata (dance), a dance style from the Dominican Republic * Bachatón, a hybrid bachata/reggaeton music style * "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 ...

, 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 Le ...

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 498,7 ...

, 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. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, 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 ...

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.

(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.

covered the song for his 1964 debut album '' Pain in My Heart''; Kenny Lynch's 1964 version stayed on the top 100

for seven weeks, peaking at number 39 on the week of May 7–13, 1964, its fourth week. Spyder Turner's 1967 version climbed to number 3 on the US ''

'' 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 ...

, 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 Wi ...

'' (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 ''

'' Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart and No. 11 on the US ''

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 Canadian Adult Contemporary Songs chart and No. 8 on the New Zealand Singles chart. Julian Lennon, 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

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 originato ...

at the

John F. Kennedy Stadium (Philadelphia) John F. Kennedy Stadium, formerly Philadelphia Municipal Stadium and Sesquicentennial Stadium. was an open-air stadium in Philadelphia that stood from 1926 to 1992. The South Philadelphia stadium was on the east side of the far southern end of ...

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 Econo ...

and by TVB. 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, H ...

, Alex To,

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 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. It was shown before '' Tom and Huck'' in theaters. A version of the song was released by American R&B group

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

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'' 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 (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 (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 livestream video, viewed by almost 800 users. Skylar Grey 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 des ...

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 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

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