Submitted by: Conchita on Jan 7, 2008

Language: English (Intermediate) 
Category: Music

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Description: 1961) "Stand by Me" is the title of a song performed by Ben E. King and written by Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The song is based on a 1955 Gospel song of the same name by The Staples Singers. Leiber and Stoller gave it a more contemporary sound. Since its release, there have been many cover versions of the song, though none have achieved the fame of the original. When he wrote the song, King had had no intention of recording the song himself. King had written the song for The Drifters, who passed on the chance to record it. In the documentary History of Rock 'n' Roll, Ben E. King says that he never planned on recording it by himself. It wasn't until after the Spanish Harlem recording session that he had some studio time left over. The producer asked if he had any more songs and King played Stand By Me on the piano for him. The producer liked it and called all the studio musicians back in to record it. If Mr. 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 2 years. King's version was a Top Ten hit on the U.S. charts twice—in its original release in 1961, 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 and also in an advertisement for Levi Jeans. It reached #8 in the United World Chart. "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. The song was recently sampled on Sean Kingston's single "Beautiful Girls". The song is one of three mentioned by name in Eric Carmen's song Make Me Lose Control. _________________________________________ Cover versions. Muhammed Ali recorded it in 1964 with a song called "I Am The Greatest" as the flip side. Ali was the heavyweight boxing champion at the time. Both John Lennon and The Kingsmen have covered versions of this song, Lennon in his 1975 album Rock 'n' Roll, and The Kingsmen in various concert performances. Punk band Pennywise have also covered the song on their 1989 EP Wildcard. Otis Redding also covered the song once. U2 covered the song frequently during that group's Joshua Tree and Zoo TV tours between 1987 and 1993, notably in one performance in Philadelphia where Bruce Springsteen joined the band on stage for the song. During U2's 1997-1998 PopMart Tour, the band often played snippets of "Stand by Me" after "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". It has also been covered by Marvin Gaye and the punk rock group Green Day, who often used elements of the song during a medley with The Isley Brothers' "Shout" during their 2005 American Idiot tour. Adriano Celentano covered the song as Pregherò. The song was also used for a 1995 short film starring Timon and Pumbaa that was released in front of the Jonathan Taylor Thomas film Tom and Huck. This odd 3-minute short features Timon singing the song, while Pumbaa is constantly hit by objects every time Timon says "Stand by me". The song was also a featured song in the hit movie Urban Cowboy where it was performed by Mickey Gilley. The Fugees released it too, as did Sam Cooke. Stand by me has also been covered by London based beatboxer "Faith SFX". In 2001, Banyo Queen, a rap tune by Philippine rapper Andrew E., sampled the song to the point that the tune uses the first line of the song ("When the night has come"). "Beautiful Girls", a 2007 single by Sean Kingston, samples the famous bass riff and chord progression. In 2007 the Spanish group D'NASH included a cover of "Stand by Me" in the reissue of their first album Capaz de Todo (under the title Capaz de Todo - Mision Eurovision). In July, 2007 Incubus covered "Stand by Me" in Indianapolis, Chicago and Detroit and in August 2007, Cleveland, and in September 2007, Chula Vista. It is also featured on the rare bootleg A Toot and a Snore in '74.