SONG: Stand By Me
ARTIST: Ben E. King
YEAR: 1962
Listen to it here:
THE SONG:
“Stand by Me” was written by legendary songwriting team Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (but used the pseudonym Elmo Glick) along with Ben E. King. King had been inspired to update the gospel hymn of the same name but didn’t intend on singing the song himself, but had planned for it to be sung by the Drifters, but they passed on it. After having recorded “Spanish Harlem” in 1960, King had a bit of time left in the studio, so Lieber and Stoller asked him if he had anything else he wanted to record while there. King played “Stand by Me” for them on the piano, and they liked it, so they got the musicians back in and laid that track down. The song hit number 1 on the R&B charts and was a Top Ten hit in the US not once but twice – in 1961 when the song was originally released and again in 1986 when the movie Stand by Me was released. The song has been covered about a billion times by artists all over the world.
THE ARTIST:
Benjamin Earl Nelson was born on September 28, 1938 in Henderson, North Carolina, but moved to Harlem, New York at age 9. Like many a great singer, Benjamin started singing in his church choir, and in school he formed a doo-wop group called the Four B’s, who made the occasional appearance at the Apollo Theatre. At 20 years old, Benjamin joined another doo-wop group called the Five Crowns, and in the same year the Drifter’s manager fired all the original Drifters and replaced them with the Five Crowns, so Ben became a Drifter, although he only recorded 13 songs with the group. In 1960 Ben decided to embark on a solo career, and to distance himself more from being a group member, he took on the stage name Ben E. King. Success came quickly, as he had a hit on his hands as early as 1961 with “Spanish Harlem”. His next hit however was a song for the ages – “Stand By Me”. Ben E. had other hits through much of the 1960s, even with the increasing popularity of rock and roll. He would continue to perform and lend his vocals to more songs, and saw a resurgence in popularity in 1986 with the release of the movie Stand By Me, for which Ben E.’s hit was the theme song. King passed on April 30th, 2015 at the age of 76.
FACTOID CORNER:
“Stand by Me” was voted as one of the Songs of the Century by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Ben E. King was one of comedian George Carlin’s favourite artists.
KELLY’S REVIEW:
Well shit. How in the world do you objectively review this song? Maybe one of the most famous songs of the western world? I sat and closed my eyes while listening to it a few times over to try and pick up things I hadn’t noticed before. I think part of what makes this song so great is you had the perfect confluence of different factors – King’s soulful, sometimes even gritty voice paired with a simple, repetitive bass and drum line throughout the entire song, that triangle, very subtle background singers, and that string section. Maybe separately or had the arrangement been done differently it would have had a much lesser effect. It’s a love song, but it doesn’t have to be a romantic love song – having someone by your side is what we all want in not only a partner, but also a friend! Who hasn’t felt totally empowered, like they can do anything when they have the supportive pillar of a person with them? Ben’s voice, like said before, is great – he has fun with the relatively simple melody. The strings would normally seem like a dicey choice, but it works so well in this song, even with the string soli part in the middle of the song – it wouldn’t be the same song without it! Lastly, but not least – the bass line. I would be hard pressed to find a bassline more recognizable or iconic than this one. What grade 8 high school jazz band bassist has not impressed their friends and colleagues with this number?? This song is so classic, and for good reason.
HOLLY’S REVIEW:
Such a classic! This is one of those songs you know right away as soon as the opening couple of notes are played. But is it any good? The short answer is yes. From being possibly the first song on this list with a memorable bass line, to some real emotion in the singing from Ben E. King, the smooth backing singers, the cool percussion, and even the forgivable strings. I feel like even looking at this song from a 2023 lens, it can still be considered pretty unique song that stands out from everything else on offer at the time. I really like Ben E. King’s voice and the feel of the song is great – it’s not a sappy love song, even when the strings saw away in the middle, but a strong, empowering kind of love song. This song definitely deserves its place on this list, and if we ever list our top 100 out of these 1,000 songs, I feel like it will be highly placed! If you haven’t listened to this song in a while, do yourself a favour and go back and have a listen!
Average mark out of 10:
Holly: 9/10
Kelly: 9/10
Other notable versions of this song:
John Lennon’s version:
Prince Royce with some Latin flair:
Listen with us!
Link to 1,001 Songs to Hear Before You Die spotify playlist:
Link to the Best of the Best 1,001 Songs to Hear Before You Die spotify playlist:
Holly & Kelly Music Review 