Ben E. King - Stand by Me

Stand by Me by Ben E. King, Music Video, Lyrics and Review

“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.

Ben E. King - Stand by Me Lyrics

When the night has come, and the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we will see
No, I won’t be afraid, oh, I won’t be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me
So darlin’, darlin’ stand by me
Oh stand by me
Oh stand, stand by me, stand by me

If the sky that we look upon should tumble and fall
Or the mountain should crumble to the sea
I won’t cry, I won’t cry, no, I won’t shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me
And darlin’, darlin’ stand by me
Oh stand by me
Whoa stand now, stand by me, stand by me
*Solo*

And darlin’, darlin’ stand by me
Oh stand by me
Oh stand now, stand by me, stand by me

If the sky that we look upon should tumble and fall
Or the mountain should crumble to the sea
I won’t cry, I won’t cry, no, I won’t shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me
And darlin’, darlin’ stand by me
Oh stand by me
Whoa stand now, stand by me, stand by me
So darlin’, darlin’ stand by me
Oh stand by me
Oh stand now, stand by me, stand by me
Whenever you’re in trouble won’t you stand by me
Oh stand by me
Whoa stand now, oh stand, stand by me…

Ben E. King - Stand by Me Review and Info

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.

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. It also reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart on its re-release, originally reaching #27 on its first release.

“Stand by Me” was ranked number 121 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 1999, BMI named it as the fourth most-performed song of the 20th century, with about 7 million performances.

John Lennon recorded his version of the song for his 1975 album Rock ‘n’ Roll. Lennon’s cover of “Stand by Me” was his last hit prior to his five-year retirement from the music industry.

source wikipedia.org

This entry was posted on Friday, January 11th, 2008 at 5:22 am.