Stand by Me

Stand by Me is a song originally performed in 1961 by American singer-songwriter Ben E. King and written by him, along with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who together used the pseudonym Elmo Glick. King claims that the title is drawn from and was inspired by the spiritual "Stand by Me Father," which was recorded by the Soul Stirrers with Johnnie Taylor singing lead.

It was included on the soundtrack of the same-named 1986 motion picture, and a related music video featuring King and actors River Phoenix and Wil Wheaton was made available to promote the movie. Additionally, it was showcased in a 1987 Levi's 501 jeans commercial in Europe, which helped it achieve greater success there. Its estimated royalties in 2012 were $22.8 million, ranking it as the sixth-highest-earning song of its time.

The song has been covered by numerous artists, including Otis Redding, John Lennon, Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali), 4 the Cause, Tracy Chapman, members of the Playing for Change project, Florence and the Machine, and the Kingdom Choir. There have been over 400 recorded versions of the song.

Artist: Ben E. King

Released: April 24, 1961

Genre: R&B, soul