Stand By Me

I think most people are pretty familiar with this song. It was written by Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller. It's based on a spiritual song called Lord Stand by Me, and has apparently been covered 400 times.  It was originally released in 1961. It reached number 1 on the R&B charts, number 4 on the pop charts and number 27 on the UK charts. It was re-released in 1986 following the Stand by Me movie, and a Levi Jeans ad, after which, it peaked at number 9 on the US pop charts and number 1 on the UK charts. It was named the fourth most recorded song of the 20^th century by BMI. Rolling Stone has ranked it number 122 on their 500 greatest songs of all time list. And it has also received a Towering Song Award from the Song writers Hall of Fame.

 So, I'm pretty sure everybody knows which cover I'm featuring. I've actually been planning on doing this one for a while, and since the last two posts where Paul posts I figured, I’d do one that featured John to balance things out.

John released his cover in 1975. It appeared on his album Rock 'n' Roll. His version reached number 20 on the Top 100 and number 30 in the UK. It did better in Canada making it to number 10.

Ben E. King:

John Lennon:

Ben E. King totally wins this one. I like John's version. I enjoy how he says stand by me extra times, but It's just not as good.