Ben E. King, lead singer of The Drifters, wanted to write a song to honor his wife-to-be, Betty. He drew inspiration from the 1905 gospel hymn “Stand by Me,” by Charles Albert Tindley, which in turn was based on the words of Psalm 46:2: “Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.”
In 1960, King sang the first verses to legendary producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who added the famous doo-wop bass line and worked out the rest of the lyrics.
After The Drifters turned the song down, King released it solo the following year. The tune climbed to the Top 10 in the United States and went on to be covered by more than 400 artists, including John Lennon, Otis Redding and, most surprisingly, Muhammad Ali.
When the 1986 film of the same title featured the original recording, the song amassed an even greater worldwide following, cementing its status as a wedding standard. And a national treasure: “Stand by Me” was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress.
Most important? The song has proved as enduring as the love that inspired it: Ben E. King and his wife, Betty, stood by each other for more than 50 years—until his death in 2015.
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