45 of 100: Stand by Me

The other evening I watched the movie Ghostlight, about a man who's lost his 17-year-old son to a pill overdose, and he begins to work through his grief by becoming involved with an amateur (in the true sense of the word) production of Romeo and Juliet. It's a lovely movie—and I loved it that the main actors, playing the grieving family, are an actual family in real life. 

At one point, the movie featured the song "Stand by Me," which is irresistible. So I of course had to see if Playing for Change had ever done it. And of course they had:

(I kind of love it that the opening shot is on the Santa Monica Mall, in my hometown.)

But really, there is and can never be any better version than the original, by Ben E. King from 1961: 

That YouTube site says the song was inspired by a spiritual written by Sam Cooke and J. W. Alexander called "Stand by Me Father," recorded by the Soul Stirrers with Johnnie Taylor singing lead. Here's that one:

This Rolling Stone article presents twenty of the best covers of the song, including Otis Redding and the Kingsmen. Unfortunately, most of the links no longer work, but they're searchable: like this one, of John Lennon covering the tune:

As songs go, it's pretty perfect. Again: especially in King's own version. 

When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we'll see
No I won't be afraid
Oh, I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me...