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Written by: King, Elmo Glick, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller
Produced by: Leiber, Stoller
Released: April '61 on Atco
Charts: 14 weeks
Top spot: No. 4

King wrote "Stand By Me" when he was still the lead singer of the Drifters -- but the group didn't want it. As King recalled, the Drifters' manager told him, "Not a bad song, but we don't need it." But after King went solo, he revived "Stand By Me" at the end of a session with Leiber. "I showed him the song," King said. "Did it on piano a little bit. He called the musicians back into the studio, and we went ahead and recorded it." "Stand By Me" has been a classic ever since.

Appears on: The Very Best of Ben E. King (Rhino)

Next: House of the Rising Sun

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