A tough question about a classic song... Stand By Me
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This is only vaguely Beatles related (and only Beatles related at all because Lennon covered this song), but I was wondering if of you music buffs could solve my little mystery regarding ?Stand By Me?. I have a version that says it?s by the Drifters. I?ve had this mp3 since 2000 and probably got it on Napster back when that was a thing. But lately with my knowledge about classic mid-20th century music expanding, I?ve noticed a few errors in the titling of songs I acquired previously. Examples: - I had Aretha Franklin listed as performing ?Rescue Me?? I also had the same track listed properly as Fontella Bass. - I had Willie Dixon listed as performing ?I Just Want to Make Love to You?? I also had the same track listed properly as Muddy Waters (As a Stones fan, I went looking for the original, and went by songwriter, then got misled by itunes, downloading it off an album billed as Dixon but it?s full of songs written, not performed by him? anyway?) - I had Elvis listed as performing Crazy Little Thing called Love? I also had the same track properly listed as Dwight Yoakam (and of course I have the Queen version). Seriously, all this time I thought that was an Elvis song. - I had a version of ?Stand by Me? listed as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. I also had the same track listed properly as Ben E. King. Anyway, this Drifters track is really vexing me, because as I read, King presented it to the Drifters and they didn?t want to record it, so King did, and that version became a mega hit that everyone knows, and was the basis for the hundreds of covers that have been done over the years. King?s version is about 2:52 long. This version I?m trying to figure out is 3:50 long. It starts with some acoustic guitar and some orchestral sounds. The singer?s voice is a bit on the raspy side, but only a bit. Here?s the evidence (none is conclusive) I used Soundhound, an app on my phone, that listens to clips of music and tells you what it is. It says it?s the Drifters. But there?s a chance it?s using faulty internet info. I checked youtube for versions of Stand by me that were within 10 seconds of 3:50. I found one that, again, says it is by the Drifters, and it is the version that I have in my mp3 collection, but there is no info on it, and the comments don?t help either. If you search youtube for ?stand by me drifters?, what you find is a few clips of the Ben E. King version (2:52-ish) listed as Drifters. Indicating that there is indeed some misinformation about this song online. I checked the song?s entry on Wikipedia, where it lists a few dozen more prominent cover versions. None of the ones it lists appear to be the one I have. Also, if the Drifters recorded it, you?d think that would be prominent, right? Especially considering King was originally a Drifter! If you search Wikipedia in the Drifters article as well as the Drifters discography article, there is no mention at all of Stand By Me. You?d think if they recorded it, it would be a single, and it?s not listed as a single, nor is it listed as an album track (though that album list looks short and may be incomplete) If you search discogs for ?drifters stand by me? there?s one on a compilation called ?Forever Gold? from 1999, with no picture. No track lengths either. I found a preview of this album on Bestbuy, and the song matches the one I have. Then there?s this one:
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That is definitely not Ben E. King. Here he is: http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=stand+by+me+ben+e+king&mid=5D5E145287CCC92D0B5F5D5E145287CCC92D0B5F&view=detail&FORM=VIRE6 This says it is The Drifters: http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=stand+by+me+the+drifters&view=detail&mid=8CCF2AEE1CF1DC13C5038CCF2AEE1CF1DC13C503&first=0&FORM=NVPFVR It sounds quite different (and faster) than the one you posted. Wiki says there were over 400 versions and yeah, they don't list The Drifters. So why doesn't their discography list it? Very strange!
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Nancy R:
That is definitely not Ben E. King. Here he is: http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=stand+by+me+ben+e+king&mid=5D5E145287CCC92D0B5F5D5E145287CCC92D0B5F&view=detail&FORM=VIRE6 This says it is The Drifters: http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=stand+by+me+the+drifters&view=detail&mid=8CCF2AEE1CF1DC13C5038CCF2AEE1CF1DC13C503&first=0&FORM=NVPFVR It sounds quite different (and faster) than the one you posted. Wiki says there were over 400 versions and yeah, they don't list The Drifters. So why doesn't their discography list it? Very strange!
Thanks! That just makes things even more difficult. The first one is definitely accurate, it's the King version. The second one may or may not be the drifters. The voice actually sounds fairly close to the voice in the one I'm trying to identify, but they are clearly different recordings. I was ready to actually call these two pieces the same recording, and blame the differences on them being separate mixes/masters, but the bass notes at the start are definitely held shorter in the King version. So, the one you posted, is that the Drifters, an alternate take by King, or someone else? Who knows? Mine, I'm still curious about.
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well, I think this is settled. Thanks to itunes. I looked up "drifters stand by me". There are about 40 results. Some of them say "Drifters featuring Ben E. King" and they are the original 2:50 version. Some of them say Drifters with no mention of King, and they are also the original. But about 2/3 of them say Drifters and are in fact the version I have that says Drifters. I am open to the possibility that itunes is wrong about stuff, since it seems that 60% of the store is low budget no name label compilations, but it's impossible to fathom that they could be this wrong. This track has to be the drifters. Also, the splinter group, Billy Lewis' Nu Drifters, also records a separate version, adding to the likelihood that this is a bit of a Drifters standard since an original member, King, wrote it.
