Originally recorded by:  Ben E. King


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, no I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me

And darlin', darlin', stand by me, oh now now stand by me
Stand by me, stand by me

If the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
And the mountains should crumble to the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry, no I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me

And darlin', darlin', stand by me, oh stand by me
Stand by me, stand by me, stand by me-e, yeah

Whenever you're in trouble won't you stand by me, oh now now stand by me
Oh stand by me, stand by me, stand by me

Darlin', darlin', stand by me-e, stand by me
Oh stand by me, stand by me, stand by me

DOCUMENTATION

This started as an old Gospel song that King re-wrote. He wanted The Drifters to record it, but the group's manager rejected it. After leaving The Drifters, King brought it to the legendary songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who polished it into a hit. The bassline at the beginning was Stoller's idea. 
This was used in the 1986 movie of the same name starring River Phoenix. The film was based on a short novel by Stephen King called The Body. The movie was a hit and propelled the song back to the charts. 
When this was first released in 1960, it charted US #4 and UK #27. When it was re-released to coincide with the movie, it hit US #9 and UK #1. It found a new audience who had never heard it before and proved to be a timeless classic. 

Other performers who have covered Stand By Me:
John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Meatloaf, T Rex, Muhammed Ali

Rick performed this song during his stint for Smokey Joe's Cafe in October 1999.  He has also performed it a few times in concert including in Harris, MI on 6/17/00 (2nd show) and Kenner, LA on 6/22/00 in the middle of Don't Talk to Strangers.