The 1961 Ben E. King song inspired by the spiritual “Lord Stand by Me” was “Stand by Me.” King wrote it with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who were jointly credited under the pseudonym Elmo Glick.
The song grew from King’s gospel background and from earlier religious music. Sources connect it to the spiritual “Stand by Me Father,” associated with Sam Cooke, J. W. Alexander and the Soul Stirrers, as well as Charles Albert Tindley’s hymn “Stand by Me.” The secular recording retained the devotional idea of steadfast support while reshaping it into a romantic and universal pop song.
King originally wrote the song with the Drifters in mind, but the group did not record it. After a 1960 session for “Spanish Harlem,” King played the unfinished composition for Leiber and Stoller, who brought the studio musicians back to record it. The track was recorded on October 27, 1960, then released in 1961.
“Stand by Me” reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Hot R&B Sides chart. Its renewed appearance in the 1986 film Stand by Me introduced it to another generation, making the title easy to confuse with the movie rather than the original hit single.