Stand By Me, 30 years on

I thought about this movie today after stumbling for no good reason onto this post of Wil Wheaton's about the 25th anniversary of the film--a post that is quite good and which I recommend reading.  I remember entering the theater with very low expectations for the movie, feeling it win me over, and then being absolutely delighted and bowled over by the ending.

And then, of course, there's the song.  I love and have blogged the John Lennon cover, but tonight it has to be the Ben E. King original.



This weekend is a new-movie wasteland, so it might be time to do a back-to-the-eighties double feature at home.  It just might.

He had many hits, but one stands out

Thursday, the wonderful musician Ben E. King died at the age of 76.  He created quite a few hit songs--check out this Rolling Stone article for many you may not realize he was singing--but one, "Stand By Me," was so magnificent that it towers above the others.



Many other great artists have so loved this song that they could not resist covering it.  My favorite of those covers is one I've posted here before, this version by John Lennon.



Rest in peace, Ben E. King.