Musical Montage: Ben E. King “Stand By Me”
1986’s Stand By Me is an 80s classic and one of the best Stephen King adaptations of all time. Based on his short story “The Body”, the movie stars River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Jerry O’Connell, and Corey Feldman as four friends who set out from their hometown of Castle Rock, OR in 1959 to find the body of a missing boy in the neighboring wilderness. The boys encounter junkyard dogs, leeches, and town bully Ace Merrill, played by Kiefer Sutherland, on their quest and also grow up and learn more about themselves. The soundtrack for the movie was filled with classic period music, the obvious stand-out being Ben E. King’s iconic “Stand By Me”, which gave the movie its title. The song was a hit in 1961, reaching #4 on the Billboard charts and 25 years later, thanks to the film, it jumped back onto the charts, peaking at #9. With the renewed popularity and interest, Ben E. King even recorded a music video for the song, which featured Wil Wheaton and River Phoenix watching the legend perform in some sort of abstract cafe/music classroom(?) before joining him to dance and play guitar. Check it out below.
