Stand by Me "Stand by Me" is a song originally performed by American singer-songwriter Ben E. King, written by King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. According to King, the song title is derived and was inspired by a spiritual composition by Sam Cooke called "Stand by Me Father" (although Mike Stoller has stated differently). This spiritual was sung by The Soul Stirrers with Johnnie Taylor singing lead. There have been over 400 recorded versions of "Stand by Me" performed by many artists. The song has been featured on the soundtrack of the 1986 film Stand by Me. It is arranged for brass quintet: the melody is shared amongst the 4 upper instruments. The tuba plays the well known bass "riff"(which is given to the trombone for 8 bars to give the tubist a breather!) Enjoy!