“Stand By Me” was written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller and Ben E. King, and originally recorded by King with Leiber and Stoller producing. King’s record went to #1 on the R&B Charts in 1961 and was a Top 10 hit on the U.S. pop charts twice: in 1961, and again in 1986 when used as the theme song for the movie, Stand By Me. It has over 400 recorded versions, including hits by Earl Grant, Spyder Turner, David & Jimmy Ruffin, John Lennon, Mickey Gilley, Maurice White, 4 The Cause, and Prince Royce, and was sampled on Sean Kingston’s #1 hit “Beautiful Girls,” making it the song to have charted the most times on Billboard’s Hot 100. 

“Stand By Me” received a GRAMMY Hall of Fame Award and is also on the top of the lists of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, RIAA’s Songs of the Century, and is in the top five of BMI’s most-performed songs of the 20th century. It is a favorite of major acts: U2 has performed it live with Bruce Springsteen; and Lady Gaga, with Sting. A 2008 music video featuring “Stand By Me” performed by street musicians from around the world has been viewed on YouTube over 40 million times. Its success launched a foundation called Playing For Change that builds music schools around the globe.

All bios appear as they were submitted in the year of induction or award presentation.