Roots of R&B: 'Stand By Me'

Fresh Air

NPR

Tv & Film, Arts, Society & Culture, Books

4.4 • 34.4K Ratings

🗓️ 29 August 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

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Summary

All week we're revisiting archival interviews with key figures in early rock and roll, rockabilly and R&B. Soul singer Ben E. King began his career in the ‘50s with The Drifters but it was the '61 hit "Stand by Me" that sealed his musical legacy. He spoke to Fresh Air in 1988. We also listen back to a 1991 interview with lyricist Jerry Leiber and composer Mike Stoller, who wrote and produced music for King. Plus, we'll revisit Terry Gross' 1993 interview with Jerry Wexler, the hitmaker who coined the term "rhythm and blues."

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Life is a mystery for those of faith or no faith.
0:03.6	Ye gods with Scott Carter is the podcast that makes sense of how we make sense of life.
0:09.2	Each week we talk to celebrities, scholars, and mere mortals to unearth what on earth we believe and what we don't.
0:15.3	Listen to Ye gods with Scott Carter, part of the NPR network wherever you get your podcasts.
0:21.9	This is Fresh Air. I'm David B. and Cooley.
0:24.5	Today, we continue our series of R&B, rockabilly, and rock and roll interviews from the archives.
0:30.2	And we begin with Ben E. King.
0:33.7	Ben E. King sang lead with the drifters before embarking on a solo career.
0:38.5	His voice was heard on many classic recordings from the 1950s and 60s.
0:42.8	His biggest hit was a song he wrote.
0:45.2	When the night has come and the land is dark And the moon
0:54.5	Is the only light we'll see
0:58.7	No, I won't be afraid
1:04.5	Oh, I won't be afraid
1:08.6	Just as long as you stand
1:12.7	stand by me
1:14.9	so darling darling stand by me
1:20.6	oh stand by me
1:24.8	oh stand
1:27.1	stand by me stand by me, oh, stand.
1:32.3	Stand by me, stand by me.
1:34.8	It's the sky... Stand by me made it to number four in the charts in 1961.
	...

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