DUTC#122 February 13, 2026

Feature Song: “Stand By Me”

There have been many outstanding (over 400) covers of this song done since its release in 1961, from Otis Redding, The Kingsmen (yes they did other songs besides “Louie, Louie!”), Ike & Tina Turner, and Ronnie Milsap, to Meat Loaf, to name a few, and the most recent cover (2024) from my featured artist, Stephen Wilson Jr. In a recent special features post, I talked about the different ways of learning about new music and artists, and how I came to Wilson, an artist I had never heard of before, was by “word of mouth.” Early last month I was at my granddaughter’s third birthday party and was talking to a dad who was there with his two kids, and we got to talking about music. He mentioned that he was really into this country-rock artist, Stephen Wilson Jr., for some personal reasons, and when I said that “country” in general was not my thing, he said something which immediately made me want to listen to this guy: “Don’t be fooled by what genre labels are attached to artists.” That night, I listened to the entire album and then went down the YouTube “rabbit hole” and found a live version of the cover, which is part of a longer performance/interview special done for, Live at the Print Shop, a popular YouTube series and podcast hosted by Adam Blank in a Georgia-based studio. It features live performances and interviews with both emerging and established artists. But, I’m getting ahead of myself, first the original.

Benjamin Earl King (1938-2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He began his career as one of the principal lead singers of the R&B group, The Drifters, singing the lead vocals on three of their biggest hit singles, “There Goes My Baby,” “This Magic Moment,” and “Save the Last Dance for Me,” which was their only US number 1 hit. I can hear you humming these tunes as I type! As a solo artist, King is best known as the singer and co-composer of “Stand by Me,” which became a top-ten hit two times: in 1961 and later on 1968 when it was used as the theme for the film of the same name. The film was based on a Stephen King story and was directed by Rob Reiner (RIP) L. King’s co-writers on the song were Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who went by the pseudonym, Elmo Glick, primarily because they thought it was funny and felt both their names were too long for a record label. The “Elmo” is a tip of the hat to blues legend Elmore James, and “Glick” is a nod to the character Sammy Glick from the Budd Schulberg novel, What Makes Sammy Run. King cited singers Brook Benton, Roy Hamilton, and Sam Cooke as influences for his vocals on the song. “Stand by Me” would ultimately be voted as one of the Songs of the Century, and along with “There Goes My Baby,” “Spanish Harlem,” and “Save the Last Dance for Me,” were named in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.”

Stephen Wilson Jr. (1979) is an American country and rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He was raised in Seymour, Indiana along with his brother by a single dad. Wilson was very introverted as a child, and both he and his brother were introduced to competitive boxing by their father, culminating in Golden Gloves amateur boxing competitions, which Wilson attributes for his conquering of stage fright. His early performance career started as sideline to his career as a lab scientist, which I only found out after watching the full performance/interview video! He began his career as a full-time musician, taking a job with Big Loud as a staff songwriter in 2016. When his father passed away in 2018, he decided that he would honor his dad, who had always encouraged him to pursue his musical talent as a performer instead of behind the scenes, signing with BMG and releasing his first single, “Made for This,” in 2021, which was a duet with his wife, singer Leigh Nash. This was followed by a second single, “Year to Be Young 1994 (Unplugged),” in 2022. His debut album, søn of dad, inspired by the death if his father, was released in 2023 and was re-released in 2025 as a deluxe edition, which included additional acoustic live tracks, including a new rendition of the featured song, the first track on the album. During one of the interview sessions from Live at the Print Shop, Wilson opened up about the deeply personal inspiration behind his cover of this song, a track that he said has resonated with fans and helped him honor the memory of his late father. The connection to the song came to him while watch the movie mentioned above, and after his father’s death he began singing the song in his living room, eventually transforming it from a haunting tune into something more resembling a hymn. For myself, his live performance of this song is the epitome of an artist making a song his or her own.

I first listened to his cover on the album, and was instantly mesmerized by this rendition, which oozed soul, passion, and talent, both vocal and instrumental. Then I watched the live version and…I will let you fill in the rest, but watch the interviewer’s face as he is sitting opposite Wilson during his performance.  Enjoy!

Ben. E King. “Stand by Me” 1961 original.

Ben E. King. “Stand by Me” remastered version.

Stephen Wilson Jr. “Stand by Me” cover 2024.

I am including the full video of from Live at the Print Shop just in case you want ot follow me down the “rabbit hole!” You won’t be disappointed

Los Angeles 2026