Friday Music

In 1960, Ben E. King repurposed an older gospel hymn by Charles Albert Tindley loosely based-upon Psalm 46 -  will not we fear, though the Earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.   King composed this for the Drifters who subsequently took a pass. 

Later in the year King had some studio time left over and the producers, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (think Supremes and others), inquired if he had any more songs.  King played it on the piano for them. They liked it and called the studio musicians back in to record it.  File this under really smart move.

Remarkably, there have been more than 400 recorded covers of the song including the soundtrack of the 1986 film Stand by Me. In 2015 King's original version was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress, as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".  Later that year – and only five weeks before his death - the 2015 line up of the Drifters recorded it as a tribute to him. 

Enjoy this really nicely-done acoustic cover….