Song of the Day-Stand By Me

I've been thinking a lot about connections this morning. Like the concept of "connectivity" which has been an issue in Casa De Chadwick for awhile as it is about time to replace my "steam-powered" wireless router. I have always been  fascinated by how the mind works. How it connects from one topic to the next. This leads me, in a roundabout way into today's Song of the Day.

I've mostly done two things this weekend. Worked on indoor and outdoor Christmas lights. And I'm halfway through the new Stephen King novel "11/22/63" which is about a guy who travels back in time to stop the Kennedy assassination. Hefty book. Started on Thanksgiving. Can't put it down. Now, I'm a guy whose tastes are not necessarily high-brow. I am more likely to read a Stephen King novel then David Foster Wallace. Love Stephen King. Loved The Stand. Loved the Dark Tower series. Plus, I love time travel stores. Throw in the JFK assassination angle, which has always fascinated me, then you have hit my pleasure spot pretty much dead on. This book is a perfect storm of stuff that Mark Chadwick likes, circa 2011. 

But I started thinking of other Stephen King books and stories I've loved. And I thought of the story "The Body" which was from the "Different Seasons" collection and was made into the movie "Stand By Me. "Different Seasons" is a wonderful collection. 3 of it's stories have been made into movies. "The Shawshank Redemption" which is a great film. "Apt Pupil" which I haven't seen. And, of course, "The Body" whose title was changed for Rob Reiner's cinematic creation. If you haven't seen it, go out and rent it, download it, it's a great flick. A coming of age story about the summer which changed the lives of four boys, packed full of details that rang true to me when I saw it the first time. I think it stands up to repeated viewings too. 

Rob Reiner packed the soundtrack full of period oldies, and used the great Ben E. Kings's "Stand By Me" as title song. Written by Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, King intended it for his old group, The Drifters. Allegedly, it was recorded by King only after the Drifters had recorded "Spanish Harlem" and had some leftover studio time. Upon release it hit #4 on the Billboard charts (#1 RnB) and amazingly hit #9 on the pop charts when re-released 25 years later to coincide with the movie. 

I've included 3 versions. The original classic (number 121 on Rolling Stone's Top 500 song list), a shambolic Beatle's version from the Let It Be sessions and John Lennon's 1974 version which hit #20 on the singles chart. I'll stop here though I could go off in all kinds of tangents based on any of the above. 

Connections, you see.