March 10, 1975. I was 17 years old, and a junior in high school. In those days we still grasped to any glimmer of hope that the Beatles might get back together. But it’d been five years, and it seemed less likely with every passing season.
We were grateful each Beatle continued making solo projects, and in those first few years they were quite plentiful, (about one per Beatle per year at this point). Every one of them sounded Beatley, so in essence, it felt like Fab production had increased four-fold!
So it was great when on this date 44 years ago John released the single “Stand By Me” from his album “Rock and Roll”. This project would be his last of new music until 1980. (John released his compilation disc “Shaved Fish” in October of ‘75.)
I immediately took a fancy to “Stand By Me”. It wasn’t until months later I learned it was not an original, but a cover of a 1961 hit by Ben E. King. Indeed, the entire “Rock and Roll” album is a collection of oldies cover tunes.
Upon further review, I found the original song was derived from a 1959 Sam Cooke spiritual called “Stand By Me Father”. The song was recorded by The Soul Stirrers, and in fact some of the words from both songs were inspired by Psalm 46:2,3.
I gotta wonder. Did John know that?
Psalm 46:2,3
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.