‘Stand By Me’ Song Getting Feature Documentary Treatment

Valerie Complex
·4 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: More than a hit song, “Stand by Me,” by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller and Ben E. King, has transcended the notion of a “standard” — it’s been recorded more than 1,000 times and has made more appearances on the Billboard Hot 100 chart than any other song.

Music and media producer Spencer Proffer and his music-anchored production company Meteor 17 have been selected to produce the authorized feature-length documentary about the iconic song and its significant global impact for over six decades. Emmy and Grammy nominated director J. Kevin Swain — who has directed music videos and other projects for and with Mary J. Blige, Wynton Marsalis, Queen Latifah — has been selected by Proffer to bring the story of the song to the screen.

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As part of the film, Emmy- and Grammy-winning producer, composer, musical director and musician Steve Jordan will produce a new version of “Stand by Me.” Jordan has worked with artists including Keith Richards, John Mayer and The Verbs.

The yet-to-be-named cinematic project follows Proffer’s acclaimed documentaries The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie, which debuted in 2022, and Reinventing Elvis: The ’68 Comeback, a documentary about the making of Elvis Presley’s seminal 1968 “Comeback Special” through the lens of legendary television producer-director Steve Binder, which debuted this year to critical praise and strong audience engagement. Both films premiered as Paramount+ originals following limited global theatrical releases.

Proffer says the film will, for the first time, powerfully reveal and share the deepest meanings behind the song and its impact on popular culture, while highlighting moments in world history that are as relevant now as they were in 1962 when the original record, produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and co-written and performed by Ben E. King, became a global hit.

With Proffer as producer, the film will be executive produced by Randy Poe, President of Leiber & Stoller Music Publishing for 38 years, and Peter Stoller, Vice President of Leiber-Stoller Productions. Mike Stoller, the song’s sole surviving co-writer, will serve as consultant, along with Ben E. King Jr. and the King family.

“Stand By Me” is an enduring work of genius and emotion,” Proffer said. “I’m honored that Mike Stoller, the Leiber and King estates and Sony Music Publishing have entrusted me with the song’s tremendous impact and legacy. Working with Mike, Peter, Randy and the King family, we’ll examine what ‘Stand By Me’ meant to people when it was first released, what it means to them now, and what we imagine it will mean to generations in the future. We’ll also explore how the song has organically inspired countless people and movements to stand by one another through turmoil and change while clinging to hope for the future.”

With a narrative running deeper than a catchy tune and cryptic verses, “Stand By Me” is woven deep into the history of world culture, entertaining audiences around the world for nearly 60 years. It’s been recorded more than 1,000 times, and has made more appearances on the Billboard Hot 100 chart than any other song in the 120-year history of Billboard magazine. “Stand By Me” also lent its title and its deep, haunting meaning to the 1986 film adaptation of Stephen King’s novella The Body, which became Stand By Me, the Oscar nominated film from director Rob Reiner.

In 2008, the song reached a new level of contemporary relevance when a video of the song created for the documentary Playing for Change: Peace Through Music, which featured “Stand By Me” performed by musicians from all over the world, amassed more than 190 million views on YouTube.

In 2012, the Songwriters Hall of Fame bestowed its prestigious Towering Song Award on “Stand By Me” at its annual awards dinner in New York City. The Hall of Fame’s Towering Song Award is presented to “the creators of an individual song that has significantly influenced our culture in unique ways over many years.”

Distribution plans for Meteor 17’s music documentary will be announced soon.

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