Watch Ben E. King, River Phoenix, and Wil Wheaton Jam Out in the 1986 Video for "Stand By Me"
Singer and songwriter Ben E. King — who died this week at the age of 76 — had several hits during both his solo career and his time with the famed R&B group the Drifters. But he was best known for “Stand By Me,” the gorgeous 1961 ballad he performed and co-wrote (and which was later covered by everyone from John Lennon to Muhammad Ali). The song became a Top 10 hit once again in 1986, when director Rob Reiner used it on the soundtrack for Stand By Me, his hit film about four boys who journey into the woods together to find a dead body. Two of the movie’s stars — Wil Wheaton and the late River Phoenix — even made a charmingly awkward appearance in the song’s music video. Watch it above, and try not to shed a tear.
