Stand By Me: Ben E King Vs. John Lennon

[TrekkiELO]

Ben E. King

 

[Lynch]

Never cared for the Lennon version .

 

[Sunny]

John Lennon

 

[Soot and Stars]

Never cared for the Lennon version .

Thank you! What I noticed about you man is even when you like an artist you aren't loyal to every song by them and you stay objective. I'm not saying others aren't but it seems like I rarely ever see the soul or Motown originals win out over their covers. I mean Ben E. King actually even wrote the song so that's double cred. I know this is primarily a rock song but rarely ever do these covers keep the soul that the originals have. I like Lennon but mostly on his own material because it's written for his voice which is limited IMO. Definitely too limited for a more soulful and dynamic song like Stand By Me IMO! Glad to see the original in the lead!

 

[Lynch]

Thank you! What I noticed about you man is even when you like an artist you aren't loyal to every song by them and you stay objective.

Much like you and Billy Corgen, er, I mean... uh.. I guess that doesn't work.





Seriously, thanks. Glad you noticed this actually as it is true. I love a lot of the stuff the Beatles did. I acknowledge them as THE single most important band/group in the history of rock, but I certainly don't worship every aspect of them and that goes into their solo careers. I like a lot of all 4 members solo stuff and at the same time will be the first to admit I'm not impressed by a lot of it either.

I'm not saying others aren't but it seems like I rarely ever see the soul or Motown originals win out over their covers. I mean Ben E. King actually even wrote the song so that's double cred. I know this is primarily a rock song but rarely ever do these covers keep the soul that the originals have. I like Lennon but mostly on his own material because it's written for his voice which is limited IMO. Definitely too limited for a more soulful and dynamic song like Stand By Me IMO! Glad to see the original in the lead!

Well said. Lennon sounds like late-Beatles Lennon here, which is fine for some stuff but for Motown, it simply doesn't work (for me).

 

[The Beatles]

Thank you! What I noticed about you man is even when you like an artist you aren't loyal to every song by them and you stay objective. I'm not saying others aren't but it seems like I rarely ever see the soul or Motown originals win out over their covers. I mean Ben E. King actually even wrote the song so that's double cred. I know this is primarily a rock song but rarely ever do these covers keep the soul that the originals have. I like Lennon but mostly on his own material because it's written for his voice which is limited IMO. Definitely too limited for a more soulful and dynamic song like Stand By Me IMO! Glad to see the original in the lead!

Its not that im unobjective or biased, but I'm not really a Motown kind of guy and Lennon's version is more rockin.

 

[Kuaizi]

I went with the original... Lennon's is good though still, but doesn't have nearly as much soul~~

 

[snowblue]

I hadn't heard Ben E King's version for a few years so I listened carefully to both and I definitely prefer Lennon's version....and no, I'm not a huge Beatles fan.

King's version is too smooth for me. Lennon's is edgier and has more emotion, IMO. I also love the guitar work!

 

[ComfortablyNumb]

Ben E King.

 

[fielding]

To me, originals always beat out the covers that ANY band/artists does of the song. I always prefer original songs over covers...maybe that's just me. Ben E. King it is for me...