was the song stand by me written for the movie
There have been over 400 recorded versions of the song, performed by many artists. It was featured on the soundtrack of the 1986 film Stand by Me, and a corresponding music video was released to promote the film. In 2012 it was estimated that the song's royalties had topped $US 22.8 million (£17 million), making it the sixth highest-earning song as of that time. 50% of the royalties were paid to King. In 2015 King's original version was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress, as ``culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant'', just under five weeks before his death. Later in the year, the 2015 line up of the Drifters recorded it, in tribute to him.
Stand by Me (Ben E. King song)