"Stand By Me" by Mickey Gilley

Song#:  0171
Date:  05/17/1980
Debut:  85
Peak:  22
Weeks:  18
Genre:  Country, Soundtrack



Pop Bits:  As the 80s rolled in, Gilley was in a slight slump. The mid-70s brought him seven #1 country hits but as the new decade approached the sound of country was moving towards a crossover sound and his straight-ahead country/honky tonk music was losing popularity. But the film "Urban Cowboy" would change that. Based on Gilley's Pasadena, Texas, bar, the film and its soundtrack would make the new pop-country sound extremely popular and Gilley rode that wave with this remake of the Ben E. King standard, which hit #1 on the country chart. It brought a new audience to him along with five more consecutive country #1's. Although this would be his biggest pop hit, he remained a fixture on the country chart through 1989.

ReduxReview:  Alright, let the grief head my way now. I know this is a classic song beloved by millions of people. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them. I have just never liked the song and I can't even tell you why. I can tolerate Ben E. King's original on rare occasions, but remakes like this one just make things worse. I was able to listen to this once. Don't make me cowboy up and do it again.

ReduxRating:  3/10

Trivia:  The original Gilley's bar, featured in "Urban Cowboy," was opened in 1971 - three years before Gilley's first country hit, "Room Full of Roses," would top the chart. The giant bar featuring the famous mechanical bull and small rodeo arena would be the touchstone of the "Urban Cowboy Movement" and was called the world's biggest honky tonk. It was closed in 1989 and in 1990 the bar's interior was gutted in a major fire. The property was finally razed in 2006 and is now the site of a middle school.

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