Day 95 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Derrick Morgan - Stand By Me

It's not very often that a cover of a song is better than the original but my perspective is a little skewed... almost everything done in a reggae style sounds sweeter to my ears.  Case in point, today's tune by the great Derrick Morgan covering "Stand By Me."  "Stand By Me," originally written and performed by the great American soul and R&B singer Ben E. King in 1961 and familiar to anyone born in the last 75 years... it's a nice song, a sweet message, a timeless ode to friendship and brotherhood but I've always thought it was a little somber.  In my opinion, it was always missing something and that something was a reggae beat.  Produced by Bunny Lee and released in 1969 with an upbeat, chugging and somewhat introspective rhythm; Derrick Morgan's rendition gets it right!  Besides Roy Richards harmonica take on the same rhythm "Death Rides A Horse," which I featured years ago in a Spooktacular, is one of my all-time favorite early reggae songs so that doesn't hurt things either.  But you might not want to just take my word for it because like I stated above, my opinion is a little skewed.