Bon Jovi: "Stand By Me" with Farsi Intro
On June 24, Iranian Superstar Andy Madadian went into an LA recording studio with Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and American record producers Don Was and John Shanks to record a musical message of worldwide solidarity with the people of Iran.
This version of the old Ben E. King classic is not for sale—it was not meant to be on the Billboard charts or even manufactured as a CD…..it's intended to be downloaded and shared by the Iranian people…to give voice to the sentiment that all people of the world stand together….the handwritten Farsi sign in the video translates to "we are one".
If you know someone in Iran—or someone who knows someone in Iran—please share this link:
It's not surprising in the least, but something about Islamic fundamentalism has always pressed the rock 'n' roll buttons. Deceased Dead Boys front man Stiv Bators, for instance, was known for telling the Ayatollah Khomeini to go fuck himself during concerts in the late '70s and early '80s. That Bators ended up sharing a death date (June 3) with the supreme oppressor somehow makes sense.
In a 2002 feature that's as or more relevant than ever, Reason's Charles Paul Freund explained how commercial culture liberates Islam—and the West. Read "In Praise of Vulgarity."