Do I really need static front page to show one specific post?

I’d like my website to have a specific post stay up on the front page permanently as an introduction, just that one post. I’ll have the recent entries in the sidebar, which I already figured out how to do.

What I want to know is, since I’m not trying to create a fancy entry, can I just control the loop somehow to make a specific post show on the front page? Or do I need to get the static front page plug in?