In 1969 while the Rolling Stones were in a Los Angeles studio mixing "Gimme Shelter" from their 'Let it Bleed' album, they thought it would be great to have the (now well known) "Rape, Murder, it's just a shot away" part of the song sung by a female singer (I presume they had the gospel style in mind). Anyway, it was the middle of the night but that didn't stop Jack Nitzsche from phoning his friend Merry Clayton and explaining that if she wasn't busy - some guys from England needed her to sing on one of their tracks. She said she was in bed, and heavily pregnant as well. Basically, the answer was no and even though she didn't know who they were, she was eventually persuaded by her husband who said it could be good for her.
In an interview on NPR's All Things Considered, Mick Jagger recalls her arriving in curlers and she just knocked it off in two or three takes. The band were obviously impressed. In fact, their excited reaction can be heard in the background on one of the takes.
Merry Clayton was the daughter of a pastor. So she was brought up singing in her father's church in New Orleans before recording with such artists as Bobby Darin, the Supremes and even Elvis... as well as being a member of Ray Charles' backing singers group. Her CV was quite impressive even before this late night phone call.
Back at the studio, Merry was curious about the "Rape/Murder" lyrics but when they explained the lyrics were part of the theme of the song. She accepted that and proceeded. The rest is history.....
While the performance became one of the most memorable vocal performances in rock music, there was a tragedy to follow the visit to the studio. She lost her baby in a miscarriage - possibly due to the stress of the late night session, although I haven't found anything to prove that. She has spoken publicly about not being able to listen to "Gimme Shelter" for a while after - because of the miscarriage.
"Gimme Shelter" encapsulates a changing world at the end of the 60's. The Vietnam war protests, political and racial assassinations... generally, a bleak outlook on the future. The death of Brian Jones and the violence at their Altamont Raceway concert, a day after the release of 'Let it Bleed', just added to those ominous times.
It should be noted that her name has been misspelt as Mary on some of the releases but the true spelling is Merry. She was born on Christmas day, 1948 - so that may explain it.
Merry Clayton recorded her own version of "Gimme Shelter" in 1970.
A little more below.....
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