It was around midnight in the late fall of 1969 when a very pregnant Merry Clayton received a phone call asking her to come to the studio to record backing vocals on a song called “Gimme Shelter.” The man on the other end of the line was Jack Nitzsche, famed producer of the Rolling Stones and orchestrator of Phil Spector’s iconic “Wall of Sound” recording technique.
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At first, Clayton didn’t want to go. Did we mention she was very pregnant and it was the middle of the night? But after her husband and fellow musician Curtis May heard that Nitzsche was the one calling, he convinced his wife to dip into the studio for just an hour or two.
Merry Clayton Recalls Laying Vocals On “Gimme Shelter”
While no one can ever truly know if the record they’re cutting will be a big hit, the memory of tracking background vocals on the Rolling Stones’ 1969 song, “Gimme Shelter,” has certainly stuck in Merry Clayton’s mind. In a 2013 interview with AV Club, she recalled the exact outfit she had on: silk pajamas, a “beautiful Chanel scarf,” a mink coat nearby on the couch, and a little blush and lip gloss. After all, if these musicians and producers were pulling her from her bed in the middle of the night, she was going to be comfortable.
A limo was waiting outside Clayton’s home to escort her to the studio. When she arrived, she met Jack Nitzsche and two British men she didn’t know: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. The group exchanged pleasantries, and Clayton headed into the recording booth. The premise of the gig was simple. She would sing along during the parts that said War, children, it’s just a shot away, it’s just a shot away and Rape, murder, it’s just a shot away.
Clayton said that when she got to the line mentioning rape and murder, “I remember tapping on the mic and saying, ‘Excuse me. What is this about the raping and the murder that you want me to sing? Who’s being rapes, and who’s being murdered? What are you talking about?’ So, they give me the gist of the story of the song, and I’m saying to myself, ‘Aha. This is another protest song. This is going to be wonderful. I wonder if they know this is a protest song. They probably don’t.’”
Capturing Lightning In A Bottle In The Middle Of The Night
Merry Clayton told the Rolling Stones and their studio crew that she would sing the song twice and then head home. “I say, ‘Is there any kind of way you want me to sing the song?’ Mick says, ‘You do what you want to do, love,’” Clayton said. With that note, Clayton took off.
“I don’t know what came over me,” Clayton said. “But something came over my entire being, and I start singing the ‘rape, murder,’ and in my head is hoses and dogs being put on people, and I’m seeing the war in Vietnam and all this stuff is going on in my spirit while I’m singing this song. It’s like a cry to the world. It’s like I’m screaming to the world, ‘You guys have to give us shelter, or we’re all gonna die.’ I’m just screaming to the world, and I guess that scream and that strain on my voice just cracked like a cry to the world.”
While there’s no denying the power and groove of the original Stones version of “Gimme Shelter,” we recommend listening to Clayton’s isolated vocals at least one time. To think of the circumstances she was under—middle of the night, pregnant, only two tries to get the take—makes this already stunning guest feature that much more incredible.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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