Gimme Merry

Even though she had other high-profile gigs like being a Raelette and singing on Joe Cocker's "With A Little Help From My Friends" if Merry Clayton had only done the one thing she'd be assured a place in rock history. That one thing was her extraordinary, hair-raising backing vocals on The Rolling Stones' classic "Gimme Shelter." Clayton was supposedly pregnant when she sang on the record and there's a story going around that she put so much effort and emotion into her intense performance she had a miscarriage when she got home afterwards. Personally that sounds like an urban legend to me but I've read it in a few places.

Merry recorded her own version of " Gimme Shelter" and an album of the same name in 1970. That version is really tremendous but it's popped up on a few other blogs before so I've chosen a couple of other tasty cuts. "Good Girls" is a swinging funky soul number with punchy horns and organ playing by none other than Billy Preston. "I Ain't Gonna Worry My Life Away" is a big ballad Merry co-wrote with Preston. This is a dramatic and grand number that gives Merry the chance to really show off her vocal chops as well as her Gospel roots (her father was a Baptist minister) with the big, emotional ending.

The "Gimme Shelter" album is out of print unfortunately (as are the other four solo albums Merry released in the 70s) but it's well worth looking out for.

[Download]
Good Girls - Merry Clayton
I Ain't Gonna Worry My Life Away - Merry Clayton