Skip to main content

TL;DR:

  • The backup singer on The Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” thought of the Vietnam War while singing it.
  • “Gimme Shelter” didn’t chart at all in the United States.
  • It was more popular in the United Kingdom.

The Rolling Stones‘ “Gimme Shelter” includes vocals from one of the most famous backup singers who ever lived. The singer didn’t know who The Rolling Stones were when she got the offer to work with them.
Subsequently, she revealed what she thought about “Gimme Shelter.”

The connection between The Rolling Stones’ ‘Gimme Shelter’ and Lynyrd Skynyrd

Merry Clayton is a backup singer most known for her work on The Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama.” During a 2013 interview with The A.V. Club, Clayton revealed she didn’t know who The Rolling Stones were when she was asked to work on “Gimme Shelter.” The interviewer felt that it was impossible to be unaware of the band in 1968.

“It was very easily possible,” she said. “I didn’t know who The Rolling Stones were. I really, really didn’t. I’d heard bits and pieces, but I didn’t know who they were. I knew who The Beatles were, but I had no idea who The Rolling Stones were.”

Merry Clayton was thinking of horrible things while working with The Rolling Stones

When Clayton first heard “Gimme Shelter,” she interpreted it as a protest song. Subsequently, she asked Mick Jagger if he wanted to sing it a certain way. He told her to sing it any way she wanted.

“So I don’t know what came over me, 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,” she recalled. “It’s like a cry to the world: ‘Rape, murder, it’s just a shot away.’

“‘Rape, murder,’ it’s like I’m screaming to the world, and you guys have to give us shelter, or we’re all gonna die,” Clayton added. “You know? And 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.” When Clayton finished her performance, she thanked The Rolling Stones for collaborating with her. “Gimme Shelter” made her proud.

Related

‘The Lord of the Rings’: Why The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger Didn’t Play Frodo in the 1978 Film

How ‘Gimme Shelter’ performed on the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom

“Gimme Shelter” was never a single, so it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune appeared on the album Let It Bleed. That record peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and spent a total of 44 weeks on the chart.

The Official Charts Company reports “Gimme Shelter” reached No. 76 in the United Kingdom and stayed on the chart for two weeks. On the other hand, Let It Bleed topped the U.K. chart and lasted on the chart for 29 weeks.

“Gimme Shelter” is arguably The Rolling Stones’ best song, and it wouldn’t be the same without Clayton’s voice.

How to get help: In the U.S., call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to connect with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.

Best in Entertainment