Gimme Shelter
"Gimme Shelter" | |
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Song |
"Gimme Shelter" is a song by the rock and roll band The Rolling Stones. It first appeared as the opening track on the band's 1969 album Let It Bleed. Although the first word was spelt "Gimmie" on that album, subsequent recordings by the band and other musicians have made "Gimme" the customary spelling.
Inspiration and recording
Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Gimme Shelter" was created from the combined efforts of both the singer and the guitarist. Richards had been working on the song's signature opening in London while Jagger was working on the film Performance. The song takes the form of a churning mid-tempo rocker. It begins with a rhythm guitar intro by Richards, followed by Jagger's lead vocal. On the recording of the album, Jagger said in a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone, "Well, it's a very rough, very violent era. The Vietnam War. Violence on the screens, pillage and burning. And Vietnam was not war as we knew it in the conventional sense..." On the song itself, he concluded, "That's a kind of end-of-the-world song, really. It's apocalypse; the whole record's like that."[1]
The lyrics of the song speak of seeking shelter from a coming storm, painting a picture of devastation and social apocalypse while also talking of the power of love:
Oh, a storm is threat'ning, My very life today; If I don't get some shelter, Oh yeah, I'm gonna fade away
War, children, it's just a shot away, It's just a shot away; War, children, it's just a shot away, It's just a shot away
A much higher-pitched second vocal track is sung by guest vocalist Merry Clayton. Of her inclusion, Jagger said in the 2003 book According to... The Rolling Stones: "The use of the female voice was the producer's idea. It would be one of those moments along the lines of 'I hear a girl on this track - get one on the phone.' " Clayton gives her solo performance, and one of the song's most famous pieces, after a solo performed by Richards, repeatedly singing "Rape, murder; It's just a shot away, It's just a shot away," and finally screaming the final stanza. She and Jagger finish the song with the line, "Love, sister, it's just a kiss away." To date it remains one of the most prominent contributions to a Rolling Stones track by a female vocalist.[2]
Recording of the song took place at London's Olympic Sound Studios. in February and March 1969. Clayton's piece was recorded at Los Angeles' Sunset Sound & Elektra Studios in October and November of that same year. Nicky Hopkins performed pianos for the song while the Stones' producer Jimmy Miller provided percussion. Charlie Watts performed drums while Bill Wyman performed bass. Jagger performed harmonica for the piece and sang backup vocals with Richards and Clayton. Guitarist Brian Jones was absent from these sessions. An unreleased version features only Richards providing vocals.[3]
Although popular, "Gimme Shelter" was never released as a single. It quickly became a staple of their live show, first featuring throughout their 1969 American Tour. It has been included on many compilation releases, including both Hot Rocks 1964-1971 and Forty Licks, and concert versions appear on the Stones' albums No Security and Live Licks.
"Gimme Shelter" was placed #38 on the list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004.
Cover versions
"Gimme Shelter" | |
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Song |
- Ruth Copeland on her debut album Self Portrait, performed with George Clinton's Parliament, in 1969 (reissued on The Invictus Sessions in 2002)
- Original backing singer Merry Clayton recorded her own version in 1970, and it hit the Billboard Hot 100.
- Grand Funk Railroad on the album Survival in 1971; a #61 U.S. hit as a single
- The Sisters of Mercy in 1983, on the B-side of their single "Temple of Love" (released on the album Some Girls Wander by Mistake in 1992)
- The Divine Horsemen, a Los Angeles post-punk band, included a note-perfect cover on their 1987 album "Middle of the Night," with co-lead singer Julie Christensen doing a spooky take on Merry Clayton's wailing.
- The Goo Goo Dolls on their 1989 album Jed
- The Inspiral Carpets in 1990
- John Mellencamp covered the song during his 2001 Cuttin' Heads tour.
- Meat Loaf covered the song during live shows in the 1980s with vocalist Leslie Aday (aka 'Leslie Loaf') duetting Merry Clayton's parts opposite her husband
- Holy Soldier, a 1980s Christian metal band from Los Angeles, California, on the album Last Train in 1992
- Hawkwind, studio album It Is the Business of the Future to Be Dangerous, 1993
- Michael Hedges, album Strings on Steel, 1993
- Thunder (band) on their album Their Finest Hour (And A Bit) Released in October 1995
- The Hellacopters released a cover in 1997 on their 7" "Like No Other Man", featured in Cream of the Crap, Vol. I.
- Ashley Cleveland on her album You Are There, 1998
- Rio Reiser, German singer on his album Am Piano 2, 1999
- Rock band The Accident Experiment on the maxi-single "Mind Death Machine"
- Legião Urbana, on their album Música P/ Acampamentos
- Turbonegro's cover was an unreleased song that ended up on there rarity collection Small Feces.
- The London Symphony Orchestra on the album Symphonic Music of The Rolling Stones. This version of the song is heard in the Children of Men (2006) trailer.
- Ann Wilson of Heart on her first solo album Hope and Glory
- Rockas Viejas, Argentinian Group, album Piedras en el Camino, 2005
- Streetlab, techno remix, released January 30, 2007
- Patti Smith released the song as a single from her April 2007 cover album Twelve.[4]
- Keith Urban and Alicia Keys at Live Earth at Giants Stadium on July 7, 2007
- Angélique Kidjo and Joss Stone covered the song for Kidjo's album Djin Djin and performed it live at the Live Earth concert in Jonnesburg, South Africa on July 7, 2007
- Stereophonics released a cover version as the B-side to "My Friends" in December 2007
- Sheryl Crow incorporated elements of "Gimme Shelter" into live performances of her song "Gasoline", which appeared in its original form on the album Detours.
- Twilight Dementia released a reinterpretation of this song on their 2007 debut album Twilight Dementia
"Putting Our House in Order" project
In 1993 a Food Records project collected various versions of the track by the following bands and collaborations, the proceeds of which went to the Shelter charity's "Putting Our House in Order" homeless initiative. The versions were issued across various formats, and had a live version of the song by The Rolling Stones as a common lead track to ensure chart eligibility.
"Gimme Shelter" (Pop version - Cassette single)
"Gimme Shelter" (Alternative version - CD single)
- New Model Army and Tom Jones
- Cud and Sandie Shaw
- Kingmaker
"Gimme Shelter" (Rock version - CD single)
"Gimme Shelter" (Dance version - 12" single)
- 808 State and Robert Owens
- Pop Will Eat Itself vs Gary Clail vs Ranking Roger vs The Mighty Diamonds vs The On U Sound System
- Blue Pearl (produced and mixed by Utah Saints)
Miscellaneous
- Merry Clayton's name is misspelled on the album, appearing as 'Mary.'
- At about 2:59 into the song, Clayton's voice cracks twice from the strain of her powerful singing; once during the second refrain, on the word "shot" from the last line, and then again during the first line of the third and final refrain, on the word "murder".
- At 3:04 it happens agains very clearly and you can hear somebody in the studio shouting a spontaneous "Woo!".
Notes
- ^ Wenner, Jann. "Jagger Remembers", Rolling Stone (December 14 1995). Accessed 20 May 2007.
- ^ Unterberger, Richie. "Gimme Shelter". allmusic.com (2007). Accessed 20 May 2007.
- ^ "Gimme Shelter". timeisonourside.com (2007). Accessed 20 May 2007.
- ^ "Patti Smith: Gimme Shelter". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-03-04.