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Written by [[Mick Jagger]] and [[Keith Richards]], "Gimme Shelter" was created from the combined efforts of 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 (film)|Performance]]''. The song is a churning mid-tempo rocker and 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."<ref>Wenner, Jann. [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/mick_jagger_remembers/page/3 "Jagger Remembers"], ''Rolling Stone'' (14 December 1995). Accessed 20 May 2007.</ref>
Written by [[Mick Jagger]] and [[Keith Richards]], "Gimme Shelter" was created from the combined efforts of 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 (film)|Performance]]''. The song is a churning mid-tempo rocker and 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."<ref>Wenner, Jann. [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/mick_jagger_remembers/page/3 "Jagger Remembers"], ''Rolling Stone'' (14 December 1995). Accessed 20 May 2007.</ref>


A 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.<ref>Unterberger, Richie. [{{Allmusic|class=song|id=t2770198|pure_url=yes}} "Gimme Shelter"]. allmusic.com (2007). Accessed 20 May 2007.</ref>
A 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, preferably one that is nine months pregnant' " 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.<ref>Unterberger, Richie. [{{Allmusic|class=song|id=t2770198|pure_url=yes}} "Gimme Shelter"]. allmusic.com (2007). Accessed 20 May 2007.</ref>


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", after which Jagger can be heard saying "Whoo!" in response to Clayton's emotional delivery. She suffered a miscarriage upon returning home, apparently due to the strain involved in reaching the highest notes.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://articles.latimes.com/1986-03-13/entertainment/ca-19857_1_career-clayton | work=Los Angeles Times | first=Don | last=Snowden | date=13 March 1986 | title=For Clayton, The Gloom Is Gone}}</ref> Merry Clayton's name was misspelled on the original release, appearing as 'Mary'.
At about 2:59 into the song, Clayton's voice cracks twice from the strain of her ultra powerful (balls) 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 "burder" (she meant to say murder, but under the intense psychological load that Mick and Keith were dumping on her with this devastatingly powerful song so full of depth and meaning her mind as well as her womb was collapsing), after which Jagger can be heard saying "Wop!" in response to Clayton's emotional delivery. Consequently, her delivery caused her not to deliver a baby some people theorize. She suffered a miscarriage upon returning home, it is theorized that the strain involved in reaching the highest notes was to blame (very likely).<ref>{{cite news| url=http://articles.latimes.com/1986-03-13/entertainment/ca-19857_1_career-clayton | work=Los Angeles Times | first=Don | last=Snowden | date=13 March 1986 | title=For Clayton, The Gloom Is Gone}}</ref> In response to this delivery, or lack there of, Jagger can be heard saying "fuck man, i mean, Keith we gave that woman a miscarriage with our depressing, ultra powerful song, why did we get a woman that was nine months pregnant?". Merry Clayton's name was misspelled on the original release, appearing as 'Mary', which Richards thought was really really funny. In the documentary [[Gimme Shelter]] Richards says during an interview "Not only did we kill her fucking baby, we couldn't even spell her name right, adding insult to what in effect was basically murder, which is what the song condemned ironically" he followed up "i mean nine months pregnant, that's basically murder right? i mean im not pro life or whatever but i mean, you've got to draw the line somewhere, right? why couldn't we leave her the fuck alone?". So not only was her "baby" dead, everybody was calling her Mary.


The song was first recorded in London at [[Olympic Studios]] in February and March 1969; the version with Clayton was recorded in [[Los Angeles]] at Sunset Sound & Elektra Studios in October and November of that same year. [[Nicky Hopkins]] played piano; the Rolling Stones' producer Jimmy Miller played percussion; [[Charlie Watts]] played drums; [[Bill Wyman]] played bass; Jagger played harmonica and sang backup vocals with Richards and Clayton. Guitarist [[Brian Jones]] was absent from these sessions. An unreleased version features only Richards providing vocals, and another extended version has also surfaced, featuring the bass much more in the forefront of the mix.<ref>[http://timeisonourside.com/SOGimmie.html "Gimme Shelter"]. timeisonourside.com (2007). Accessed 20 May 2007.</ref> A live version of the song has also been recoded with Grace slick in a music video format.
The song was first recorded in London at [[Olympic Studios]] in February and March 1969; the version with Clayton was recorded in [[Los Angeles]] at Sunset Sound & Elektra Studios in October and November of that same year. [[Nicky Hopkins]] played piano; the Rolling Stones' producer Jimmy Miller played percussion; [[Charlie Watts]] played drums; [[Bill Wyman]] played bass; Jagger played harmonica and sang backup vocals with Richards and Clayton. Guitarist [[Brian Jones]] was absent from these sessions. An unreleased version features only Richards providing vocals, and another extended version has also surfaced, featuring the bass much more in the forefront of the mix.<ref>[http://timeisonourside.com/SOGimmie.html "Gimme Shelter"]. timeisonourside.com (2007). Accessed 20 May 2007.</ref> A live version of the song has also been recoded with Grace slick in a music video format.

Revision as of 07:28, 8 April 2012

This article is about the song by The Rolling Stones. For other uses, see Gimme Shelter (disambiguation).
"Gimme Shelter"
Song

"Gimme Shelter" is a song by English rock 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 spelled "Gimmie" on that album, subsequent recordings by the band and other musicians have made "Gimme" the customary spelling. The Rolling Stones first played the song live in 1969 at Pop Go the Sixties.

Inspiration and recording

Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Gimme Shelter" was created from the combined efforts of 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 is a churning mid-tempo rocker and 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]

A 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, preferably one that is nine months pregnant' " 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]

At about 2:59 into the song, Clayton's voice cracks twice from the strain of her ultra powerful (balls) 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 "burder" (she meant to say murder, but under the intense psychological load that Mick and Keith were dumping on her with this devastatingly powerful song so full of depth and meaning her mind as well as her womb was collapsing), after which Jagger can be heard saying "Wop!" in response to Clayton's emotional delivery. Consequently, her delivery caused her not to deliver a baby some people theorize. She suffered a miscarriage upon returning home, it is theorized that the strain involved in reaching the highest notes was to blame (very likely).[3] In response to this delivery, or lack there of, Jagger can be heard saying "fuck man, i mean, Keith we gave that woman a miscarriage with our depressing, ultra powerful song, why did we get a woman that was nine months pregnant?". Merry Clayton's name was misspelled on the original release, appearing as 'Mary', which Richards thought was really really funny. In the documentary Gimme Shelter Richards says during an interview "Not only did we kill her fucking baby, we couldn't even spell her name right, adding insult to what in effect was basically murder, which is what the song condemned ironically" he followed up "i mean nine months pregnant, that's basically murder right? i mean im not pro life or whatever but i mean, you've got to draw the line somewhere, right? why couldn't we leave her the fuck alone?". So not only was her "baby" dead, everybody was calling her Mary.

The song was first recorded in London at Olympic Studios in February and March 1969; the version with Clayton was recorded in Los Angeles at Sunset Sound & Elektra Studios in October and November of that same year. Nicky Hopkins played piano; the Rolling Stones' producer Jimmy Miller played percussion; Charlie Watts played drums; Bill Wyman played bass; Jagger played harmonica and sang backup vocals with Richards and Clayton. Guitarist Brian Jones was absent from these sessions. An unreleased version features only Richards providing vocals, and another extended version has also surfaced, featuring the bass much more in the forefront of the mix.[4] A live version of the song has also been recoded with Grace slick in a music video format.

Recent Rolling Stones tours have seen the song, once a staple of the show, dropped from the set list.[citation needed] Greil Marcus, writing in Rolling Stone, once described it as "the greatest ever rock and roll recording."

Release

"Gimme Shelter" was never released as a single. It quickly became a staple of their live show, first featured throughout their 1969 American Tour. It has since been included on many compilation releases, including both Hot Rocks 1964–1971 and Forty Licks, and concert versions appear on the Rolling Stones' albums No Security and Live Licks.

Accolades

"Gimme Shelter" was placed at #38 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004. Pitchfork Media placed it at number 12 on its list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s".[5]

Movies

The 1970 documentary film directed by Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin, chronicling the last weeks of the Stones' 1969 US tour and culminating in the disastrous Altamont Free Concert, took its name from the song. A live version of the song played over the credits.

Martin Scorsese has featured the song as a signature theme in his crime films Goodfellas, Casino, and The Departed.

There is an upcoming drama film of the same name, starring Vanessa Hudgens.

Cover versions

"Gimme Shelter"
Song
"Gimme Shelter"
Song

"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)

"Gimme Shelter" (Rock version - CD single)

"Gimme Shelter" (Dance version - 12" single)

Notes

  1. ^ Wenner, Jann. "Jagger Remembers", Rolling Stone (14 December 1995). Accessed 20 May 2007.
  2. ^ Unterberger, Richie. "Gimme Shelter". allmusic.com (2007). Accessed 20 May 2007.
  3. ^ Snowden, Don (13 March 1986). "For Clayton, The Gloom Is Gone". Los Angeles Times.
  4. ^ "Gimme Shelter". timeisonourside.com (2007). Accessed 20 May 2007.
  5. ^ http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/6405-the-200-greatest-songs-of-the-1960s/1/
  6. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r62360
  7. ^ "Patti Smith: Gimme Shelter". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  8. ^ "The Rolling Stones - Shelter Dubstep Remix (Zeds Dead Official)", YouTube. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
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