Merry Clayton (born December 25, 1948) is an American

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

singer. She contributed vocals to numerous tracks and worked with many major recording artists for decades, including a duet with

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

song " Gimme Shelter". Clayton is prominently featured in '' 20 Feet from Stardom'', the Oscar-winning documentary about background singers and their contributions to the music industry.

Early life

Clayton was born in Gert Town, New Orleans,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, and was given the name "Merry" because she was born on Christmas Day. She is the daughter of Eva B. Clayton and the Reverend A.G. Williams, Sr. Clayton was raised in New Orleans as a Christian, and spent much of her time in her father's parish, New Zion Baptist Church. After moving to Los Angeles, she met members of the Blossoms, who convinced her to pursue a music career.

Career

Clayton's voice as a backing singer can be heard on songs by Pearl Bailey, Phil Ochs, Burt Bacharach, Tom Jones,

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances featuring expressive body movements. Most of his best-known singles, such as "Feelin' Alright ...

, Linda Ronstadt,

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...

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and on several tracks from

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

's debut album. Clayton is often credited as having recorded with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

but her name does not appear in Elvis's sessionographies.

1960s

Clayton began her recording career in 1962, at the age of 14. She first sang "Who Can I Count On?" as a duet with

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music. Darin started ...

, on his album ''You're the Reason I'm Living''. In 1963, she recorded the first released version of " The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)", the same year that Betty Everett's version reached the Top 10 on the ''

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

''. Early in her career, Clayton performed with

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

(as one of the Raelettes). At the time, Charles was the only artist her father would allow her to see at a live performance. Clayton is best known for her 1969 duet with

on the Rolling Stones song " Gimme Shelter" (on some releases her name is misspelled as "Mary"). According to Jagger, the collaboration happened partially by chance: Jagger stated that the band thought, "it'd be great to have a woman come do the… chorus." They called Clayton "randomly" in the middle of the night in Los Angeles, and she showed up to the studio "in curlers" and contributed her parts in a few takes, which Jagger remarked was "pretty amazing." Clayton performed her parts while pregnant, soon afterward suffering a miscarriage. Clayton was actually the band's second choice for the part; The Stones had asked Bonnie Bramlett to sing on the song, but Bramlett's husband

Delaney Bramlett Delaine Alvin "Delaney" Bramlett (July 1, 1939 – December 27, 2008) was an American singer and guitarist. He was best known for his musical partnership with his wife Bonnie Bramlett in the band Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, which included a ...

refused to let her perform with the Stones.

1970s

In 1970, Clayton recorded her own version of "Gimme Shelter", and it became the title track of her debut solo album, released that year. Her solo version peaked at No. 73 on the pop charts. Her version would be the first of five singles under her name to crack the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. That same year, she performed a live version of " Lift Every Voice and Sing" for the soundtrack for the

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...

film, '' Brewster McCloud'', and also contributed vocals to Donald Cammell and

Nicolas Roeg Nicolas Jack Roeg ( ; 15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing ''Performance (film), Performance'' (1970), ''Walkabout (film), Walkabout'' (1971), ''Don't Look Now'' (1973) ...

's film, ''

Performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...

''. In 1971, she co-wrote the song "Sho' Nuff" about her mother. In 1972, she starred as the original Acid Queen in the first

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

production of

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

's '' Tommy''. In 1973, Clayton featured prominently on Ringo Starr's " Oh My My", which reached Billboard's Top 10 the following year. Along with her frequent partner Clydie King, Clayton also sang backing vocals on Lynyrd Skynyrd's " Sweet Home Alabama". In the mid-1970s Clayton sang on The Blackbyrds' R&B hit "Rock Creek Park", and continued to release solo albums throughout the next decade, notching several minor R&B chart singles.

1980s

Clayton's soundtrack work continued into the 1980s, including "You're Always There When I Need You", the title track for the 1980 ''

Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the Spy fiction, secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Bu ...

'' film, '' The Nude Bomb'', and the song "Yes" from '' Dirty Dancing'', which hit No. 45 on the Hot 100. In the mid-1980s, Clayton was in the gospel group Brilliance, formed by

Della Reese Della Reese (born Delloreese Patricia Early; July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017) was an American singer, actress, television personality, author and ordained minister. As a singer, she recorded blues, gospel, jazz and pop. Several of her singl ...

. They released an album on Atlanta International Records in 1986. In 1987, Clayton co-starred with Ally Sheedy in the film '' Maid to Order''. That same year, she also played the character "Verna Dee Jordan" in the final season of '' Cagney & Lacey''. In 1989, Clayton recorded a cover version of " Almost Paradise" with Eric Carmen.

1990s and later years

In 1994, Clayton sang backing vocals and also the "Man with the Golden Gun" bridge for

's hit, " Cornflake Girl". In 2006, Clayton provided backing vocals for

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

's album '' Threes'', on the songs "Atlas" and "Translations". In 2013, she released ''The Best of Merry Clayton'', a compilation of her favorite songs. Clayton was featured in the documentary film '' 20 Feet from Stardom'' (2013), which premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

, and went on to win the Oscar for best documentary at the 86th Academy Awards. ''20 Feet from Stardom'' also won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Music Film, with the award being presented to the featured artists, in addition to the production crew for the film. In 2014, Clayton provided vocals for G. Love & Special Sauce's album ''Sugar'' and in 2015, she was featured on two tracks of

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...

's album '' A Head Full of Dreams''. In 2021, her solo album ''Beautiful Scars'' was released.

Personal life

Clayton was married to

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

artist Curtis Amy from 1970 until his death in 2002. Their son, Kevin Amy, has also pursued a musical career. Her brother is

Little Feat Little Feat is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George, bassist Roy Estrada (both formerly of the Mothers of Invention), keyboardist Bill Payne, and drummer Richie Hayward in ...

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

Sam Clayton. In 1969, Clayton had a miscarriage upon returning home from recording "Gimme Shelter", according to the ''Los Angeles Times''. On June 16, 2014, Clayton was critically injured and almost died after being involved in a car crash in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

that caused both of her legs to be amputated at the knees due to her suffering "profound trauma to her lower extremities".

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles (selected)

Filmography

References

External links

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Merry Clayton
fansite with brief biography, full discography, full released guest appearances, all with music streaming links, filmography, gigography, videos, pictures, articles, links etc.
Merry Clayton's solo-version of "Gimme Shelter" (1970)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clayton, Merry 1948 births 20th-century African-American women singers American gospel singers American soul singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers MCA Records artists Motown artists Ode Records artists Grammy Award winners Living people American amputees Rhythm and blues musicians from New Orleans Singers from Louisiana 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century African-American women singers The Raelettes members