Merry Clayton | |
|---|---|
 Clayton in 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1948-12-25)December 25, 1948 (age 77) New Orleans,Louisiana, U.S. |
| Genres | Soul,gospel |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | 1962–present |
| Labels | Ode/A&M MCA Records Motown Gospel/Universal |
Merry Clayton (born December 25, 1948) is an Americansoul andgospel singer. She contributed vocals to numerous tracks and worked with many major recording artists for decades, including a duet withMick Jagger onthe Rolling Stones song "Gimme Shelter".[1] Clayton is prominently featured in20 Feet from Stardom, the Oscar-winning documentary about background singers and their contributions to the music industry.
Clayton was born inGert Town, New Orleans,Louisiana, 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 ofthe Blossoms, who convinced her to pursue a music career.[2]
Clayton's voice as a backing singer can be heard on songs byPearl Bailey,Phil Ochs,Burt Bacharach,Tom Jones,Joe Cocker,Linda Ronstadt,Carole King,Tori Amos and on several tracks fromNeil Young'sdebut album. Clayton is often credited as having recorded withElvis Presley but her name does not appear in Elvis's sessionographies.[3]
Clayton began herrecording career in 1962, at the age of 14. She first sang "Who Can I Count On?" as a duet withBobby Darin, on his albumYou're the Reason I'm Living. In 1963, she recorded the first released version of "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)",[4] the same year thatBetty Everett's version reached the Top 10 on theBillboard Hot 100.[5] Early in her career, Clayton performed withRay Charles (as one ofthe Raelettes).[4] At the time, Charles was the only artist her father would allow her to see at a live performance.[6]
Clayton is best known for her 1969 duet withMick Jagger on the Rolling Stones song "Gimme Shelter" (on some releases her name is misspelled as "Mary").[4] 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."[7] Clayton performed her parts while pregnant, soon afterward suffering a miscarriage.[8] Clayton was actually the band's second choice for the part; The Stones had askedBonnie Bramlett to sing on the song, but Bramlett's husbandDelaney Bramlett refused to let her perform with the Stones.[9]
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 thepop charts. Her version would be the first of five singles under her name to crack theBillboard Hot 100. That same year, she performed a live version of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" for the soundtrack for theRobert Altman film,Brewster McCloud, and also contributed vocals toDonald Cammell andNicolas Roeg's film,Performance.
In 1971, she co-wrote the song "Sho' Nuff" about her mother.[10]
In 1972, she starred as the originalAcid Queen in the firstLondon production ofThe Who'sTommy.
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 partnerClydie King,[11] Clayton also sang backing vocals onLynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama".[12]
In the mid-1970s Clayton sang onThe Blackbyrds' R&B hit "Rock Creek Park", and continued to release solo albums throughout the next decade, notching several minorR&B chart singles.[4]
Clayton's soundtrack work continued into the 1980s, including "You're Always There When I Need You", the title track for the 1980Get Smart film,The Nude Bomb, and the song "Yes" fromDirty Dancing, which hit No. 45 on the Hot 100.[4]
In the mid-1980s, Clayton was in the gospel group Brilliance, formed byDella Reese.[13] They released an album on Atlanta International Records in 1986.
In 1987, Clayton co-starred withAlly Sheedy in the filmMaid to Order.[4] That same year, she also played the character "Verna Dee Jordan" in the final season ofCagney & Lacey.[4]
In 1989, Clayton recorded a cover version of "Almost Paradise" withEric Carmen.[14]
In 1994, Clayton sang backing vocals and also the "Man with the Golden Gun" bridge forTori Amos's hit, "Cornflake Girl".
In 2006, Clayton provided backing vocals forSparta's albumThrees, on the songs "Atlas" and "Translations". In 2013, she releasedThe Best of Merry Clayton, a compilation of her favorite songs.
Clayton was featured in the documentary film20 Feet from Stardom (2013), which premiered at theSundance Film Festival, and went on to win the Oscar for best documentary at the86th Academy Awards.20 Feet from Stardom also won the 2015Grammy 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 forG. Love & Special Sauce's albumSugar and in 2015, she was featured on two tracks ofColdplay's albumA Head Full of Dreams.
In 2021, her solo albumBeautiful Scars was released.[15]
Clayton was married tojazz artistCurtis Amy from 1970 until his death in 2002.[16] Their son, Kevin Amy, has also pursued a musical career.[17] Her brother isLittle FeatpercussionistSam Clayton.[18]
In 1969, Clayton had a miscarriage upon returning home from recording "Gimme Shelter", according to theLos Angeles Times.[19]
On June 16, 2014, Clayton was critically injured and almost died after being involved in a car crash inLos Angeles,California,[20] that caused both of her legs to be amputated at the knees due to her suffering "profound trauma to her lower extremities".[21]
| Year | Album | Label | Peak chart positions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [22] | US R&B [22] | ||||||||
| 1970 | Gimme Shelter | Ode | — | — | |||||
| 1971 | Celebration | — | — | ||||||
| Merry Clayton | 180 | 36 | |||||||
| 1975 | Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow | 146 | 50 | ||||||
| 1979 | Emotion | MCA Records | — | — | |||||
| 1994 | Miracles | CGI | — | — | |||||
| 2021 | Beautiful Scars | Motown Gospel/Ode/Universal | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
| Year | Album | Label | Peak chart positions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [22] | US R&B [22] | ||||||||
| 2013 | The Best of Merry Clayton[23] | Ode/Epic/SME | — | 61 | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [22][24] | US R&B [22] | AUS [25] | UK [26] | CAN [27] | |||||
| 1970 | "Gimme Shelter" | 73 | — | — | — | 63 | Gimme Shelter | ||
| "Country Road" | 103 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1972 | "After All This Time" | 71 | 42 | — | — | — | Merry Clayton | ||
| 1973 | "Oh No Not My Baby" | 72 | 30 | 49 | — | — | Non-album song | ||
| 1975 | "Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow" | 45 | 42 | — | — | 71 | Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow | ||
| 1980 | "Emotion" | — | 53 | — | — | — | Emotion | ||
| 1988 | "Yes" | 45 | 79 | — | 70 | 77 | Dirty Dancing: Original Soundtrack from the Vestron Motion Picture | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Blame It on the Night | Herself |
| 1987 | Maid to Order | Audrey James |
| 2013 | 20 Feet from Stardom | Herself |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
