How Merry Clayton’s Role In Gimme Shelter Gave Me A Whole New Perspective On A Creative Career
Taking a moment to celebrate a person who made a great song, truly amazing.
Sometimes knowing the work that’s gone into an artistic project — be it a song, book, movie, live naked art extravaganza — makes you view it differently and this was certainly the case when I watched the movie 20 Ft from Stardom. I grew up with the Rolling Stones on the radio almost constantly, and when you’re a country kid on a school bus — doing an hour trip either way every day — you hear a lot of repeats. (Radio West, Hits and Memories From The Seventies, Seventies, Seventies, Seventies and That One Song We Could Afford To Purchase From Today And Will Hammer To Death.)
Watching this clip from Merry Clayton, knocking the vocals for Gimme Shelter out of the park, made me realize just how much the song would lose without her. Now, I get so freakin’ excited whenever I hear the song, because I’m listening for her part. It made me want to explore her career and get to know her as an artist. And it also left me really thinking about how important collaboration — and sometimes what’s considered a small contribution — can really make a project if you give it your all.
Watching the documentary also left me appreciating my lovely husband and writing partner who pops in frequently with what he likes to call his “first class mind” (Insert a pillow thrown at his head by me here.) and suggests scenes or dialogue that, in hindsight, really make my writing shine. It’s a good reminder that a successful project is everyone being awesome, no matter the size of the contribution.
Every time I hear the song come on in a cafe or anywhere really, it immediately lifts my mood. And just for an extra smile, I’d suggest you watch her singing the whole damn song or maybe even check out her catalogue.
While you’re down the rabbit hole, I’d also suggest you check out Lisa Fischer, who is also absolutely amazing, but that will be another post down the track.
As for me, I’ve got a Merry Clayton playlist on right now while I gear up to get some words written of my own current creative project. It’s the second week of Coronavirus quarantine here in Istanbul and it’s making me feel grateful for the small things. This morning I was making a cup of tea with Merry belting out her song Grandma’s Hands, as I spotted a woman out the kitchen window feeding one of the street dogs a banana. It was obviously a huge treat as the dog’s tail was wagging enough to send it flying and the woman was doing a “I’ve got something extra special for you” shoulder shimmy. Perfect happy moment.
Evie Snow is the writer of complex, intelligent and humorous novels that she insists are fucking awesome. www.eviesnow.net
