"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 spelled "Gimmie" on that album, subsequent recordings by the band and other musicians have made "Gimme" the customary spelling.
|
GIMME SHELTER TICKETS
|
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...Love, children, it's just a kiss away, It's just a kiss 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]
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 3:02, Jagger is heard in the background saying "yeah!" in apparent approval of Clayton's effort. Merry Clayton's name was misspelled on the original release, appearing as 'Mary'.
Recording of the song took place at London's
Olympic 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]
Release
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
- 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
- Soul singer Maxayn recorded a powerful version of the song for her self-titled album in 1971
- 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 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" released 1998, also featured in Cream Of The Crap Vol. 1, 2002
- Ashley Cleveland on her album You Are There
, 1998
- Rio Reiser, German singer, sometimes performed the song on stage; a recording was released only posthumously on the 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 30 January 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
.
Phil Lesh and Friends - Philathon 2008 - Opening and Closing Show
"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)
- Voice of the Beehive and Jimmy Somerville
- Heaven 17 and Hannah Jones
"Gimme Shelter" (Alternative version - CD single)
- New Model Army and Tom Jones
- Cud and Sandie Shaw
- Kingmaker
"Gimme Shelter" (Rock version - CD single)
- Thunder
- Little Angels
- Hawkwind and Samantha Fox
"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)
Other appearances in popular culture
- "Gimme Shelter" is playable in the video game Rock Band
.
- A portion of the song appeared in The Simpsons
episode Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays.
- In Goodfellas, it appears once Henry gets into dealing cocaine.
- In Casino, it appears when Nicky begins to get sloppy, and can't even knock a guy out with one punch anymore. (A different, live version of the song is used)
- In The Departed, it appears right at the very beginning and later on when Collin Sullivan moves in with his girlfriend.
- Mixed Martial Arts fighter Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera uses the song as his entrance music in his UFC fights
- In Layer Cake, it appears when Sienna Miller is stripping in Daniel Craig's hotel room.
Notes
- Wenner, Jann. "Jagger Remembers", ''Rolling Stone'' (14 December 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