Merry Clayton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Merry Clayton
Clayton in 2012
Background information
Born	(1948-12-25) December 25, 1948 (age 76) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres	Soul, gospel
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	1962–present
Labels	Ode/A&M MCA Records Motown Gospel/Universal

Merry Clayton is an American soul and gospel singer. She was born on December 25, 1948. She has sung on many songs and worked with famous artists for decades. One of her most famous performances is a duet with Mick Jagger on the Rolling Stones song "Gimme Shelter".

Clayton is also well-known for being featured in 20 Feet from Stardom. This is an Oscar-winning documentary movie about background singers and their important contributions to music.

Early Life and Music Start

Merry Clayton was born in Gert Town, New Orleans, Louisiana. She was born on Christmas Day, which is why she was named "Merry." Her parents were Eva B. Clayton and Reverend A.G. Williams, Sr.

She grew up in New Orleans and spent a lot of time in her father’s church, New Zion Baptist Church. After moving to Los Angeles, she met members of The Blossoms. They helped convince her to start a career in music.

Merry's Music Career

Merry Clayton's powerful voice can be heard as a backing singer on many songs. She has worked with artists like Pearl Bailey, Joe Cocker, Linda Ronstadt, and Carole King. She also sang on several tracks from Neil Young's first album.

Starting in the 1960s

Clayton began her recording career very young, at age 14, in 1962. Her first recording was a duet with Bobby Darin called "Who Can I Count On?"

In 1963, she recorded the first version of "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)". Later that year, Betty Everett's version of the song became a Top 10 hit. Early in her career, Merry also performed with Ray Charles as one of the Raelettes. Ray Charles was the only artist her father allowed her to see perform live.

Merry Clayton is most famous for her 1969 duet with Mick Jagger on the Rolling Stones song "Gimme Shelter". Sometimes her name is spelled wrong as "Mary" on some music releases. Mick Jagger said that the band wanted a woman to sing the chorus. They called Merry "randomly" in the middle of the night in Los Angeles. She came to the studio and sang her parts in just a few takes, which Jagger called "pretty amazing."

Success in the 1970s

In 1970, Merry Clayton recorded her own version of "Gimme Shelter." This song became the title track of her first solo album, released that same year. Her solo version reached No. 73 on the pop music charts. It was the first of five singles by her to make it onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Also in 1970, she sang a live version of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" for the movie Brewster McCloud. She also contributed vocals to the film Performance.

In 1971, she helped write the song "Sho' Nuff" about her mother. In 1972, she played the original Acid Queen in the first London show of The Who's rock opera Tommy.

In 1973, she was featured on Ringo Starr's song "Oh My My". This song became a Top 10 hit the next year. Merry also sang backing vocals on Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" with her friend Clydie King.

During the mid-1970s, Clayton sang on The Blackbyrds' R&B hit "Rock Creek Park." She continued to release solo albums and had several smaller R&B chart hits.

Music in the 1980s and Beyond

In the mid-1980s, Merry Clayton was part of a gospel group called Brilliance. Della Reese formed the group. They released an album in 1986.

In 1987, Merry acted in the movie Maid to Order with Ally Sheedy. That same year, she played "Verna Dee Jordan" in the last season of the TV show Cagney & Lacey. In 1989, she recorded a cover of "Almost Paradise" with Eric Carmen.

In 1994, Merry sang backing vocals for Tori Amos's hit song "Cornflake Girl". In 2006, she provided background vocals for Sparta's album Threes.

In 2013, she released The Best of Merry Clayton, which was a collection of her favorite songs.

Merry Clayton was a main feature in the documentary film 20 Feet from Stardom (2013). This movie won an Oscar for best documentary. It also won a Grammy Award in 2015 for Best Music Film.

In 2014, Merry sang on G. Love & Special Sauce's album Sugar. In 2015, she was featured on two songs from Coldplay's album A Head Full of Dreams. Her solo album Beautiful Scars was released in 2021.

Merry's Personal Life

Merry Clayton was married to jazz artist Curtis Amy from 1970 until he passed away in 2002. Their son, Kevin Amy, is also a musician. Merry's brother, Sam Clayton, is a percussionist for the band Little Feat.

On June 16, 2014, Merry had a serious car accident. This accident led to her losing both of her legs.

Discography

Studio Albums

Compilation Albums

Selected Singles

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Merry Clayton para niños