Merry Clayton delivered one of the greatest vocal performances ever recorded. It's rare that a backing singer outshines the lead singer but she blew Mick completely out of the building. Just an epic performance.
Check out “20 feet from stardom.” All about the epic background singers on these iconic rock songs. Pretty sure the story goes that Mary Clayton was called to come into the studio at 1 am and nailed this performance.
@@stefaniebrauer128 @rosslynEmrys I was just going to mention that documentary. It was incredible watching her recount the night she got the call to record this song, as you said, 8 months pregnant and already in bed for the night. And she was belting out these vocals with her hair up in curlers. Iconic vocal!
Miss Merry Clayton really made the song very special without her i dont think it would be as good as it is she made the song what is is and thats AWESOME!
This song is in nearly every movie where the setting/era is the Vietnam War. Originally inspired by people running from a sudden storm to escape the heavy rain. The woman singing backup is Merry Clayton who did backing vocals for many songs and bands over the years including Lynyrd Skynyrd.
I'm pretty certain this song came out in 1969. I remember loads of demonstrations against the Vietnam war and here in Toronto meeting many draft dodgers and deserters.......18, 19 year olds that simply didn't want to die in a war they felt America had no business in. A very turbulent time and as you said, just as relevant today (BLM, Portland?). There are so many songs pertaining to that era - Buffalo Springfield "For What it's Worth", written by Stephen (alliteration) Stills.....Creedence Clearwater Revival "Fortunate Son".......Country Joe and the Fish "Fixin' to Die Rag". It's too late for me to think of more :-( Also, please check out the My Lai massacre in Vietnam. I happened a year before Gimme Shelter was written. I've always associated this song with that tragedy.
Did you hear the "woo" when her voice cracked? If not, go listen to it again. That was Mick who yelled out, cause he was so blown away at what he just heard, and her voice cracked twice, and afterwards she wanted to do another take and they were like, are you crazy, lol. They LOVED IT. It's one of the great moments in record history and I didn't even know about it myself until this year, from watching a reaction video about it and then watching the video where the woman is interviewed, as well as Mick, and they talked about it. Check that out too. It's great.
Agreed! One of the highlights of the song! Reminds me of the Boston song "Hitch A Ride", during the legendary guitar solo at the end, immediately after the guitars hit the super high note, you can faintly hear singer Brad Delp shout "woo!". Awesome!
To add to the “Merry” comment. The stones actually recorded this in NYC and it was about 2 in the morning and they called her to do vocal work. She did this at about 3 am with 0 warm up
I know I'm late to the party but, when Merry Clayton sings the rape/murder section, and she pushes so hard she blows out her voice, it just gives me the shivers, every time.
Preface. I am not having a shot at you, rather using your comment as my platform to ask a question because you seem to like Sympathy For The Devil, as many people do. This song irritates me just because of the (apparently) 124 Woo-woos scattered around the lyrics. I can’t stand listening to the song because of this. Am I not alone?
@@waynesworld7804 😂😂. I am sure that you are not alone, but it reminds of listening to the song in a bedroom with my school mates at some point in the early 80s. I remember one of my mates (one of my less musically inclined mates it has to be said) asking "Why do they keep singing Ooo Ooo?", to be met immediately with the answer "Because it makes it sound f**king brilliant, that's why!!!" Personally, I love it. Interestingly, when Guns'n'Roses covered it, they were pretty faithful to the original, including the Ooo Ooo's.
for my money, one of the greatest recordings ever. and one of the finest female vocal performances ever committed to tape. (if you watch the film '20 feet from stardom' they talk about and to Merry Clayton about this recording. awesome!! this proves ya don't need super high-gain amps and guitars to be heavy. this is HEAVY
You have to read the back story on the background vocals. That's Merry Clayton. I won't go into it. Better you look up her story yourself...It's stuff made of Legends, with a rather sad twist to it.
There are so many classic Stones songs it's hard to point to a few, but I'd go with "Can't you hear me knocking" (not a Jam band, but a damn good imitation of one here, and they hit it out of the park), "Sympathy for the devil", "Paint it black", "Brown Sugar", "Angie", "Honky Tonk Woman" , and "Shattered", Just to kick it off..You go deep on these guy you may never resurface!
it is truly unbelievable how many great songs they did. You didn't even mention Ruby Tuesday, Satisfaction, Jumping Jack Flash, Beast of Burden, Mother's Little Helper, Start Me Up. And I'm leaving out a ton too.
@@pablogaeta3815 Yeah, it's an exercise in futility, really..I just popped them off the top of my head. I could have easily have put all the ones down that you mentioned, and then some..The list just goes on and on.
And you didn't even mention, "Under My thumb", "Time is on my side", "Waiting on a friend", "Tumblin' dice", "Miss you", "she's a rainbow", "Midnight rambler", "Wild Horses", "Monkey man"...etc., etc., ad infinitum!..Lol!
At age 69, this is very emotional to me. We were in the middle of the Vietnam war and had just seen the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Yes, we were just a shot away. It's relevant today!
Check out the film 20 Feet From Stardom (on Netflix i think), about backing vocalists. Jagger and Merry Clayton tell the story of the recording of the song. The part where they feature her vocal as a stand alone brought tears to my eyes. Amazing.
Young people feel like 'this is the worst thing that has ever happened', old people feel like 'oh this shit's going on again'. It is always depressing but it NEVER means that we shouldn't stand up for what's right. Music like this makes you want to stand up!
Gimme Shelter was introduced in the fall of 1969. In 1969 we buried Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and hundreds of our servicemen who came back from Vietnam in a box. In 1968 we lived thru riots in Detroit and Chicago. In 1968 we saw smoke cover LA as whole blocks of Watts burned to the ground. The deaths of Bobby and Martin were just a shot away. Just a shot away. So don't get lost in the music, heed the words. If not, you will live them again.
The Rock n Roll biography (name escapes me) put it like this. Bob Dylan banged in the 1960s with "Like a Rolling Stone" and the Rolling Stones closed out the 1960s with "Gimme Shelter". Well put.
Gimmie Shelter is also the name of a documentary about the chronicling the last weeks of The Rolling Stones' 1969 US tour which culminated in the disastrous Altamont Free Concert at Altamont Speedway, northern California. This concert was infamous and involved the Hell's Angels biker gang (which had been hired to do security for the event) murdering a black man named Meredith Hunter during the Rolling Stones's set. The Grateful Dead organized the concert, but ended up not performing in their slot because of the violence. Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter would write the lyrics to New Speedway Boogie shortly after this event, which would be released the following year on the classic album Workingman's Dead. I'll post the link to that song below, which is a newly remastered version released in 2020. ua-cam.com/video/Kg_bv83MqH8/v-deo.html
This song always takes me to the Vietnam war. I was about 13 yrs old when this song came out. The Vietnam war was broadcast into American's living rooms every evening, with the body counts, etc. Not a good memory, but I love the song because it also reminds me of some of my favorite shows in the early 80s...China Beach and Tour of Duty. My young son and I wouldn't miss either of these shows for anything less than a Red Dawn scenario in our own backyard. I'm loving your reactions, Daniel. I think you're at the top of list of reactors here on UA-cam. Thanks for all of your hard work...
Vietnam is the obvious reference, but the band members were born during WW2 and would have grown up with people who had very recently experienced the Blitz, the battle field, the fear and deprivation of that enormous fight. The Cold War and the possibility of a nuclear war in the west was also on people's minds in the 50s and 60s.
You speak of that fear and apprehension when watching the news - the fear that war is really just a shot away. In the late 60s-early 70s, that was the norm every single night on the news. Vietnam caused growing controversy as students across the country protested, racial tensions in all major cities added fuel to the fire. To understand the peak of that unrest, please listen to Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young's 'Ohio' - Neil Young's cry of anguish over government crackdown on protests - read the story of Kent State. You will better understand the world of this song.
Randy Gibson And let's not forget the always-lurking beast of mutually-assured destruction of nuclear annihilation...man, it was a tough time. Kids today have no idea.
@@charliemac64 agree.... most of the heat today is media manipulated games b/c of their fear of the orange Godzilla they’ve created in their minds.... perhaps in a much more subversive, manipulative way, we indeed do live in very dangerous times. But as far as existential real tangible threats, yes the late 60s was like walking thru a mine filed.
Of the 738 Stones albums (or it seems like that many!), there are 4 essentials for me. "Beggar's Banquet" "Let it Bleed" "Sticky Fingers" and "Exile on Main Street". Mick Taylor on guitar with Keith here. Wish he had stayed longer! Great player!
Love being on your musical journey with you Kiddo - very impressed with you, your maturity for your age and your ability to dissect to lyrics...just watched you react to In A Gadda Da Vida and LOVED watching your reaction as it went along. Great job w/everything! Keep at it !!
This songs Live performance at Altamont speedway, along with the rise of Black Sabbath, was the end of the summer of love. The days of the hippies died
Your going to hear songs from back in the 70's like this that are just as relevant today as they were back then! The more things change the more they stay the same! A truly chilling song
There is a YT of an interview with Merry Clayton who did the background vocal. It is a really good video to see her perspective. There is also one interview with Mick Jagger about how the song was recorded.
This was not that popular song when first cam out. BUT it was one song I kept playing the whole album. Just a teenager collage student who did not want to go tot Vietnam. It was a protest song for us. Again, Vietnam the USA did not go to win. It was in the war with the little country of Vietnam for 10 years. The USA could have one in 6 months, but all they did is send us kids over there to die. Over 50,000 of us died there. We did not want to go and fight, just to fight. It makes no sense just to fight just to fight. Why not go and win. Yes I was there at the time.
Ok. They got her out of bed and into the studio on zero notice. She owned the song. Sad stuff happened after. You can look it up. Easter egg: at 7:33 of your reaction video listen for mick screaming “whoooo!” after she just about pops a vocal chord on “murder!!”
Merry Clayton was pregnant with rollers in her hair when she got an emergency call at 2am to record those tracks. Her husband told her GO! She recorded in hair rollers with child.
When my friends and I had a “floor” of a vacation house (lol) in the early 70’s this song played on our record player all through the house everyday. It’s so great.
In my opinion this is the Rolling Stones' best song. So now there's nowhere to go but down lol. It's kind of the bridge between their more poppy 60's stuff and their more bluesy 70's stuff. But they do have a lot more great songs and obviously everybody has different tastes.
This is right up there. That intro gives me chills every time, and I have been listening to it since about 1981. The album that it comes from, Let It Bleed, is my favourite Stones album* Personally, I can't get past Sympathy For The Devil as my all time favourite Stones song, but this is close. *I reserve the right to completely change my mind on that
When Richards wrote this the world was on fire, the end of the 60's. It's been relevant in every decade since. it is , in my opinion, the greatest rock and roll song ever written mainly because of that. And it just drives the chaos into you non stop.
Im glad I saw the moment when you heard/read the lyric and felt the shock, and the dread of this ominous message. Please pray for Ukraine and all the people in the world who are facing this storm today.
1969....Vietnam War...Demonstrations in the Streets...Civil Rights....riots.....The debacle of the police violence of the Democratic Convention in Chicago....cities on fire....late sixties....NEVER in a million years did I EVER think we would be here again. So EFFING depressing.
There was a war in Vietnam going strong at that time, there was also the civil rights movement and protests against military conscription (the lottery). It was a true pivotal time in America and around the world. I lived through it.
The song was written by Keith. Jagger had been hitting on Anita. Richards looked out of the window watching a storm roll in . He took out his aggressions with this tune driven against rage towards Jagger. I was your age when it came out. Interesting that your take on this brings me back. Let it bleed was the first LP that hooked me on the Stones , although Money man was even more impressive. Many gave credit to Taylor for the lead guitar , but I always read credits and Keith does most of the lead, rhythm and bass on the LP . He was a very busy and wasted guy. Amazing guy ❗
A word of appreciation for Charlie Watts keeping up that relentless drumbeat. You should watch the documentary "20 Feet from Stardom" for the story of Merry Clayton and other amazing and undersung backup singers.
Dear reactionary, you might also try “Time Waits for No One” by the Rolling Stones. It’s one of Mick Taylor’s last contributions and sometimes easy to miss. He was the lead guitar in their best period.
Vietnam, Civil Rights, Reproductive Rights - THE ENVIRONMENT - air could not be breathed - I was 15 at the time - 1966 and it was the music back then that kept me sane and off drugs - still engaged politically, and every time I hear so much of the music from this time my entire aura lights up - So much music resides in my head:-)
My fav Stones song. Merry Clayton's background vocals give me chills. Classic 60's . Great reaction. Pretty relevant in these times. Viet Nam was going on as well as civil rights issues, etc. The turbulant late 60's.
This song is relevant today. I believe it came out late 1968 or 69. It is an anti war song about the Vietnam war. At that time along with the protests on college campuses over the war, the civil rights movement was still in full swing. Dr. Martin Luther King had been killed in April of 1968 followed by Bobby Kennedy in June of 68. The country was literally being torn apart at the seams. The young people of this country stood their ground and brought the war to an end but it would take another 5 years. Unfortunately we haven't been as successful with civil rights.
50 years ago was Viet Nam war, things were still somewhat unstable with Russia and there were riots going on as well. Keith Richards has looked half dead for 50 years but he has been rocking that guitar in a good way the whole time. He is a great musician.
I believe the shot away line came in reference to the assassination that started WW2. These guys are of the generation that lived the aftermath of the war
Now you're talkin' my language. Part of the soundtrack of my teen years. Yes, it was tumultuous back then. Vietnam war. But we made it through and we will make it through again. Try the Stones "19th Nervous Breakdown"👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Gimme Shelter came out in 1969 while the stupid and undeclared, corporation's Vietnam war raged on. Although this song was inspired by that war, it's also about war in general. WWI started with just a gun shot (or more) with the assassination of the Archduke of Austria and his wife while visiting Bosnia.
it more than about the Vietnam war. There was a huge push for equality and oppression going on called the civil rights movement. The song could easily describe a period of unrest in the sixties with multiple things going on at once, but unified in expression. it is similar today, but different in many ways. there isn't a true counter culture drawn together by music for instance. I'm actually afraid of what can happen today even more than back then. There is little to unify people except anger at each other.
Jagger and Richards were both born at the end of WW2. The Korean War was 1950 to 1953. Vietnam war was 1955 to 1975. Many of the war protests during the 1960’s were against the Vietnam War. There’s a lot of music to reflect this from that decade.
I once knew a nitwit/nimrod who complained that....get this...Merry Clayton...was...off key. Off key. Imagine that. OFF KEY. I had to explain to said nitwit/nimrod...that he really needed to listen to the freakin' lyrics...that this ain't Vivaldi. And I LOVE Vivaldi...but damn! Rape! Murder! Children! is not something the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is gonna tackle. But...he was a guitarist (in capital letters) ... so what the hell did I know. After I made him LISTEN to it the 3rd/4th time, he finally got it. Reluctantly...because...I was just a girl. ''Girls don't know rock.'' What a doofus. Almost dated him...but naw. He blew it, and I dodged a bullet there. Numbskull.
I feel like crying right now. I lost my first love, fiance at 19 in 1970 to Vietnam and you ask was there a war then?! My God, what do they teach you in school these days, is our generation really that forgotten by today's youth? Want a great soundtrack Vietnam movie ? Watch Good morning America with Robin Williams. So many great protest songs of that time.
I can't believe you got past the age of five without hearing this - where were your parents 😂 Merry Clayton did an epic job on this, you can find her isolated vocal track on UA-cam (you can hear the band being blown away in the background). The great Lisa Ficsher took that part in the live performances for many years. Gimme Shelter is the highlight of every Stones gig. OMG, I just realised it's fifty years old!
I love finding fellow young “old souls” though I am a bit older than you (I’m 26). Old music is so much better IMO. I love watching your reactions. Also, just FYI, this was a Vietnam war era song. Great. video! Keep it up! 😊
Merry Clayton delivered one of the greatest vocal performances ever recorded. It's rare that a backing singer outshines the lead singer but she blew Mick completely out of the building. Just an epic performance.
And Mick completely agrees with you
Check out “20 feet from stardom.” All about the epic background singers on these iconic rock songs. Pretty sure the story goes that Mary Clayton was called to come into the studio at 1 am and nailed this performance.
And Mary Clayton got a call late at night and she was like 8 months pregnant, powerful woman!!!
...and Mick let her and did not care.
@@stefaniebrauer128 @rosslynEmrys I was just going to mention that documentary. It was incredible watching her recount the night she got the call to record this song, as you said, 8 months pregnant and already in bed for the night. And she was belting out these vocals with her hair up in curlers. Iconic vocal!
Every time I hear that crack in Merry Clayton's voice when she screams "Rape, murder!" I get chills.
Every time.
and jaggers..."yeh"...he knows what hed just heard.
Miss Merry Clayton really made the song very special without her i dont think it would be as good as it is she made the song what is is and thats AWESOME!
Right there with you Randy!!
Everyone else does, too...
Ahhh, you found the Stones, dude......it’s an endless journey, what a great band.
Indeed, though isnt that like calling Van Gogh a great painter? It's like well yes but... :-)
This song is in nearly every movie where the setting/era is the Vietnam War. Originally inspired by people running from a sudden storm to escape the heavy rain. The woman singing backup is Merry Clayton who did backing vocals for many songs and bands over the years including Lynyrd Skynyrd.
I'm pretty certain this song came out in 1969. I remember loads of demonstrations against the Vietnam war and here in Toronto meeting many draft dodgers and deserters.......18, 19 year olds that simply didn't want to die in a war they felt America had no business in. A very turbulent time and as you said, just as relevant today (BLM, Portland?). There are so many songs pertaining to that era - Buffalo Springfield "For What it's Worth", written by Stephen (alliteration) Stills.....Creedence Clearwater Revival "Fortunate Son".......Country Joe and the Fish "Fixin' to Die Rag". It's too late for me to think of more :-( Also, please check out the My Lai massacre in Vietnam. I happened a year before Gimme Shelter was written. I've always associated this song with that tragedy.
Kids today don't even know about the draft during the Vietnam war. You get drafted and pretty much had to go into the military.
Did you hear the "woo" when her voice cracked? If not, go listen to it again. That was Mick who yelled out, cause he was so blown away at what he just heard, and her voice cracked twice, and afterwards she wanted to do another take and they were like, are you crazy, lol. They LOVED IT.
It's one of the great moments in record history and I didn't even know about it myself until this year, from watching a reaction video about it and then watching the video where the woman is interviewed, as well as Mick, and they talked about it. Check that out too. It's great.
Agreed! One of the highlights of the song! Reminds me of the Boston song "Hitch A Ride", during the legendary guitar solo at the end, immediately after the guitars hit the super high note, you can faintly hear singer Brad Delp shout "woo!". Awesome!
To add to the “Merry” comment. The stones actually recorded this in NYC and it was about 2 in the morning and they called her to do vocal work. She did this at about 3 am with 0 warm up
I know I'm late to the party but, when Merry Clayton sings the rape/murder section, and she pushes so hard she blows out her voice, it just gives me the shivers, every time.
That was Mick on harmonica 😁❤️
1969.. Vietnam, Civil Rights, Martin Luther King and the Kennedy's assassinated.. hard times.
When he says the background vocals are awesome early on and you know what's coming later lol
You might like the Stone's "Sympathy For The Devil". Great lyrics.
Based on the novel The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, given to Mick by his then girlfriend Marianne Faithful.
Preface. I am not having a shot at you, rather using your comment as my platform to ask a question because you seem to like Sympathy For The Devil, as many people do. This song irritates me just because of the (apparently) 124 Woo-woos scattered around the lyrics. I can’t stand listening to the song because of this. Am I not alone?
@@waynesworld7804 😂😂.
I am sure that you are not alone, but it reminds of listening to the song in a bedroom with my school mates at some point in the early 80s. I remember one of my mates (one of my less musically inclined mates it has to be said) asking "Why do they keep singing Ooo Ooo?", to be met immediately with the answer "Because it makes it sound f**king brilliant, that's why!!!"
Personally, I love it.
Interestingly, when Guns'n'Roses covered it, they were pretty faithful to the original, including the Ooo Ooo's.
for my money, one of the greatest recordings ever. and one of the finest female vocal performances ever committed to tape. (if you watch the film '20 feet from stardom' they talk about and to Merry Clayton about this recording. awesome!! this proves ya don't need super high-gain amps and guitars to be heavy. this is HEAVY
You have to read the back story on the background vocals. That's Merry Clayton. I won't go into it. Better you look up her story yourself...It's stuff made of Legends, with a rather sad twist to it.
man...i STILL get shivers from this song every friggin time
I'm so glad I was your age in 1972. My favorite Stones song. Really enjoying the channel.
Young people today don't even know about the Vietnam War. Blows my mind!
Or the draft
"Love, sister." kind of has a bit of humor in the "Woodstock" film where a nun smiles and flashes a peace sign.
There are so many classic Stones songs it's hard to point to a few, but I'd go with "Can't you hear me knocking" (not a Jam band, but a damn good imitation of one here, and they hit it out of the park), "Sympathy for the devil", "Paint it black", "Brown Sugar", "Angie", "Honky Tonk Woman" , and "Shattered", Just to kick it off..You go deep on these guy you may never resurface!
it is truly unbelievable how many great songs they did. You didn't even mention Ruby Tuesday, Satisfaction, Jumping Jack Flash, Beast of Burden, Mother's Little Helper, Start Me Up. And I'm leaving out a ton too.
@@pablogaeta3815 Yeah, it's an exercise in futility, really..I just popped them off the top of my head. I could have easily have put all the ones down that you mentioned, and then some..The list just goes on and on.
And you didn't even mention, "Under My thumb", "Time is on my side", "Waiting on a friend", "Tumblin' dice", "Miss you", "she's a rainbow", "Midnight rambler", "Wild Horses", "Monkey man"...etc., etc., ad infinitum!..Lol!
Can't You Hear me Knocking -- great song and instrumentals. Wild Horses, so many others.
@@rickcooper53 god. there's so many!
At age 69, this is very emotional to me. We were in the middle of the Vietnam war and had just seen the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Yes, we were just a shot away. It's relevant today!
Check out the film 20 Feet From Stardom (on Netflix i think), about backing vocalists. Jagger and Merry Clayton tell the story of the recording of the song. The part where they feature her vocal as a stand alone brought tears to my eyes. Amazing.
"That escalated quickly!"
Young people feel like 'this is the worst thing that has ever happened', old people feel like 'oh this shit's going on again'. It is always depressing but it NEVER means that we shouldn't stand up for what's right. Music like this makes you want to stand up!
Gimme Shelter was introduced in the fall of 1969. In 1969 we buried Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and hundreds of our servicemen who came back from Vietnam in a box. In 1968 we lived thru riots in Detroit and Chicago. In 1968 we saw smoke cover LA as whole blocks of Watts burned to the ground. The deaths of Bobby and Martin were just a shot away. Just a shot away. So don't get lost in the music, heed the words. If not, you will live them again.
The Rock n Roll biography (name escapes me) put it like this. Bob Dylan banged in the 1960s with "Like a Rolling Stone" and the Rolling Stones closed out the 1960s with "Gimme Shelter". Well put.
Gimmie Shelter is also the name of a documentary about the chronicling the last weeks of The Rolling Stones' 1969 US tour which culminated in the disastrous Altamont Free Concert at Altamont Speedway, northern California. This concert was infamous and involved the Hell's Angels biker gang (which had been hired to do security for the event) murdering a black man named Meredith Hunter during the Rolling Stones's set. The Grateful Dead organized the concert, but ended up not performing in their slot because of the violence. Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter would write the lyrics to New Speedway Boogie shortly after this event, which would be released the following year on the classic album Workingman's Dead. I'll post the link to that song below, which is a newly remastered version released in 2020. ua-cam.com/video/Kg_bv83MqH8/v-deo.html
This song always takes me to the Vietnam war. I was about 13 yrs old when this song came out. The Vietnam war was broadcast into American's living rooms every evening, with the body counts, etc. Not a good memory, but I love the song because it also reminds me of some of my favorite shows in the early 80s...China Beach and Tour of Duty. My young son and I wouldn't miss either of these shows for anything less than a Red Dawn scenario in our own backyard. I'm loving your reactions, Daniel. I think you're at the top of list of reactors here on UA-cam. Thanks for all of your hard work...
You have to listen to "Ohio" by Neil Young, another great protest song, and "Fortunate Son" by the Credence Clearwater Revival.
Vietnam is the obvious reference, but the band members were born during WW2 and would have grown up with people who had very recently experienced the Blitz, the battle field, the fear and deprivation of that enormous fight. The Cold War and the possibility of a nuclear war in the west was also on people's minds in the 50s and 60s.
You speak of that fear and apprehension when watching the news - the fear that war is really just a shot away. In the late 60s-early 70s, that was the norm every single night on the news. Vietnam caused growing controversy as students across the country protested, racial tensions in all major cities added fuel to the fire. To understand the peak of that unrest, please listen to Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young's 'Ohio' - Neil Young's cry of anguish over government crackdown on protests - read the story of Kent State. You will better understand the world of this song.
Randy Gibson And let's not forget the always-lurking beast of mutually-assured destruction of nuclear annihilation...man, it was a tough time. Kids today have no idea.
@@charliemac64 agree.... most of the heat today is media manipulated games b/c of their fear of the orange Godzilla they’ve created in their minds.... perhaps in a much more subversive, manipulative way, we indeed do live in very dangerous times. But as far as existential real tangible threats, yes the late 60s was like walking thru a mine filed.
Another relatable song of theirs would be Street Fighting Man 🔥🔥
Of the 738 Stones albums (or it seems like that many!), there are 4 essentials for me. "Beggar's Banquet" "Let it Bleed" "Sticky Fingers" and "Exile on Main Street". Mick Taylor on guitar with Keith here. Wish he had stayed longer! Great player!
Scariest song ever recorded in rock and roll. Cemented the Glimmer Twins as the peak. Looking forward to you diving into their catalogue.
Nice reaction, Daniel. An unheralded Stones song you will really enjoy is "She's A Rainbow"! You'll love it!
Gimme Shelter came out in 1969. Merry Clayton is the backup singer. You can also hear Merry on "Sweet Home Alabama " by Lnyarnd Snkyarnd.
Love being on your musical journey with you Kiddo - very impressed with you, your maturity for your age and your ability to dissect to lyrics...just watched you react to In A Gadda Da Vida and LOVED watching your reaction as it went along. Great job w/everything! Keep at it !!
This songs Live performance at Altamont speedway, along with the rise of Black Sabbath, was the end of the summer of love. The days of the hippies died
Can you do Miss You and Sympathy For the Devil please??
Your going to hear songs from back in the 70's like this that are just as relevant today as they were back then! The more things change the more they stay the same! A truly chilling song
There is a YT of an interview with Merry Clayton who did the background vocal. It is a really good video to see her perspective. There is also one interview with Mick Jagger about how the song was recorded.
IMO - THE protest song of the 60's. The greatest tune by the Stones. One of the most important rock songs ever written.
This was not that popular song when first cam out. BUT it was one song I kept playing the whole album. Just a teenager collage student who did not want to go tot Vietnam. It was a protest song for us. Again, Vietnam the USA did not go to win. It was in the war with the little country of Vietnam for 10 years. The USA could have one in 6 months, but all they did is send us kids over there to die. Over 50,000 of us died there. We did not want to go and fight, just to fight. It makes no sense just to fight just to fight. Why not go and win. Yes I was there at the time.
Watch "20 Feet From Stardom" about backing singers and features Merry Clayton and Gimme Shelter as a central part of the documentary.
deeceetee I wish I could give a truckload of thumbs up.
Ok. They got her out of bed and into the studio on zero notice. She owned the song. Sad stuff happened after. You can look it up.
Easter egg: at 7:33 of your reaction video listen for mick screaming “whoooo!” after she just about pops a vocal chord on “murder!!”
And Merry was pregnant at the time and almost didn't do it - thank God she did - greatest performance ever! Great job 👏
One of the top songs of the 60's, not just because it's a great song, but because it's one of those songs that really captures the feel of its era.
This is one of THE GREAT rock songs. It will travel with you through your long life.
Merry Clayton was pregnant with rollers in her hair when she got an emergency call at 2am to record those tracks. Her husband told her GO!
She recorded in hair rollers with child.
When my friends and I had a “floor” of a vacation house (lol) in the early 70’s this song played on our record player all through the house everyday. It’s so great.
This song has one of THE coolest intros of ANY song, EVER. (Not to mention, the entire song is f'ing brilliant).
In my opinion this is the Rolling Stones' best song. So now there's nowhere to go but down lol. It's kind of the bridge between their more poppy 60's stuff and their more bluesy 70's stuff. But they do have a lot more great songs and obviously everybody has different tastes.
"In my opinion this is the Rolling Stones' best song." I'm with you there.
Hard to pick my favorite Stones song but this and " Can't you hear me knocking" top two.
This is right up there. That intro gives me chills every time, and I have been listening to it since about 1981.
The album that it comes from, Let It Bleed, is my favourite Stones album*
Personally, I can't get past Sympathy For The Devil as my all time favourite Stones song, but this is close.
*I reserve the right to completely change my mind on that
Really good on a good stereo. Squawkers, woofers, & tweeters. There's a lot there to hear.
Vietnam war was at it's worst when this song was released!
For many people at the time this song epitomized the end of the Hippie dream. Dark, mysterious and sexy, the Stones at their best.
One of The Rolling Stones best songs. Someday I’d like to hear your take see your reaction to The Sweets “Sweet F.A.” Their live version
When Richards wrote this the world was on fire, the end of the 60's. It's been relevant in every decade since. it is , in my opinion, the greatest rock and roll song ever written mainly because of that. And it just drives the chaos into you non stop.
Im glad I saw the moment when you heard/read the lyric and felt the shock, and the dread of this ominous message.
Please pray for Ukraine and all the people in the world who are facing this storm today.
Love anyone I grew up.listening from my older siblings
Ask your Dad about this song, Can't Find My Way Home by Blind Faith
WE CALLED IT THE ROCK AND ROLL NATIONAL ANTEM,WAY BACK WHEN................
Merry Clayton did a version of the song herself. One of the best cover versions of anything, ever.
Check out the version recorded by Playing for Change. Not only is this something that is socially relevant in the U.S., but the world feels it, too.
I'm sure even the Beatles thought this was amazing......truly one of the greatest moments ever recorded
My number one Stones song. Merry Clayton on background is beyond great!
1969....Vietnam War...Demonstrations in the Streets...Civil Rights....riots.....The debacle of the police violence of the Democratic Convention in Chicago....cities on fire....late sixties....NEVER in a million years did I EVER think we would be here again. So EFFING depressing.
There was a war in Vietnam going strong at that time, there was also the civil rights movement and protests against military conscription (the lottery). It was a true pivotal time in America and around the world. I lived through it.
The song was written by Keith. Jagger had been hitting on Anita. Richards looked out of the window watching a storm roll in . He took out his aggressions with this tune driven against rage towards Jagger. I was your age when it came out. Interesting that your take on this brings me back. Let it bleed was the first LP that hooked me on the Stones , although Money man was even more impressive. Many gave credit to Taylor for the lead guitar , but I always read credits and Keith does most of the lead, rhythm and bass on the LP . He was a very busy and wasted guy. Amazing guy ❗
A word of appreciation for Charlie Watts keeping up that relentless drumbeat.
You should watch the documentary "20 Feet from Stardom" for the story of Merry Clayton and other amazing and undersung backup singers.
Dear reactionary, you might also try “Time Waits for No One” by the Rolling Stones.
It’s one of Mick Taylor’s last contributions and sometimes easy to miss. He was the lead guitar in their best period.
The song was written during the Vietnam war. It is used in many movies.
1969 a year before I was born I wish the world would get along👽😢 it's a great song!
Great reaction sir- you have a new subscriber!!
Welcome aboard!
Try the Stones song Jumping Jack flash- i think it's the best rock song ever written- you gotta check it out- bless you
I remember this song from Vietnam war! I was around 9 years old at the time! This was one that was played by the men in the field
Vietnam war was on nightly news showing death and destruction on war. This is the definitive rock , protest song . Rocks out!!!!
...it was a Vietnam War protest song...right after the 1968 Tet Offensive...1969...I was in the army right after that...RVN...LR.
You ever thought about doing Glam rock from England in the 70’s? Fun bands like T-Rex, Sweet, and Slade are great to hear.
Sympathy for the devil is a must!!!!
I weep for our education system. 40 years from now we'll not understand how our kids don't know what's happening today.
Vietnam, Civil Rights, Reproductive Rights - THE ENVIRONMENT - air could not be breathed - I was 15 at the time - 1966 and it was the music back then that kept me sane and off drugs - still engaged politically, and every time I hear so much of the music from this time my entire aura lights up - So much music resides in my head:-)
how do you go from that song to a subway ad?! ;)
How indeed...
Welcome to Corporate America
My fav Stones song. Merry Clayton's background vocals give me chills. Classic 60's . Great reaction. Pretty relevant in these times. Viet Nam was going on as well as civil rights issues, etc. The turbulant late 60's.
Stones best songs. Your old man clearly has taste 👏🏻👏🏻
This song is relevant today. I believe it came out late 1968 or 69. It is an anti war song about the Vietnam war. At that time along with the protests on college campuses over the war, the civil rights movement was still in full swing. Dr. Martin Luther King had been killed in April of 1968 followed by Bobby Kennedy in June of 68. The country was literally being torn apart at the seams. The young people of this country stood their ground and brought the war to an end but it would take another 5 years. Unfortunately we haven't been as successful with civil rights.
50 years ago was Viet Nam war, things were still somewhat unstable with Russia and there were riots going on as well. Keith Richards has looked half dead for 50 years but he has been rocking that guitar in a good way the whole time. He is a great musician.
And the best live version by the Stones is 2003 London and can be found on UA-cam.
I believe the shot away line came in reference to the assassination that started WW2. These guys are of the generation that lived the aftermath of the war
Now you're talkin' my language. Part of the soundtrack of my teen years. Yes, it was tumultuous back then. Vietnam war. But we made it through and we will make it through again. Try the Stones "19th Nervous Breakdown"👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Gimme Shelter came out in 1969 while the stupid and undeclared, corporation's Vietnam war raged on. Although this song was inspired by that war, it's also about war in general. WWI started with just a gun shot (or more) with the assassination of the Archduke of Austria and his wife while visiting Bosnia.
it more than about the Vietnam war. There was a huge push for equality and oppression going on called the civil rights movement. The song could easily describe a period of unrest in the sixties with multiple things going on at once, but unified in expression. it is similar today, but different in many ways. there isn't a true counter culture drawn together by music for instance. I'm actually afraid of what can happen today even more than back then. There is little to unify people except anger at each other.
We had the watts riots. and kents state shooting.
speaking of Kent State, Ohio by Crosby, Stills, and Nash is one he should react to.
Absolutely relevant today - we must stand up, our Freedom of Speech
Jagger and Richards were both born at the end of WW2. The Korean War was 1950 to 1953. Vietnam war was 1955 to 1975. Many of the war protests during the 1960’s were against the Vietnam War. There’s a lot of music to reflect this from that decade.
I once knew a nitwit/nimrod who complained that....get this...Merry Clayton...was...off key. Off key. Imagine that. OFF KEY. I had to explain to said nitwit/nimrod...that he really needed to listen to the freakin' lyrics...that this ain't Vivaldi. And I LOVE Vivaldi...but damn! Rape! Murder! Children! is not something the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is gonna tackle. But...he was a guitarist (in capital letters) ... so what the hell did I know. After I made him LISTEN to it the 3rd/4th time, he finally got it. Reluctantly...because...I was just a girl. ''Girls don't know rock.'' What a doofus. Almost dated him...but naw. He blew it, and I dodged a bullet there. Numbskull.
I feel like crying right now. I lost my first love, fiance at 19 in 1970 to Vietnam and you ask was there a war then?! My God, what do they teach you in school these days, is our generation really that forgotten by today's youth? Want a great soundtrack Vietnam movie ? Watch Good morning America with Robin Williams. So many great protest songs of that time.
50 years ago: Vietnam along with riots (similar to now).
I can't believe you got past the age of five without hearing this - where were your parents 😂 Merry Clayton did an epic job on this, you can find her isolated vocal track on UA-cam (you can hear the band being blown away in the background). The great Lisa Ficsher took that part in the live performances for many years. Gimme Shelter is the highlight of every Stones gig. OMG, I just realised it's fifty years old!
Father knows best !!!
"Turn that up" yup that how you listen to the stones.
Great band - I have a large collection of their records from way back - they should keep you going for a while.
I love finding fellow young “old souls” though I am a bit older than you (I’m 26). Old music is so much better IMO. I love watching your reactions. Also, just FYI, this was a Vietnam war era song. Great. video! Keep it up! 😊