At Bonefish Grill, we're passionate about discovering twists on familiar songs- remixes, acoustic versions and especially covers. That said, we're also the first to acknowledge that 95% of cover songs fall short of the original and that some iconic originals are best left untouched. So, our quest is often long, often thorny but discovering overlooked gems is a thrill like no other.
Which brings us to "Gimme Shelter" which sits at the lofty position of #38 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The Rolling Stones recorded their track in England in 1969 but the producer suggested that that they add a female background singer. The original background singer that was selected was sick so Merry Clayton was called in and recorded her now famous background vocals in Los Angeles and the rest is history – including that they misspelled her name as "Mary" on the album credits.
Fast forward one year and Merry, who also sang back-up on Lynard Skynard's "Sweet Home Alabama" and Joe Cocker's "With a Little Help From My Friends," decided to do her own cover of "Gimme Shelter."
Now there are people who would argue that such an iconic tune should never be toyed with, however, in this instance an all-star group of West Coast session players and Merry blow the lid off of the tune as funky keyboards, wah-wah guitars, stellar horns and Merry’s gospel-twinged voice combine in an explosive mix.
Highly recommended – a true find from Merry's album of the same name.