Rocktober 3, 2023
Rocktober 3rd!
Just a reminder that the songs that I am bringing to you this month are based on some survey from some website (I don’t even recall where, so don’t ask) They had fans respond with their favorite Rock tunes, and these are the top 31(ish) I say ish because I out-voted one or two that I didn’t agree with in their ranking. We’re working our way up to the Number One spot.
Today our song is: Gimme Shelter by Rolling Stones
Wikipedia tells us this about the song:
"Gimme Shelter" was written by the Rolling Stones' lead vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards, the band's primary songwriting team. Richards began working on the song's signature opening riff in London while Jagger was away filming Performance with Richards' then-girlfriend, Anita Pallenberg. In his autobiography Life, Richards revealed that the tension of the song was inspired by his jealousy at seeing the relationship between Pallenberg and Jagger, and his suspicions of an affair between them.
Be sure to stop by tomorrow to see what is next on the list! Feel free to join in the fun. The more the merrier, I say!
I'll start sticking your Rocktober badge on my Song of the Day posts. Rocktober is what got me started on Song of the Day....
ReplyDeleteInteresting back story. I always loved this song
ReplyDelete"A storm is threatening my very life today," I guess jealousy will do that to ya. I can't tell you the last time I heard this song, but I'll think of it differently from this day forward ;-) Happy day, Mary!
ReplyDeleteTwo things come to mind when I hear 1969's "Gimme Shelter" from the Stones "Let It Bleed"...
ReplyDeleteWhen their second "Best Of" compilation was released in 1972, it was a two album set, called "Hot Rocks." The problem with an 8-Track Cartridge Tape was placement (Song Selection) and you would learn where in the loop to change programs (there we four to choose from.) On this tape, "Gimme Shelter" and "Wild Horses" were both the last song on a program, so which one to listen to? The latter would go a long way towards introducing a mainstream audience to Gram Parsons, whose band Flying Burrito Brothers took the song lyrics and put them to music, then taught it back to the Rolling Stones. The former would introduce a rock audience to Merry Clayton, who was brought in, late night, to add a female voice to the "Gimme Shelter" track... Legend is, a midnight phone call got her out of bed to come record at two in the morning. She showed up pregnant, wearing pajamas and a mink coat, with her hair up in curlers, and went straight into a take. Jagger asked her for a second take, and she decided, she was going to blow it up. Listen at about the 2:40 mark, where she "jumped an octave" and wrote her name right into the rock and roll history books. Top of the world... Unfortunately, Merry went home and suffered a miscarriage that night. Many blamed the late night stress of the recording session. Whether that factored in or not could never be proven.
Fascinating back story! Thanks for sharing it, Michael.
DeleteThis song has such a haunting quality! It always reminds me of the incident at Altamont.
ReplyDeleteI learned two back stories today. I knew about Merry Clayton's vocals (and, for me, she really made this song) but not the sad backstory of her participation. I absolutely love this song. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
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