Gimme Shelter#"Putting Our House in Order" project
{{short description|1969 song by The Rolling Stones}}
{{About|the song by the Rolling Stones|other uses|Gimme Shelter (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2014}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Gimme Shelter
| cover =
| alt =
| type = song
| artist = the Rolling Stones
| album = Let It Bleed
| released = {{Start date|1969|12|05|df=y}}{{cite web|title=Gimme Shelter: How the Rolling Stones Captured the Death of the '60s|date=5 December 2021 |url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/the-rolling-stones-gimme-shelter-song/https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/the-rolling-stones-gimme-shelter-song/|access-date=11 February 2022}}{{cite web|title=The Story Behind The Song: Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-story-behind-the-song-gimme-shelter-by-the-rolling-stones|publisher=Classic Rock Magazine|website=loudersound.com|date=28 April 2014|access-date=11 February 2022}}
| format =
| recorded = 23 February, 2 November 1969
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = * Hard rock{{cite book|author=v.d. Luft, Eric|title=Die at the Right Time!: A Subjective Cultural History of the American Sixties|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ryvnZiTBAAC&pg=PA410|date=21 September 2009|publisher=Gegensatz Press|isbn=978-1-933237-39-8|page=410}}
| length = {{Duration|m=4|s=37}}
| label = * Decca
| writer = Jagger–Richards
| producer = Jimmy Miller
| misc = {{Audio sample
| type = song
| file = The_Rolling_Stones_-_Gimme_Shelter.ogg
| description = Gimme Shelter
}}
}}
"Gimme Shelter"{{efn|Original pressings of Let It Bleed spelled the title as "Gimmie Shelter", although the current form has been adopted as far more widely recognized.{{Cite web|last=Museum of Modern Art|first=New York|date=2013-09-12|title=Let Them Eat Delia's Cake, or Robert Brownjohn's 'Let It Bleed'|url=https://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2013/09/12/let-them-eat-delias-cake-or-robert-brownjohns-let-it-bleed/|website=moma.org|language=en}}}} is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written by Jagger–Richards, it is the opening track of the band's 1969 album Let It Bleed.Let it Bleed tracklisting here{{Cite web|title=You Won't Believe The Haunting Truth Behind The Rolling Stone's "Gimme Shelter"|url=https://societyofrock.com/you-wont-believe-the-haunting-truth-behind-the-rolling-stones-gimme-shelter/|access-date=2022-02-11|website=Society Of Rock|date=30 August 2016 |language=en-US}} The song covers the brutal realities of war, including murder, rape and fear.{{Cite web|last=Wall|first=Mick|date=2014-04-28|title=The Story Behind The Song: Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-story-behind-the-song-gimme-shelter-by-the-rolling-stones|access-date=2021-11-23|website=loudersound|language=en}} It features prominent guest vocals by American singer Merry Clayton.
American author, music journalist and cultural critic Greil Marcus, writing for Rolling Stone magazine at the time of its release, praised the song, stating that the band has "never done anything better".{{Cite web|last=sw00ds|date=2020-03-22|title='Let it Bleed' (12/27/69)|url=https://greilmarcus.net/2020/03/22/the-end-of-the-1960s-let-it-bleed-12-27-69/|access-date=2021-11-23|website=GreilMarcus.net|language=en}} "Gimme Shelter" has placed in various positions on many "best of" and "greatest" lists including that of Rolling Stone magazine.{{Cite magazine|date=2021-09-15|title=The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/|access-date=2021-09-16|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}} In 2021 "Gimme Shelter" was ranked at number 13 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/the-rolling-stones-gimme-shelter-2-1225325/|title=Gimme Shelter ranked #13 on Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs List|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=15 September 2021|access-date=16 September 2021}}
Inspiration and recording
"Gimme Shelter" was written by the Rolling Stones' lead singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards, the band's primary songwriting team.{{refn|group=note|The Mick Jagger and Keith Richards writing team is commonly referred to as the "Glimmer Twins" and has occasionally been credited as such on releases.}} Richards began working on the song's signature opening riff in London while Jagger was away filming Performance with Richards' 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jun/14/anita-pallenberg-anything-but-a-passenger-on-the-stones-journey|title=Anita Pallenberg – anything but a passenger on the Stones' journey|last=Petridis|first=Alexis | author-link = Alexis Petridis|date=14 June 2017|work=The Guardian|access-date=13 September 2019}}
As released, the song begins with Richards performing a guitar intro, soon joined by Jagger's lead vocal. Of Let It Bleed{{'}}s bleak world view, Jagger said in a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone magazine,
{{blockquote|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. The thing about Vietnam was that it wasn't like World War II, and it wasn't like Korea, and it wasn't like the Gulf War. It was a real nasty war, and people didn't like it. People objected, and people didn't want to fight it{{nbsp}}... That's a kind of end-of-the-world song, really. It's apocalypse; the whole record's like that.{{cite magazine |last=Wenner |first=Jann |author-link=Jann Wenner |title=Jagger Remembers |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=14 December 1995 |access-date=20 May 2007 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/mick_jagger_remembers/page/3 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070518205122/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/mick_jagger_remembers/page/3 |archive-date=18 May 2007 |df=dmy-all }},}}
Similarly, on NPR in 2012,
{{blockquote|It was a very moody piece about the world closing in on you a bit{{nbsp}}... When it was recorded, early '69 or something, it was a time of war and tension, so that's reflected in this tune. It's still wheeled out when big storms happen, as they did the other week [during Hurricane Sandy]. It's been used a lot to evoke natural disaster.{{cite web |title=Mick Jagger On The Apocalyptic 'Gimme Shelter' |url=https://www.npr.org/2012/11/16/165270769/mick-jagger-on-the-apocalyptic-gimme-shelter |publisher=NPR |date=November 16, 2012 |access-date=27 October 2017 }}}}
The song's inspiration was not initially Vietnam or social unrest, however, but Richards seeing people scurrying for shelter from a sudden rain storm. According to him:
{{blockquote|I had been sitting by the window of my friend Robert Fraser's apartment on Mount Street in London with an acoustic guitar when suddenly the sky went completely black and an incredible monsoon came down. It was just people running about looking for shelter – that was the germ of the idea. We went further into it until it became, you know, rape and murder are 'just a shot away'.{{cite web |title=Keith Richards Recalls Making the Rolling Stones' 'Gimme Shelter' |last=Giles |first=Jeff |date=27 October 2017 |url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/keith-richards-making-gimme-shelter/ |publisher=Ultimate Classic Rock }}}}
{{anchor|Merry Clayton}}
The recording features guest vocals by Merry Clayton, recorded at a last-minute late-night recording session in Los Angeles during the mixing phase, arranged by her friend and record producer Jack Nitzsche.{{cite web |url=http://www.openculture.com/2013/06/mick_jagger_tells_the_story_behind_gimme_shelter.html|title=Mick Jagger Tells the Story Behind 'Gimme Shelter' and Merry Clayton's Haunting Background Vocals |last=Springer |first=Mike |website=Open Culture |access-date=2016-10-03}} After the first verse is sung by Jagger, Clayton enters and they share the next three verses. A harmonica solo by Jagger and guitar solo by Richards follow. Then, with great energy, Clayton repeatedly sings "Rape, murder! It's just a shot away! It's just a shot away!", almost screaming the final stanza. She and Jagger then repeat the line "It's just a shot away" and finish with repeats of "It's just a kiss away". When speaking of her inclusion in the recording, Jagger stated in the 2003 book According to the Rolling Stones that the Rolling Stones' producer Jimmy Miller thought of having a female singer on the track and told fellow producer Nitzsche to contact one, "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.{{'"}}{{Cite book |title=According to the Rolling Stones |last1=Jagger |first1=Mick |last2=Richards |first2=Keith |last3=Wood |first3=Ronnie |last4=Watts |first4=Charlie |publisher=Chronicle Books |year=2003 |isbn=0811869679 |location=California |pages=117 }} Summoned from bed around midnight by Nitzsche, Clayton – about four months pregnant – made her recording with just a few takes and then returned home to bed. It remained the most prominent contribution to a Rolling Stones track by a female vocalist for 54 years, until the October 2023 release of "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" on their album, Hackney Diamonds, featuring Lady Gaga, whom producer Andrew Watt described as "almost embodying Merry Clayton" on the track.Unterberger, Richie. [{{AllMusic|class=song|id=t2770198|pure_url=yes}} "Gimme Shelter"]. allmusic.com (2007). Accessed 20 May 2007.{{cite web |url=https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/stories/the-rolling-stones-on-working-with-paul-mccartney-and-lady-gaga/ |title=The Rolling Stones On Working With Paul McCartney And Lady Gaga: "Macca wanted to put the dirt on it." |first1=Danny |last1=Eccleston |work=Mojo |date=13 October 2023 }}
At about 2:59 into the song, Clayton's voice cracks under the strain; once during the second refrain on the word "shot", then on the word "murder" during the third refrain, after which Jagger is faintly heard exclaiming "Woo!" in response to Clayton's powerful delivery.{{Citation |title=20 Feet From Stardom – Gimme Shelter |date=2016-02-12 |url=http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2683583091 |language=en-CA |access-date=2017-09-03}} Upon returning home, Clayton suffered a miscarriage, attributed by some sources to her exertions during the recording.{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-03-13-ca-19857-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |first=Don |last=Snowden |date=13 March 1986 |title=For Clayton, The Gloom Is Gone }}{{cite web |last=Ham |first=Robert |title= Merry Clayton: 'Gimme Shelter left a dark taste in my mouth' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/apr/08/gimme-shelter-left-a-dark-taste-in-my-mouth-merry-clayton |date=8 April 2021 |work=The Guardian |accessdate= 18 April 2021 }} Merry Clayton's name was written 'Mary' on the original release. (Her given name is "Merry" due to her being born on Christmas Day.) Her name is also listed as "Mary" on the 2002 Let It Bleed remastered CD.Jagger, M., Richards, K., Let It Bleed. Album credits. 2002. CD.
The song was recorded in London at Olympic Studios in February and March 1969; the vocals were recorded in Los Angeles at Sunset Sound Recorders and Elektra Studios in October and November that same year.Rolling Stones and the Making of Let It Bleed, by Sean Egan, {{ISBN|1903318777}} ({{ISBN|9781903318775}}) Nicky Hopkins played piano, Jimmy Miller played percussion, Charlie Watts played drums, Bill Wyman played bass, Jagger played harmonica and sang backup vocals with Richards and Clayton. Guitarist Brian Jones was absent during these sessions, Richards being credited with rhythm and lead guitars on the album sleeve. For the recording, Richards used an Australian-made Maton SE777, a large single-cutaway hollowbody guitar, which he had previously used on "Midnight Rambler". The guitar barely survived the recording before literally falling apart. "[O]n the very last note of 'Gimme Shelter,{{'"}} Richards told Guitar World in 2002, "the whole neck fell off. You can hear it on the original take."{{cite news |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/archive-rolling-stones-keith-richards-looks-back-40-years-making-music?page=5 |work=Guitar World |date=6 January 2012 |title=From the Archive: The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards Looks Back on 40 Years of Making Music }}
Releases on compilation albums and live recordings
"Gimme Shelter" quickly became a staple of the Rolling Stones' live shows. It was first performed sporadically during their 1969 American Tour and became a regular addition to their setlist during the 1972 American Tour. For these live renditions, all vocals were handled by Mick Jagger. These performances are now famous instead for the finely crafted solos by lead guitarist Mick Taylor, who however did not play on the studio recording of the song.
Other concert versions appear on the Stones' albums No Security (recorded 1997, released 1998),{{Cite web|url=http://www.rollingstones.com/release/no-security/|title=No Security {{!}} The Rolling Stones|website=rollingstones.com|language=en|access-date=2017-09-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141203164812/http://www.rollingstones.com/release/no-security/|archive-date=3 December 2014|url-status=dead}} Live Licks (recorded 2003, released 2004),{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/live-licks-mw0000139531|title=Live Licks – The Rolling Stones {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits |website=AllMusic|access-date=2017-09-03}} Brussels Affair (recorded 1973, released 2011),{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2011/nov/22/rolling-stones-bootleg-brussels-affair|title=Why a Rolling Stones bootleg is one of my albums of the year|last=Harris|first=John|date=2011-11-22|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-09-03|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/brussels-affair-live-1973-mw0001204298|title=Brussels Affair (Live 1973) - The Rolling Stones {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits |website=AllMusic|access-date=2017-09-03}} and Hyde Park Live (2013).{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sweet-summer-sun-hyde-park-live-mw0002579875|title=Sweet Summer Sun: Hyde Park Live - The Rolling Stones {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits |website=AllMusic|access-date=2017-09-03}} A May 1995 performance recorded at Paradiso (Amsterdam) was released on the 1996 "Wild Horses" (live) single, on the 1998 "Saint of Me" single (included in the 45-CD 2011 box set The Singles 1971–2006), and again on Totally Stripped in 2016.
The song appeared in Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones, a film of the Stones' 1972 North American Tour, as well as on its 2010 official DVD release.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/10/ladies-and-gentlemen-the-rolling-stones|title=Ladies and Gentlemen, the Rolling Stones Finally Gets the DVD Treatment|last=Spitz|first=Marc|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=11 October 2010|access-date=2017-09-03}} It is also featured on the concert DVD/Blu-ray sets Bridges to Babylon Tour '97–98 (1998), Four Flicks (2003), The Biggest Bang (2007), Sweet Summer Sun: Hyde Park Live (2013), Totally Stripped (2016), and Havana Moon (2016).{{Cite news|url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/blog/reviewed-rolling-stones-havana-moon-95498|title=Reviewed! The Rolling Stones - Havana Moon - Uncut|date=2016-09-20|work=Uncut|access-date=2017-09-03|language=en-US}}
The female contributor to the live version of the song was Lisa Fischer from 1989 to 2015,{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jun/08/lisa-fischer-on-life-in-the-shadows-of-the-stones-and-tina-turner-i-got-used-to-keeping-quiet|title=Lisa Fischer on life in the shadows of the Stones and Tina Turner: 'I got used to keeping quiet'|last=Ellis-Petersen|first=Hannah|date=2016-06-07|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-09-03|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}{{cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-rolling-stones-gimme-shelter-chanel-haynes-1372227/ |title=Watch the Rolling Stones Play a Stunning 'Gimme Shelter' With Guest Vocalist Chanel Haynes |last=Greene |first=Andy |date=2022-06-22 |publisher=Rolling Stone |access-date=2023-04-06 |quote=}} Sasha Allen from 2016 to 2022, and for the 2024 North American tour Chanel Haynes. Chanel Haynes also stood in on the 2022 European tour for a single performance in Milan on 21 June 2022.
In their 2012 50th anniversary tour, the Rolling Stones sang this song with Mary J. Blige,{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1481366/rolling-stones-gimme-shelter-did-gaga-mary-j-or-florence-sing-it-best|title=Rolling Stones' 'Gimme Shelter': Did Gaga, Mary J. or Florence Sing It Best?|magazine=Billboard|access-date=2017-09-03}} Florence Welch, and Lady Gaga.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-rolling-stones-211-1251626|title=Lady Gaga sings 'Gimme Shelter' with The Rolling Stones at New Jersey gig|date=2012-12-16|work=NME|access-date=2017-09-03|language=en-US}}
"Gimme Shelter" was never released as a single. Nevertheless, it has been included on many compilation releases, including Gimme Shelter,{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/gimme-shelter-live-mw0000843735|title=Gimme Shelter [Live] - The Rolling Stones {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic|access-date=2017-09-03}} Hot Rocks 1964–1971,{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/hot-rocks-1964-1971-mw0000227887|title=Hot Rocks: 1964-1971 - The Rolling Stones {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic|access-date=2017-09-03}} Forty Licks,{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/forty-licks-mw0000661926|title=Forty Licks - The Rolling Stones {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic|access-date=2017-09-03}} and GRRR!{{Cite web|url=http://www.rollingstones.com/grrr/|title=Buy GRRR! {{!}} The Rolling Stones|website=rollingstones.com|language=en|access-date=2017-09-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120193631/http://www.rollingstones.com/grrr/|archive-date=20 November 2012|url-status=dead}} In 2023, a version of the song, featuring Lady Gaga, was also included on their 50th-anniversary live tour album, GRRR Live! – Live at Newark.{{cite magazine|last=Kreps|first=Daniel|url-access= subscription|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rolling-stones-grrr-live-springsteen-gaga-mayer-newark-1234638685/|title=Rolling Stones to Release All-Star 50th Anniversary Show as Live Album|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=November 30, 2022|access-date=February 8, 2023|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208181717/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rolling-stones-grrr-live-springsteen-gaga-mayer-newark-1234638685/|archive-date=December 8, 2022}}
Personnel
According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon:{{sfn|Margotin|Guesdon|2016|pp=288–289}}
The Rolling Stones
- Mick Jagger{{snd}} lead vocals, harmonica
- Keith Richards{{snd}} backing vocals, lead and rhythm guitars
- Bill Wyman{{snd}} bass
- Charlie Watts{{snd}} drums
Additional personnel
- Merry Clayton{{snd}} lead and backing vocals
- Nicky Hopkins{{snd}} piano
- Jimmy Miller{{snd}} güiro, maracas{{refn|group=note|While Margotin and Guesdon credit güiro and maracas to Miller,{{sfn|Margotin|Guesdon|2016|pp=288–289}} authors Andy Babiuk and Greg Prevost write Miller contributed tambourine.{{sfn|Babiuk|Prevost|2013|p=313}}}}
Accolades
Greil Marcus, writing for Rolling Stone magazine at the time of the "Gimme Shelter{{"'}}s release, stated that "[t]he Stones have never done anything better".{{cite magazine|last=Marcus|first=Greil|date=27 December 1969|title=Let It Bleed The Rolling Stones: Let It Bleed|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/let-it-bleed-19691227|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=17 November 2012}} Pitchfork placed it at number 12 on its list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s".{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/6405-the-200-greatest-songs-of-the-1960s/1/ |title=The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s |publisher=Pitchfork |date=2006-08-18 |access-date=2016-10-03 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170502/http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/6405-the-200-greatest-songs-of-the-1960s/1/ |url-status=dead }} Ultimate Classic Rock put the song at number one on their Top 100 Rolling Stones songs{{cite web|url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/gimme-shelter-top-100-rolling-stones-songs/ |title=No. 1: 'Gimme Shelter' – Top 100 Rolling Stones Songs |website=Ultimateclassicrock.com |date=2012-07-12 |access-date=2016-10-03}} and number three on their Top 100 Classic Rock Songs.{{cite web|url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/rolling-stones-gimme-shelter-top-100-classic-rock-songs/ |title=No. 3: Rolling Stones, 'Gimme Shelter' – Top 100 Classic Rock Songs |website=Ultimateclassicrock.com |date=2012-04-30 |access-date=2016-10-03}}
It is ranked number 13 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. It is also ranked number 1 on the magazine's list of the band's best songs.{{Cite magazine|url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/100-greatest-rolling-stones-songs-40475/gimme-shelter-1969-98742/ |title=Gimme Shelter ranked #1 on 100 Best Rolling Stones Songs List|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=15 October 2013|access-date=14 May 2020}}
In popular culture
"Gimme Shelter" has been featured in a variety of films, television shows, and commercials. The 1970 documentary film Gimme Shelter, directed by Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin,{{Cite web|url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/films/gimme-shelter|title=Gimme Shelter |website=Festival de Cannes|language=en|access-date=2017-09-03}} chronicling the last weeks of the Stones' 1969 US tour and culminating in the disastrous Altamont Free Concert, took its name from the song.{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/network-awesome/gimme-shelter-the-rolling-stones-movie_b_2579944.html|title=Just a Shot Away: The Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter|last=Awesome|first=Network|date=2013-02-21|website=The Huffington Post|language=en-US|access-date=2017-09-03}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/6127459/The-Rolling-Stones-Gimme-Shelter.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/6127459/The-Rolling-Stones-Gimme-Shelter.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=The Rolling Stones: Gimme Shelter|work=Telegraph.co.uk|access-date=2017-09-03|language=en}}{{cbignore}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF173FE764BC4F53DFB467838B669EDE&mcubz=0|title=Movie Review - Gimme Shelter|last=Canby|first=Vincent|website=The New York Times|language=en|access-date=2017-09-03}} A live version of the song played over the documentary's credits.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/gimme-shelter-video-mw0000076239|title=Gimme Shelter [Video] - The Rolling Stones {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits |website=AllMusic|access-date=2017-09-03}} The song has appeared in the Air America movie and Martin Scorsese films Goodfellas, Casino, and The Departed.
- French filmmaker Michel Gondry directed a video using the song as musical backing, which was released in 1998. The video features a sixteen-year old Brad Renfro, playing a young man escaping with his brother from a dysfunctional home and the abuse they suffered at the hands of their abusive alcoholic father, and then from society as a whole.{{cite web |title=The Rolling Stones – Gimme Shelter (1998) |work=Michel Gondry: Pleasure of the Unknown |publisher=realeyz.tv |url=http://www.realeyz.tv/en/blog/tapehead-music-video-column/michel-gondry-pleasure-of-the-unknown.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130311014419/http://www.realeyz.tv/en/blog/tapehead-music-video-column/michel-gondry-pleasure-of-the-unknown.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 March 2013|access-date=2 March 2013 |date=31 December 2012}}
- The Hills of California, a 2024 play by Jez Butterworth, features the track.
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=single|artist=The Rolling Stones|title=Gimme Shelter|award=Platinum|number=3|certyear=2023|access-date=30 November 2023}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|award=Gold|relyear=1965|certyear=2018|certweek=1|title=Gimme Shelter|artist=The Rolling Stones|access-date=12 January 2018| type = single}}
{{Certification Table Entry |region=Spain|type=single|award=Gold|certyear=2024|artist=The Rolling Stones|title=Gimme Shelter|accessdate=13 February 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=2004|certyear=2024|title=Gimme Shelter|artist=Rolling Stones|access-date=28 September 2024|type=single|id=10400-44-1}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
Notable cover versions
- Merry Clayton, who performed with Mick Jagger on the Rolling Stones version of the song (see above), released a cover of "Gimme Shelter" in 1970 on her first solo album, also titled Gimme Shelter.[https://www.allmusic.com/album/gimme-shelter-mw0000840382 "Merry Clayton - Gumme Shelter"] AllMusic The song reached #63 in Canada.{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.3816.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - July 25, 1970}}
- American rock band Grand Funk Railroad covered and included it on their fourth studio album, Survival (1971). It was released as a single and reached 61 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.{{cite book| last = Whitburn| first = Joel| title = The Comparison Book Billboard/Cash Box/Record World 1954-1982| publisher = Sheridan Books| year = 2015| isbn = 978-0-89820-213-7}}
- British rock band The Sisters of Mercy recorded their version as the B-side to the single "Temple of Love" in 1983.
- U2 covered the song at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame benefit concert on 30 October 2009, with Mick Jagger sharing lead vocals with Bono and featuring the Black Eyed Peas members Fergie, singing Merry Clayton's vocal part, and will.i.am, playing piano and synthesizer.{{Cite news|url=http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/06/rock_hall_captivates_the_sense.html|title=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame captivates the senses with debut of Connor Theater (video)|work=cleveland.com|access-date=2017-08-06|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/fergies-night-out-with-mick-jagger-2010299|title=Fergie's Night Out With Mick Jagger!|work=Us Weekly|access-date=2017-08-06}}{{Citation|last=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame|title=U2, Mick Jagger, Fergie - "Gimme Shelter" at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Shows|date=2010-12-14|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o42zmYN2_-k| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129130049/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o42zmYN2_-k&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=2012-01-29 | url-status=dead|access-date=2017-08-06}}
- Paolo Nutini covered the song and was asked by Mick Jagger and Ben Affleck to perform the track for a documentary of the same name on the plight of the millions of people displaced from their homes as a result of fighting in the Sudanese region.{{Cite web|title=The 20 amazing Paolo Nutini facts you can share with your mates at the Hydro|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/13196460.the-20-amazing-paolo-nutini-facts-you-can-share-with-your-mates-at-the-hydro/|access-date=2020-08-15|website=HeraldScotland|date=9 January 2015 |language=en}}
="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, featuring on some also a live version of the song by the Rolling Stones.
;"Gimme Shelter" (pop version – CD and cassette single)
- Voice of the Beehive and Jimmy Somerville{{Cite web|url=https://open.spotify.com/user/wadewski/playlist/3gUY9iCZaArWK3Mg1tkZgI|title=Gimme Shelter – Voice of the Beehive and Jimmy, a playlist by Wade W Wellard on Spotify|website=Spotify|language=en|access-date=2017-08-07}}
- Heaven 17 with Hannah Jones
;"Gimme Shelter" (alternative version – CD single)
- New Model Army and Tom Jones{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/tracks/n2rx3w|title=Gimme Shelter - Tom Jones & New Model Army Song - BBC Music|website=BBC|access-date=2017-08-07}}
- Cud and Sandie Shaw
- Kingmaker
;"Gimme Shelter" (rock version – CD single)
- Thunder{{Citation|title=Gimme Shelter|date=1995-09-25|url=https://open.spotify.com/track/3rgMrxAo4IuG2tpiJmTPaA|language=en|access-date=2017-08-07}}
- 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)
==Charts==
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
!Chart (1993–1994) !Peak |
| scope="row"|Australian Singles Chart (ARIA Charts)"Gimme Shelter" (ARIA) peak: {{cite web |title=Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 28 April 2017 |url=https://i.imgur.com/IbUbeT7.gif |access-date=9 June 2023 |publisher=Imgur.com}}
|align="center"| 214 |
|---|
| scope="row"|UK Singles Chart (OCC){{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/gimme-shelter-(ep)/|title=Gimme Shelter (EP)|date=|work=Official Charts Company|at=officialcharts.com|publisher=OCC|access-date=9 June 2023}}
| style="text-align:center;"|23 |
References
Informational notes
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
{{Reflist|group=note}}
Citations
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book |last1=Babiuk |first1=Andy |last2=Prevost |first2=Greg |author1-link=Andy Babiuk |title=Rolling Stones Gear: All the Stones' Instruments from Stage to Studio |date=2013 |publisher=Backbeat Books |location=Milwaukee |isbn=978-1-61713-092-2}}
- {{cite book |last1=Margotin |first1=Philippe |last2=Guesdon |first2=Jean-Michel |title=The Rolling Stones All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track |date=2016 |publisher=Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers |location=New York |isbn=978-0-316-31774-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g5eTCwAAQBAJ}}
External links
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbmS3tQJ7Os Gimme Shelter (Official lyric video)] on YouTube
{{Let It Bleed}}
{{The Rolling Stones}}
{{The Rolling Stones singles}}
{{Grand Funk Railroad}}
{{Patti Smith}}
{{Jimmy Somerville}}
{{Tom Jones}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Grand Funk Railroad songs
Category:Songs written by Jagger–Richards
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Category:The Rolling Stones songs
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Category:Songs about depression
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Category:Capitol Records singles