Merry Clayton (born December 25, 1948) is an American soul and gospel singer (both solo and back-up), and an actress. She has provided a number of back-up vocal tracks to songs recorded by major performing artists during the 1960s, most notably with her duet with Mick Jagger on the Rolling Stones song "Gimme Shelter." Merry is featured in 20 Feet from Stardom, the Oscar-winning documentary about background singers and their contributions to the music industry. In 2013, she released The Best of Merry Clayton, a compilation of her favorite songs.

The Best of Merry Clayton shines a spotlight on her solo recordings, particularly her two albums for Ode, Gimme Shelter and Merry Clayton which were released in 1970 and 1971, respectively.

Each of these tracks capture Clayton’s skills, as do the lesser-known songs here, where producer Lou Adler gives her a slick, funky, professional backing that lets her stretch the limits of her voice. Throughout it all, Clayton’s gift is impressive, and if she never quite manages to develop an identity of her own — which may be part of the reason she never had a hit back in the early ’70s — it’s nevertheless a highly enjoyable slice of crossover period R&B, music that’s rooted in deep southern soul but has an appealing show biz gloss.

Tracklist:

01. Southern Man (Neil Young) 3:17
02. Tell All the People (Robby Krieger) 2:56
03. Country Road (James Taylor) 3:46
04. After All This Time (Carole King) 3:11
05. Gimme Shelter (Mick Jagger / Keith Richards) 3:32
06. Grandma's Hands (Bill Withers) 3:30
07. Oh No, Not My Baby (Gerry Goffin / Carole King) 3:27
08. Walk On In (Carole King) 2:45
09. Bridge Over Troubled Water (Paul Simon) 5:49
10. The Mighty Quinn (Bob Dylan) - featuring Brothers and Sisters 3:32
11. Sho'nuff (Joe Greene / Billy Preston) 2:47
12. Forget It I Got It (Jimmy Miller / Gary Wright) 2:54
13. Keep Your Eyes On the Sparrow (Morgan Ames / Dave Grusin) 2:54
14. Suspicious Minds (Mark James) 3:59
15. A Song For You (Leon Russell) 4:19
16. Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing (Black National Hymn)(J. Rosamond Johnson/James Weldon Johnson) 3:04
17. The Acid Queen (Pete Townsend) - feat.London Chamber Choir / London Symphony Orchestra 3:36

Media Info:
Bitrate: 320 kbps
Channels: joint stereo
Samplerate: 44100
Encoder: LAME 3.99
MPEG-1 layer 3



*many thanks and much respect to exy and all those who care enough to share