In 1962, an excited 14-year-old Merry Clayton turned up for her first big recording session. After entering the storied Capitol Studios in Hollywood, she took her place among the other young women ...

Merry Clayton, "Touch The Hem Of His Garment" Talking about Merry Clayton is an exercise in name dropping. As a child, in the church pews of New Orleans, she snuggled right beside Mahalia Jackson .

Merry Clayton, co-star of Oscar-winning ’20 Feet from Stardom,’ soars on ‘Beautiful Scars’ after grisly crash Best known for her singing with the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Carole King ...

Clayton started singing by mimicking Mahalia Jackson Jackson, who encouraged Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 to "tell 'em about the dream" at the March on Washington, also encouraged a young ...

In 1969, Merry Clayton stepped into a recording studio in her pajamas and sang an enduring, chill-inducing part on The Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter.” At this point, Clayton had been ...

Clayton's father, a minister in the New Orleans church where Merry started singing, couldn't have been more proud … or more confused: "He says, 'Just know this one thing, I know you're out there ...

You hear Merry Clayton’s life in her voice. In her soul-filled renditions, there is the innocence of a girl who sang at her daddy’s New Orleans church, the unabashed fun of a young woman who ...

Merry Clayton: Yeah, [Terry Young] came and went right to the piano. He says, "Look, I got this song. You gotta listen to this." The first song was "Oh, What a Friend You are to Me." ...

Legendary backup singer and New Orleans native Merry Clayton walks the red carpet at the inaugural Louisiana International Film Festival on April 18, 2013 at the Joy Theater in New Orleans. (Mike ...

It might be easier to name a legendary musician who Merry Clayton has not worked with than to list the many great artists she has collaborated with, which include Ray Charles, The Rolling Stones ...

Merry Clayton, the “Gimme Shelter” backup singer whose story was featured in the documentary 20 Feet From Stardom, was badly injured in a car accident in Los Angeles earlier this week.

One day, Merry Clayton was in her bed, pregnant, with hair curlers in and silk pajamas on, when she received a phone call at her Los Angeles home about midnight in the autumn of 1969, according to ...