Merry Clayton

Merry Clayton is the kind of artist I deeply respect, because her voice shaped songs that millions love without her name ever being on the marquee. Her duet with Mick Jagger on the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" still gives me chills, and the fact that she came up through soul and gospel tells me everything about where that raw power comes from. I was glad she finally got her due in 20 Feet from Stardom, the Oscar-winning documentary about background singers. To me she represents all the unsung talent that makes music history, and it feels right that her contribution is finally recognized.

Merry Clayton (born December 25, 1948) is an American soul and gospel singer. She contributed vocals to numerous tracks and worked with many major recording artists for decades, including a duet with Mick Jagger on the Rolling Stones song "Gimme Shelter". Clayton is prominently featured in 20 Feet from Stardom, the Oscar-winning documentary about background singers and their contributions to the music industry.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Name (English)

Merry Clayton

Name (Japanese)

メリー・クレイトン

Reading

めりー・くれいとん

Born

December 25, 1948 (age 77)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Capricorn / Rat

Origin

Gert Town, Louisiana, United States

Blood type

Private

Height

Private

Agency

Private

Occupation

singer / actor / musician

Elementary school

Private

Junior high

Private

High school

Private

University

Private

Spouse

Private

Children

Private

Parents

Private

Siblings

Private

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%A1%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%BB%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AC%E3%82%A4%E3%83%88%E3%83%B3

Tags

• Louisiana
• singer
• actor
• musician

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.