How was "Gimme Shelter" inspired and written...words...music...in the studio?

Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Gimme Shelter" was created from the combined efforts of the singer and the guitarist. Richards had been working on the song's signature opening in London while Jagger was working on the film Performance

Wikipedia

Keith came up with a basic chord progression, melody and words in Robert Frasers flat on a stormy day in London late 1968.

It was supposedly first attempted in studio on 15th - 16th March 1969, same session the choir overdubs for You Can't Always Get What You Want were recorded. Brian was present and is shown playing Moroccan drums and strumming an acoustic guitar during the session.

On released version Keith used a rare Australian made Maton guitar and a solid state Triumph Silicon 100 amplifier for the tremolo guitar.

Brian, "shown"? All media, please! I just LOVE Stones pix!!!

Maybe that might interest you...

[www.iorr.org]

BTW, Keith says this tune is one of three or so he worked out on his Phillips
recorder, but I find no audio evidence it's got the same sound as in JJF or SFM.

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TheDailyBuzzherd
BTW, Keith says this tune is one of three or so he worked out on his Phillips
recorder, but I find no audio evidence it's got the same sound as in JJF or SFM.

Where does he say that? He probably used it for loads of stuff at home, tape machine was/is a song writers tool.

I can't recall reading him ever saying he used it for the actual Gimme Shelter session though.

"Life", "Fresh Air with Terry Gross" on NPR or both.

But as we both typed, I can't find it buried in the mix either!
Possibly never made it in The Final Cut.

"I remember everything!" – Tagline to Keith's "Life"

Is it possible that tagline has as much worth to it as in every movie that declares,
"Based on a True Story"?

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His Majesty
Keith came up with a basic chord progression

Which is the same as in Under My Thumb, just played differently.

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Koen

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His Majesty
Keith came up with a basic chord progression

Which is the same as in Under My Thumb, just played differently.

"It's all one song" – CSNY

What about the LA recording sessions for the song?

do we know if Keith came up with all the words?

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elunsi
do we know if Keith came up with all the words?

No, but there's of course the known version with Keith on vocals, pointing to a direction that it really was Keith's track.

Mathijs

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His Majesty
Keith came up with a basic chord progression, melody and words in Robert Frasers flat on a stormy day in London late 1968.

It was supposedly first attempted in studio on 15th - 16th March 1969, same session the choir overdubs for You Can't Always Get What You Want were recorded. Brian was present and is shown playing Moroccan drums and strumming an acoustic guitar during the session.

On released version Keith used a rare Australian made Maton guitar and a solid state Triumph Silicon 100 amplifier for the tremolo guitar.

And Jagger's harp is routed through an analogue delay with the gain turned to 10. Or 12.

Mathijs

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TheDailyBuzzherd
"Life", "Fresh Air with Terry Gross" on NPR or both.

But as we both typed, I can't find it buried in the mix either!
Possibly never made it in The Final Cut.

"I remember everything!" – Tagline to Keith's "Life"

Is it possible that tagline has as much worth to it as in every movie that declares,
"Based on a True Story"?

No mention of it being used on Gimme Shelter in Life.

Sure your not mixing stuff up!?

Definitely one of my all-time favourite songs by anyone, ever.

[thepowergoats.com]

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His Majesty
Keith came up with a basic chord progression, melody and words in Robert Frasers flat on a stormy day in London late 1968.

It was supposedly first attempted in studio on 15th - 16th March 1969, same session the choir overdubs for You Can't Always Get What You Want were recorded. Brian was present and is shown playing Moroccan drums and strumming an acoustic guitar during the session.

On released version Keith used a rare Australian made Maton guitar and a solid state Triumph Silicon 100 amplifier for the tremolo guitar.

Always thought he wrote it whilst waiting in his car for Anita to return from 'acting' the Performance sex scenes with Mick.

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elunsi
do we know if Keith came up with all the words?

I have my doubts. The lyrics seem pure Jagger - the esoteric references ('mad bull lost his way'), the darker subject matter ('rape, murder..') I also have an early demo version of this song and Jagger is singing a completely different melody, structure - different, half-finished lyrics and it has a more psychedelic vibe to it. If the song changed shape, i would imagine Jagger having a big hand in turning into the final version.
I don't doubt Keith was the musical instigator of this song, and its one of his most brilliant songs musically, but the rest sounds like Mick.
When Keith says, 'I wrote...' this or that, I tend to think he's referring to the music and that misleads people.
What do you think Elunsi?
I curious, because the lyrics, phrasing seem like classic Jagger to me, but people take Keith's comments to heart. The lyrics conjure up really turbulent images and I don't see that they would have had anything to do with Anita and Mick screwing on the set of a movie. Keith is too literal.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011-11-15 00:35 by stupidguy2.

Thanks for your posts: I am especially interested in other people's memories at the time.

I recall being at Elektra Studios in LA when Merry Clayton recorded her vocal.
My memory is that Jagger wrote all the words. The LA Forum concerts of November 1969 were positively ELECTRIFYING for the audience. Somewhere in storage I have a journal of those gigs. The Stones were the talk of LA daily for weeks in October and November. "Coolest cats on the Plantet" etc. A great privilege to have been there out front and backstage.

I believe several other IORRers were there also. I recall promises to the parents. "No, I won't be late." HAH! "Yes, we'll be careful with the car" etc.

Music Richards Lyrics Jagger...although there could be some words from Keith as I think he compose songs while singing

__________________________

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stonesrule
Thanks for your posts: I am especially interested in other people's memories at the time.

I recall being at Elektra Studios in LA when Merry Clayton recorded her vocal.
My memory is that Jagger wrote all the words. The LA Forum concerts of November 1969 were positively ELECTRIFYING for the audience. Somewhere in storage I have a journal of those gigs. The Stones were the talk of LA daily for weeks in October and November. "Coolest cats on the Plantet" etc. A great privilege to have been there out front and backstage.

I believe several other IORRers were there also. I recall promises to the parents. "No, I won't be late." HAH! "Yes, we'll be careful with the car" etc.

That's amazing. I'm humbled by my pedestrian (non-existent) connection to Stones history.

In the book "Life" talks about the writing the words and those words being connected to the sex scene between Anita and Mick and he's really specific. Some people have reported witnessing Keith having written all the words. I've never heard Keith talk about the line "burns like a red coal carpet, mad bull lost his way." That may well be a Jagger line. I don't know.

WHoever made this got beat up on mercilessly on youtube but I think it's kind of cool:

Very cool bass from Bill. Thanks for posting it.

At about 2:59 into the song, Clayton's voice cracks twice from the strain of her powerful singing; once during the second refrain, on the word "shot" from the last line, and then again during the first line of the third and final refrain, on the word "murder", after which Jagger can be heard saying "Whoo!" in response to Clayton's emotional delivery. She suffered a miscarriage upon returning home, apparently due to the strain involved in reaching the highest notes.[3] Merry Clayton's name was misspelled on the original release, appearing as 'Mary'.


wikipedia, via LA Times.

Bonnie Bramlett sang on the initial versions:







Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-11-15 07:32 by stones78.

Thanks Stones78...I'd forgotten that. And I'll even forgive your appalling spelling of "initial." Since in the midnight hours I've notice my spelling on IORR is also slightly horrifying.

"Burns like a red coal carpet, mad bull lost his way."

That's gotta be a line from our collective unconsciousness. The "red coal carpet" is what Germany looked like from the air during the British nighttime bombing raids during WWII. That image is seared in my mind and I am a child of the 70s. I suppose anyone that sees it can't forget it.

It's a great line.

(I'm not making any sort of political comment.)

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MileHigh
"Burns like a red coal carpet, mad bull lost his way."

That's gotta be a line from our collective unconsciousness. The "red coal carpet" is what Germany looked like from the air during the British nighttime bombing raids during WWII. That image is seared in my mind and I am a child of the 70s. I suppose anyone that sees it can't forget it.

It's a great line.

(I'm not making any sort of political comment.)

That is a great line.

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stonesrule
Thanks Stones78...I'd forgotten that. And I'll even forgive your appalling spelling of "initial." Since in the midnight hours I've notice my spelling on IORR is also slightly horrifying.

Ha...I guess I was thinking in spanish (first language) while writing that.