Merry Clayton Biography
25 December 1948, Gert Town, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. This powerful American vocalist made her debut in 1963 with "The Doorbell Rings", before recording a version of "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)", a song later popularized by Betty Everett and Cher. Clayton went on to record further singles before beginning a successful career as a session singer. She appeared on several Joe Cocker releases, but is best known for her impassioned appearance on the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter". A member of Ray Charles' Raelettes during the late 60s, Clayton then resumed her solo work and enjoyed several R&B hits including "After All This Time" (1971) and "Oh No Not My Baby" (1973). She subsequently enjoyed sporadic success. "Yes", from the movie Dirty Dancing, reached the US Top 50 in 1988, but latterly Clayton also pursued an acting career with roles in Maid To Order and Wild Orchid II: Two Shades Of Blue, and television's Cagney And Lacey and A Private Affair. She performed cabaret-style with Marianne Faithfull and Darlene Love as "20th Century Pop" in 1996.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
|
