The Curious History of “It Ain’t Easy”

"It Ain't Easy" Ron Davies Copyright 1970 Irving Music Inc. (BMI)

Have you ever noticed a song that seems to follow you through your record collection, appearing in different forms across decades and genres? This episode explores the fascinating journey of “It Ain’t Easy“, a song that found a home in the repertoire of David Bowie, Three Dog Night, Long John Baldry, Mitch Ryder, Shelby Lynne and more. We trace the song back to its source: Ron Davies, a prolific but often-overlooked songwriter who came out of the Pacific Northwest garage rock scene. Despite never reaching the top of the Billboard charts himself, Davies created a song with musical bones so strong that it transitioned seamlessly from the glam-rock harpsichord of Bowie’s sessions to the stripped-back folk of Chris Smither.

We take a look at the specific production touches of the most significant versions, including the “all-star” original recording featuring Leon Russell and Jim Keltner. We discuss the tragic “lost” sessions of Bettye LaVette at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, the Rolling Stones-style swagger of Claudia Lennear’s version (featuring Ry Cooder), and even modern interpretations by The Raconteurs and Alexis P. Suter. Whether filtered through blues, country, glam, or soul, “It Ain’t Easy” remains a masterclass in songwriting consistency. Join us as we explore the lifespan of a track that proved a great song doesn’t need to be a commercial smash to become a timeless classic.

“It Ain’t Easy” Ron Davies Copyright 1970 Irving Music Inc. (BMI)

TRANSCRIPT:

Welcome back, friends, to the I’m In Love With That Song podcast. We’re surfing the intertubes to come to you, courtesy of the Pantheon Network of podcasts. I’m Brad Page, the host of this shindig, and each edition of this show, I pick a favorite song and we explore it together. This is a show for any music fan; we don’t get too technical or get into music theory or anything like that, so you don’t have to be any kind of expert. This show only requires two things: a love for music and a healthy dose of curiosity.

So, this episode is going to be a little different than usual, but I hope you find it interesting. To paraphrase—or mangle—an old saying: when something happens twice, it could be a coincidence; when something happens three or more times, well, that’s a mystery waiting to be solved. And that is where the curiosity comes in, because I get curious about certain things, like this: Many years ago—I’m talking like 40-something years ago—when I got my first copy of David Bowie‘s Ziggy Stardust album, it caught my eye that Bowie wrote every song on the album– except one. The last song on side one is a song called “It Ain’t Easy“.

[Music: David Bowie – “It Ain’t Easy”]

I looked at the credits for this song and saw that it was written by someone named Ron Davies. At first, I thought maybe that’s Ray Davies—you know, from The Kinks—but nope, not Ray; it’s Ron, a completely different guy, not related at all. But I always liked that song, so it stuck with me.

A few years later, I picked up an album by a band called Detroit featuring Mitch Ryder of “Devil with the Blue Dress” fame. And this is just a great rock and roll record; I really love this album. And one of the tracks on this album is “It Ain’t Easy“. It’s Detroit‘s version of the same song. This album was actually released in 1971, a year before David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

Skip ahead a few years: I was turned on to an R&B singer named Bettye LaVette, who’s become maybe my favorite female vocalist of all time. And so I started collecting her albums. I picked up a re-issue of her very first album, Child of the Seventies, and the first song on that album is “It Ain’t Easy“. This song, by a songwriter I’ve never heard of, keeps turning up.

And then, just a couple of years ago, I finally picked up an album that I’d been looking for for quite a while, an album by legendary background singer Claudia Lennear called Phew!. I put the album on and, sure enough, there’s that song again, “It Ain’t Easy“. So that was kind of like the last straw. I had to find out more about this song, which was written by a fairly obscure artist, had never been a hit for anybody, yet so many artists kept covering it. What is the story of this song? On this episode, we’re going to find out.

Ron Davies was born Ronnie Wayne Dickerson on January 15, 1946, in Shreveport, Louisiana. His father was Tex Dickerson, a country singer. His sister, Gale, would become a well-known singer-songwriter herself and the first female record producer in country music. Both Gale and Ronnie took their stepfather’s last name when their mother remarried, hence Davies. They also moved from the South up to Tacoma, Washington. That’s where his stepfather gave him his first guitar.

In the 1960s, the Pacific Northwest was a hotbed of the sound that would eventually be called garage rock. That’s the sound of Nuggets-era bands like The Sonics, The Kingsmen, and Paul Revere & the Raiders. And one of the biggest bands on that scene were The Wailers—not to be confused with Bob Marley and the Wailers, completely separate band. The Wailers had a hit with a song called “Tall Cool One” in 1959.

In 1966, The Wailers released an album called Outburst. Every song on that album was written by Ron Davies. He was only 17 at the time. That established Ron as a songwriter, but he also played and recorded as a solo artist. In 1968, he signed to A&M Records as a singer-songwriter and released his debut solo album in 1970. That album was called Silent Song Throughout the Land. The album was produced by Chad Stewart of Chad & Jeremy fame, and the single released from that album was “It Ain’t Easy“.

The song features kind of an all-star lineup, including the great Leon Russell on piano, Jim Keltner on drums, and backing vocals by Clydie King, Venetta Fields, and Merry Clayton, who we’ve talked about on this show before.

[Music: Ron Davies – “It Ain’t Easy”]

The song never hit the Billboard chart, though it did chart in Canada, reaching number 55 on their RPM chart. Ron Davies would release a second solo album, UFO, in 1974, which included some of the same songs that were on that first album, including “It Ain’t Easy“. He moved to Nashville in 1985 and continued working as a songwriter. Ron Davies died from a heart attack in October of 2003.

The next time “It Ain’t Easy” appeared was courtesy of Three Dog Night. It was actually the title cut from their third album, released in March 1970. Three Dog Night didn’t write their own material, but they were pretty good at finding and adapting other people’s songs and had churned out quite a few hits. The It Ain’t Easy album included their hit version of “Mama Told Me Not to Come“, along with their take on Elton John’s “Your Song” and a cover of “Woman“, a song by Free, who are about to be featured on an upcoming episode here. Three Dog Night’s version of “It Ain’t Easy” is less swampy, doesn’t have that gospel choir feel on the chorus, and the song is a little more AM radio friendly, which fits Three Dog Night’s style. But the song still retains quite a bit of the original’s feel.

[Music: Three Dog Night – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Though Three Dog Night’s It Ain’t Easy album was a big hit, they never released the song as a single, at least not as an A-side. So the song still hadn’t really hit the charts.

“It Ain’t Easy” resurfaced again in 1971 with a version by Long John Baldry. Baldry was a fixture of British blues in the 1960s. He was a founding member of that scene. He had gigged along with The Rolling Stones, and both Rod Stewart and Elton John had been members of his band. He helped to give them their start.

When he released his fifth album in 1971, both Rod and Elton returned the favor by each of them producing half of the record. The album was titled, of course, It Ain’t Easy. The song “It Ain’t Easy” appears on side one—that was the side produced by Rod Stewart. Baldry’s version is bluesier, it’s a little slower, heavy with that blues-rock swagger. Baldry’s vocal is intense, digging into the despair of the lyrics. And he’s supported on the chorus by the backing vocals of Maggie Bell, one of the great blues-rock vocalists of her time. She’s been forgotten, unfortunately, but I would put her right up there with Janis Joplin; she’s that good. Check out her vocals. Also featured on this track is Ron Wood on slide guitar.

[Music: Long John Baldry – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Also in 1971, there was an album released that I personally really love. Mitch Ryder made his name fronting The Detroit Wheels in the 1960s and had a number of hits, including “Devil with the Blue Dress“, “Jenny Take a Ride“, and “Sock It to Me, Baby!“. In the early 1970s, he formed a new band just called Detroit. They took Ryder’s already ramped-up R&B flavored rock and added a heavier edge. Detroit featured guitarist Steve Hunter, who would go on to work for Lou Reed and Alice Cooper—great guitar player. Detroit only issued one self-titled album; it came out in 1971, and it included this version of “It Ain’t Easy“. Check out the little riffs added by Steve Hunter, along with the pretty busy bass part played by W.R. Cooke.

[Music: Detroit – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Dave Edmunds has had a multifaceted career, to say the least. A terrific guitarist and a great singer, he first made his mark in the British psychedelic-tinged rock band Love Sculpture in 1968 and then went solo. He had a big hit with “I Hear You Knocking” in 1970. He went on to form Rockpile, became an in-demand record producer, and collaborated with many artists, including Paul McCartney. But back in 1972, he released his first solo album. It was called Rockpile, and it featured his take on “It Ain’t Easy“. His version is less bluesy than Baldry’s and avoids the studio sheen of Three Dog Night; it’s not as riffy as Detroit’s version, and he injects some of his rockabilly sensibility into it. But the bones of the song remain the same. Let’s hear a little of Dave Edmunds doing “It Ain’t Easy“.

[Music: Dave Edmunds – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Next, we get to the big one. If you’re familiar with this song at all, it’s probably this version. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is not only one of David Bowie‘s biggest records, it’s one of the most iconic albums of the 1970s, probably of all time. When you talk all-time classic albums, this one has got to be on the list.

Ziggy Stardust is a concept album, a very particular, specific vision of David Bowie’s. So why on this album of songs about a space-alien rock star is there a version of “It Ain’t Easy“? Well, the track was originally recorded for Bowie’s previous album, Hunky Dory, released the year before in 1971. It was left off of that album, but for some reason, they decided to include it on the Ziggy Stardust record. Rick Wakeman played many of the keyboard parts on the Hunky Dory album and, because this track was recorded during those sessions, he appears on this song playing harpsichord. It’s the only song on the Ziggy Stardust album that Wakeman appears on. Rick Wakeman was, of course, a member of Yes and would become a legendary keyboard and synthesizer player. Also appearing on this song is Dana Gillespie, providing background vocals on the chorus. Neither Wakeman nor Gillespie were credited on the original release of the album.

Not surprisingly, Bowie’s version drifts the furthest away from the bluesy, swampy vibe of the original. The harpsichord, in particular, takes it to a different place. You don’t find the harpsichord on too many blues numbers.

[Music: David Bowie – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Bettye LaVette is hands-down one of my favorite singers. We featured her on an episode a while back, so if you want to dig into her history further, go listen to episode 139 on Bettye LaVette and “I Still Want to Be Your Baby“. But to sum up things briefly here, Bettye released her first single way back in 1962 and had some success on the R&B charts in the ’60s. In 1972, she went to the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studios to record her first album. That album was called Child of the Seventies, and I think it’s a great record. But for some inexplicable reason, the record company never released it. God knows why, but it was put on a shelf until it was rediscovered in 1999 and finally issued. And people rediscovered Bettye LaVette. That album features Bettye’s version of “It Ain’t Easy“, recorded in 1972, the same year that Ziggy Stardust was released, though Bettye’s version wouldn’t be officially released until 27 years later.

[Music: Bettye LaVette – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Claudia Lennear was one of the premier backup singers in the business. She started her career as an Ikette with Ike and Tina Turner, and her list of credits is a mile long. She’s sung on albums by Stephen Stills, Joe Cocker, Dave Mason, Humble Pie, Ry Cooder, Taj Mahal, Freddy King… the list goes on. But she only released one solo album back in 1973; that album was called Phew! (P-H-E-W) and it opens with “It Ain’t Easy“. Claudia’s version injects the song with a whole lot of Rolling Stones-style swagger and a touch of gospel. It also features some excellent guitar work by the great Ry Cooder.

[Music: Claudia Lennear – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Things went quiet for a few years after that until Graham Bonnet recorded a version of “It Ain’t Easy” for his 1977 solo album. Bonnet established himself as one of the leading hard rock and metal singers with his work with Rainbow and Alcatrazz, but here’s his take on “It Ain’t Easy“.

[Music: Graham Bonnet – “It Ain’t Easy”]

One of the more oddball versions was recorded by Dennis Waterman, who was mostly known as a TV actor in the UK, though he also had a career as a singer—a British version of David Hasselhoff, I guess. He released a version in 1977, but I don’t own that record to be able to play it for you.

Chris Smither is a blues and folk artist who started his career in the folk scene around Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1984, he stripped the song down to its pure basics and released his version of “It Ain’t Easy“.

[Music: Chris Smither – “It Ain’t Easy”]

In 1996, there was a Bowie tribute album released called Crash Course for the Ravers. The alternative band Hazel had the honors of contributing their version of “It Ain’t Easy“. I wouldn’t typically include this song here because it’s more of a tribute to Bowie than it is a cover of the original song, but just to be complete, here is Hazel’s version of “It Ain’t Easy“.

[Music: Hazel – “It Ain’t Easy”]

In more recent years, the song’s been covered by The Raconteurs…

[Music: The Raconteurs – “It Ain’t Easy”]

…and Shelby Lynne did a nice version of it.

[Music: Shelby Lynne – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Fish covered it when they performed the entire Ziggy Stardust album in 2016. And just last year, in 2025, Alexis P. Suter recorded a version for her album Just Stay High.

[Music: Alexis P. Suter – “It Ain’t Easy”]

So that brings us up to date. I wouldn’t be surprised if I missed some other versions of this song, but as far as I can find, these are the significant versions of this track. We’ve heard this same song filtered through blues, to country, to glam, to soul, to rock and back again. The bones of this song remain remarkably consistent, I think, and yet it can slide so easily into the repertoire of so many diverse artists. Not one of these versions was ever a hit; it was never a commercial success. And yet, the song has lived a pretty interesting life. And who knows where it’ll turn up next?

Well, I hope you enjoyed this history ride through the lifespan of this one song. I have to say, this episode is kind of the perfect example of why I do this podcast; every episode begins with me asking myself a question, and then trying to find the answer, just for my own satisfaction. I never go into an episode knowing all the answers. The fun part for me is learning all of this stuff and then sharing it with you. And I hope you find all of this as interesting as I do.

Thanks for joining me here on the Pantheon Podcast Network, where fans belong. New episodes of this podcast come out on the 1st and the 15th of every month, so you can bet your sweet bippy that the I’m In Love With That Song podcast will be back soon. Until then, visit our website at lovethatsongpodcast.com to find all of our previous episodes. Whether you’re catching up on shows you missed or want to rediscover some of your favorites, our website is the best place to do it.

You can support the show by going to oldglory.com and buying a t-shirt or some band merch from your favorite artists. They have a ton of stuff on their site, and if you use our discount code, LOVETHATSONG, you’ll save 15% and you’ll be supporting the show. That’s discount code LOVETHATSONG; the website is oldglory.com.

I would also ask that you share the show with your friends and family. The word-of-mouth support from savvy listeners like you is the best way to spread the word and grow this show, so I really appreciate it. Thank you.

So, I’m going to pack it in for the night. Thanks again for sticking with me on this one. So many great versions of this song, but if I had to pick just one, well, I got a real soft spot for that version by Detroit featuring Mitch Ryder. So let’s close it out with Detroit’s version of “It Ain’t Easy“. I’ll see you next time.

[Outro Music: Detroit – “It Ain’t Easy”]

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Merry Clayton – “Country Road”

 Click here to play the episode
"Country Road" (James Taylor) Copyright 1970 Blackwood Music Inc./Country Road Music Inc. (BMI)

Merry Clayton never had a big hit, but her voice can be heard in dozens of songs you know (we’ve listened to one of them here before– see episode #42). One of the legendary background singers profiled in the documentary 20 Feet From Stardom, most of her solo work is largely unknown– which is a shame, because there’s some great music on those albums. Take this example from her first album, Gimme Shelter. Merry takes this James Taylor classic to a whole new place, one of my favorite cover songs of all time.

“Country Road” (James Taylor) Copyright 1970 Blackwood Music Inc./Country Road Music Inc. (BMI)

— This show is just one of many great podcasts on the Pantheon network–THE home for music podcasts!

The Rolling Stones – “Gimme Shelter”

"Gimme Shelter" (Mick Jagger & Keith Richards) Copyright 1969 ABKCO Music Inc.

There’s no shortage of great songs in the Rolling Stones catalog, but “Gimme Shelter” may be the song that tops them all. Dark and foreboding as only the Stones can do, this track has all the hallmarks of the Rolling Stones at their best: iconic guitar riffs by Keef, Jagger at the top of his game, and the Watts/Wyman rhythm section doing what they do best (plus Nicky Hopkins on piano).  But what pushes this one from merely brilliant into sublime is the vocal performance by Merry Clayton– for my money, one of the greatest moments on record. All together, this one belongs on the Mount Rushmore of Rock. 

“Gimme Shelter” (Mick Jagger & Keith Richards) Copyright 1969 ABKCO Music Inc.

TRANSCRIPT:

We all need someone we can lean on, and if you want it, you can lean on the “I’m In Love With That Song” podcast. I’m Brad Page, your host, and each episode, I pick one of my favorite songs and we listen to it together– uncovering the elements that make it a great song. Maybe you’re a musician or a music lover, or just a casual fan; we all get to be musical explorers on this show, discovering something new each time we listen.

On the previous episode of this podcast, we talked about The Beatles, so I think it’s only fair that this time we tackle The Rolling Stones and one of their greatest moments on record: “Gimme Shelter.”

(Music)

1969 was a rough year for the Rolling Stones. They fired Brian Jones in June, and one month later he was dead. Mick Jagger’s relationship with Marianne Faithful took a turn for the worse when she attempted suicide with an overdose on sleeping pills that left her in a coma for a week. Earlier in the year, Jagger had an affair with Keith Richards’ girlfriend, Anita Pallenberg, and I’m sure that didn’t help Mick and Keith’s relationship.

The band was anxious to get out of their agreement with their manager, Allen Klein, and then in December of ‘69, the Stones were at the center of the disastrous concert in Altamont, California, where four people died, including Meredith Hunter, who was stabbed to death.

There was one upside, though, to 1969 for the Stones. It was the year they released the album, Let it Bleed. A masterpiece that’s a nearly perfect album, chock full of some of the Rolling Stones’ best work. The album opens with the apocalyptic “Gimme Shelter”.

The song was largely composed by Keith Richards in the apartment of Robert Fraser, where Keith was living with his girlfriend, Anita Pallenberg. “Gimme Shelter” is the first song on the album, so both the song and the album open with the sound of Keith Richards’ guitar. Keith plays all of the guitars on this song. This was recorded after they had fired Brian Jones, but before they hired his replacement, Mick Taylor, so Keith handled all the guitar parts on this song.

His guitar comes in softly, like someone tiptoeing in the dark, afraid of what might be waiting for them in the darkness.

(Music)

If you listen to Keith Richards’ guitar part, you’ll notice that there’s a subtle, but significant, change in what he plays during the intro. He starts by playing the part like this.

(Music)

But after a couple of times around, a few passes through the changes, he adds a few more notes, part gets a little bit more complex.

(Music)

By constantly tweaking the part, evolving it every few iterations, it’s a subtle but effective way of keeping it fresh throughout the song. So let’s pick it up where we left off, with the introduction.

(Music)

Here’s what we’ve got so far. The rhythm guitar, which I believe he’s playing in open E tuning, with a lot of reverb on it, and also a tremolo effect.

(Music)

The drums also come in, but they’re holding back a bit, and there’s a lead guitar part that’s added.

(Music)

It’s a very simple part when you hear it on its own, but it’s so effective when you hear it in the mix.

(Music)

There’s also some percussion, and a female vocal off in the distance.

(Music)

The bass comes in here as well, and he’s only playing one note.

(Music)

Some deep and ominous piano chords played by Nicky Hopkins.

(Music)

The drums come in with a beat, and we head into the first verse.

On this song, Keith was using guitar amplifiers made by a company called Triumph, and they discovered that if you got these amps to overheat, on the verge of burning out, they produced this fantastic guitar sound. The amps had lights along the top that would start to dim as the amplifiers overheated, so they would watch those lights to gauge when the amps were ready to be recorded.

(Music)

In the first verse, Mick sings about a storm that’s brewing. When Keith came up with the song, sitting in that apartment, he was watching out the window at people scurrying to get out of a rainstorm, so that’s where the idea of the storm came from, but the song evolved to become about so much more.

(Music)

“Gimme Shelter” features one of Mick Jagger’s all-time greatest vocal performances. Let’s listen to the vocal track for this verse.

(Music)
Oh, a storm is threat’ning
My very life today
If I don’t get some shelter
Oh, yeah, I’m gonna fade away

Here’s the first chorus: “War, children, it’s just a shot away.” I think that resonates more now than it did in ‘69.

(Music)

Originally, the Stones planned to release two albums in 1969, but with the end of the year approaching, and a U.S. tour starting on November 7th, they barely had time to finish one album. They were out of time. Most of the album, including the tracks for “Gimme Shelter”, had been recorded in England, but now with the U.S. tour looming, they moved to a recording studio in Los Angeles for the final stages of recording.

One of the last things to be recorded were the backing vocals for “Gimme Shelter”. Mick Jagger asked the recording engineer, Bruce Botnick, if he knew any singers, and Bruce recommended Merry Clayton. That’s Merry, m-e-r-r-y, not Mary. On some pressings of the album, they misspelled her name as Mary.

Merry Clayton’s vocals are so crucial to this song. We’re going to focus on them a lot as we listen to this song. Here’s the second verse.

(Music)

They’re using that tried-and-true vocal arrangement technique of: first line – lead vocal by itself; second line – backing vocal joins in; third line – lead vocal by itself again; and the fourth line – the backing vocal joins in once more. You’ve heard this a million times in a million songs, but it’s super effective.

(Music)
Ooh, see the fire is sweepin’
Ooh, our very street today
Burn a red tool carpet, mad bull lost his way

Let’s listen to what the lead guitar and the piano are doing behind that verse. Nicky Hopkins’ piano is mixed pretty far down, it’s hard to hear in the final mix, but it’s a really driving part.

(Music)

All right. Let’s hear that second chorus.

(Music)
Oh, oh, oh, child
It’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away
Oh, oh, oh, child
It’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away
Yeah!

Mick Jagger plays some great blues harp harmonica on this track. That gritty, distorted sound was produced by playing the harmonica into a microphone plugged into a Dynacord tape loop machine, and then overdriving that amp. Then they run it through some studio limiters to compress it, and squeeze it, to get that really intense sound.

(Music)

Nice little guitar solo from Keith Richards. Remember, he’s playing all the guitars on this track.

(Music)

Now, they let Merry Clayton step to the front for what I think is one of the greatest vocal performances ever recorded.

When they called Merry Clayton to come down to the studio that night, it was late, and she was very pregnant. She was getting ready for bed, she had curlers in her hair. They get her on the phone and say, “We need you to come down to the studio and do some vocals,” so she goes down to the studio, with her silk pajamas on and a scarf around her head. She did one take, and it was great. Mick Jagger said, “Do you want to have another go?”, and she said, “Sure, I’ll do a second take.”, and in her head, she says to herself, “I am going to blow them out of this room.”, and so she sang this part.

(Music)
Rape, murder!
It’s just a shot away!
It’s just a shot away!
Rape, murder!
It’s just a shot away!
It’s just a shot away!
Rape, murder!
It’s just a shot away!
It’s just a shot away!
Yeah, yeah, yeah!

Listen to how her vocals get more intense each time around. Let’s listen to just her vocal track. Listen to how each time she sings the chorus, she pushes her voice harder, until it starts to crack. This is raw emotion. Rape, murder, you can feel the weight of those words in this performance.

(Music)
Rape, murder!
It’s just a shot away!
It’s just a shot away!
Rape, murder!
It’s just a shot away!
It’s just a shot away!
Rape, murder!
It’s just a shot away!
It’s just a shot away!
Yeah, yeah, yeah!

I want to go back and play that last chorus when Merry hits the word “murder” with such intensity that her voice cracks for the second time, and you can hear Mick Jagger let out a “whoo”. He, he clearly can’t help himself, she’s so good. And then at the end of the line, as she finishes, you can hear another “whoa!” from someone in the studio. They are clearly blown away. Can you imagine standing next to Merry Clayton as she’s singing this part?

(Music)
Rape, murder!
It’s just a shot away!
It’s just a shot away!
Rape, murder!
It’s just a shot away!
It’s just a shot away!
Yeah, yeah, yeah!

Remember, this is Merry Clayton in the middle of the night, pregnant in her pajamas, singing a song that she’s never heard before, with a band she’s never met. This is among the most thrilling 30 seconds of music you will ever hear in your life.

(Music)
Rape, murder!
It’s just a shot away!
It’s just a shot away!
Rape, murder!
It’s just a shot away!
It’s just a shot away!
Rape, murder!
It’s just a shot away!
It’s just a shot away!
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
The third and final verse.

(Music)
Flood is threat’ning
My very life today
Gimme, gimme shelter
Or I’m gonna fade away
(Singing with enthusiasm)

This dark song ends on a more hopeful note as Mick and Merry tell us that “love is only a kiss away.”

(Music)
I tell you love, sister
It’s just a kiss away
It’s just a kiss away
It’s just a kiss away
It’s just a kiss away
It’s just a kiss away
It’s just a kiss away
It’s just a kiss away
Yeah!

“Gimme Shelter” by the Rolling Stones. Epic!

The legendary music critic, Greil Marcus, said “Gimme Shelter may well be the greatest single rock and roll performance.”

There’s a documentary called 20 Feet from Stardom about the lives and careers of background singers. It includes some of the greatest backing vocalists of all time, including a great segment on Merry Clayton. It’s a fantastic documentary. If you’ve never seen it, go watch it, right now. I’m not kidding– do it.

I’d also like to acknowledge a book by Sean Egan, called Rolling Stones and the Making of Let it Bleed. It’s part of the Vinyl Frontiers book series, and I used that for quite a bit of research on this episode, so thank you, Sean Egan.

To learn more about the show, check out our Facebook page, and to hear more episodes of the podcast, just search for the “I’m In Love With That Song” podcast. And please, post a review for the show. The more five-star reviews we get, the easier it becomes for more people to find the show, so I really appreciate your reviews and your comments.

I’ll be back in two weeks with another episode. Until then, thanks again for listening to the Rolling Stones and “Gimme Shelter”.

(Music)

Go listen to the whole song by downloading it, or buying it, or streaming it from your favorite source of legit music. Always support the music that you love!