From the New York Times
Keith Richards Honors Merry Clayton After Car Crash
The session singer Merry Clayton, best known for her fire-starting vocal runs on the Rolling Stones’ song “Gimme Shelter,” was still reaching new highs when she was involved in a serious car accident last year.
Just a few months before the June 2014 crash, the film “20 Feet From Stardom,” which put backup singers including Ms. Clayton front and center, won an Academy Award for best documentary, after its Grammy victory for best music film.
“Oh my God, I was at the pinnacle — I was at the top of my game,” she said recently in her first interview since the accident. “I was overwhelmed at what had transpired with the film and then to just go out for a moment and in that moment your life is changed.”
More than a year later, Ms. Clayton, 66, is returning gradually to public view, having lost both her legs as a result of the accident. On Thursday, she will receive the Clark & Gwen Terry Award for Courage at the Jazz Foundation of America’s “A Great Night in Harlem” gala at the Apollo, where Sonny Rollins will also receive a lifetime achievement honor. Ms. Clayton will accept her award in a taped segment from her home in Los Angeles, while Keith Richards will note the occasion with a live performance of “Gimme Shelter,” the first track from the Stones’ 1969 album, “Let It Bleed.”
After five months in the hospital, Ms. Clayton has been undergoing what she called “intense therapy” in Los Angeles. “It’s been a lot of learning and a lot of adjusting,” she said by phone. “It was a rough one, but I’m from some strong, strong stock and from strong, strong believers.”
Raised as a gospel singer, she credited her faith — along with the support of her family; her manager, Alan Abrahams; and friends, like the record executive Lou Adler — with helping her recover. The Jazz Foundation and MusiCares, a charity affiliated with the Grammys for ailing musicians, also “came to the rescue immediately,” Ms. Clayton said, for instance, helping to add a stair lift to her house.
“It’s not an easy task, but I am just so determined,” Ms. Clayton said of her rehabilitation. “If I was determined enough to make it out of that hospital alive and better, I can certainly forge straight ahead.”
She said the gravity of her accident became clear to her only recently, when she saw something about prosthetics on television. “It finally hit me after maybe a year and a half,” Ms. Clayton said. “I stopped and I looked at this and said, ‘Oh my God, that’s me.’ ”
“One of my goals is to get back on my feet again,” she added. “My mind is good, my heart is good and hope is a wonderful thing.”
Ms. Clayton, who also sang backup for Ray Charles, Carole King and Neil Young, said Mr. Richards had called her recently to “dish the tea” about his performance at the Jazz Foundation event, proceeds from which will benefit the organization’s Musicians Emergency Fund. “He said, ‘Hello, darling, it’s Keith,’ ” she recalled. “Who else would be saying, ‘Hello, darling’ ”?
Beyond the tribute, new music is in the works, with a comeback project planned for next year, Ms. Clayton said. “I’ve always wanted to bless people with my voice because it’s my gift from God,” she said. “I’m still gorgeous, and guess what, I still have my voice. As long as I have my chops and I’m still looking wonderful, why should I go back?”
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Keith to appear in Harlem Thursday, 10/22!!! (Read 5,826 times)
