Nice to see some of the younger generations - in this case Hollywood and Smokey - waking up to reality. Yeah, Gimme Shelter was all about Viet Nam when it came out in 1969, but the message is in-your-face universal and remains arguably the Stones' signature song. In any event, the tune remains heavily listened to after 50 years and will likely remain so in another 50 - if we have another 50.
This song isn’t about Vietnam…Mick wrote it about an apocalyptic doomsday that he saw coming. In reality the song being released when it was in December 1969 was the death peel of the “Summer of love” and heralded the coming of the violence of the 1970s. After 1968 and the DNC riots, Vietnam going on and on, the Manson murders…The whole perfect world that the post WWII era represented was coming crashing down around the youth.
@@ralphdougherty1844 IMO, the apocalyptic doomsday began way before our time, but was jump-started in modern times with the JFK murder. Then with the first major act being the Viet Nam war, a tone was set that has only mushroomed since. I was at the 68 DNC, naively at the time, but learned exactly who owned us and what the game was. Only question now is what the end game will be.
If you think the lyrics though,, it's basically saying all of those horrible things that come with war, like Rape, Murder, etc are just a "shot away." Conversely, Love is just a kiss away. It's an anti-war song basically saying "Make love, not war."
It’s essentially a song about how easily violence can erupt. Everyone’s been somewhere where you feel like it’s about to kick off, when violence is in the air…
That's what it's made to look like due to how important the anti war driver was at this time for sales. But the real topic is writer Keith Richards' feelings when the legendary rock muse and hedonist Anita Pallenberg slept with her third Stones member Mick Jagger, while in a relationship with Richards. Highly recommend "Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg" which BTW is not only an excellent documentary, but also the only reason I know this.
@@QualeQualeson That is odd. I would have never guessed anything close to that looking at the lyrics, but the documentary sounds interesting. I'll check it out.
Best Stones song to start your reactions on. It’s an anti-war song. And the wailing female vocals in the bridge set this song far apart from the rest of their catalog. Great reaction.
Rape, murder that's war. It's disgusting but that's what happens.im a 3000 year old vampire who bakes for Panera, but my familiar Danny says i shouldjtvv say that lol
@@chrisleech6229 And lost her kid the next day. She was called in at 3am to sing, did it in two takes, and went home. She found at 8am she had a miscarriage.
Andrea, while it is an outstanding mid song verse sung by Clayton it is overstated to consider this in any is a duet The lyrics were written by Mick and Keith and the haunting guitar riff composed by them as well with no input from Merry. Even without Merry’s astonishing vocal it would still be an absolute classic regardless
Not sure if you guys have heard the whole song or just the chorus, but you guys would be blown away by The Stones' masterpiece song "You Can't Always Get What You Want". Pretty much everybody has heard the chorus, but the progression of that song is phenomenal, layers upon layers.
Merry Clayton is an effin icon. The film 20 feet from stardom is a must see. She sang on many songs you probably know. Like Sweet Home Alabama. Y'all should dig into her!
The Stones at their swaggering, menacing best. This was at the height of the Vietnam war in 1969 and the song had lost none of it's power. It's timeless. Anything by the Stones from the late 1960's to the early '70's is pure gold, guys. Try "Sympathy For The Devil", "Midnight Rambler", "Can't You Hear Me Knocking", "2000 Light Years From Home", "Under My Thumb", "Paint It Black", "Tumbling Dice", "Bitch", "Sway", "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and so many more.
I was born in 49. The Stones expressed my anger and rebellion against the Vietnam war and Nixon. The Stones songs @davecurry listed are the soundtrack of my life in those days, was born in a crossfire hurricane!
The lady who sang on this (forgot her name) she did this in 2 takes. She was pregnant. They called her to come in at 3am. The studio door was so big, they couldn't hear her when she arrived. She managed to open the door herself. At 8:51 you can hear her voice crack (and Mick say "whoo") because she was giving it her all. She doesn't know if it was the singing or the heavy door, but the next day, she lost her baby.
Listen for Mick to say "whooo" after Merrie's third "murder" when her voice breaks (8:52) Incredible. Once you hear it, you'll always hear it. Cool AF.
The very shocking (and insanely amazing!) "rape, murder" line is one of the most powerful anti-war messages in rock and roll. Rape and murder (of civilians) is always part of war, one of the MANY reasons it should be the absolute last, last, last resort and avoided if at all possible. GREAT video, keep up the awesome work!
the war with the North Vietnamese who were communists, was originally France's war. Vietnam was one of their colonies, but when France decided to just give up the colony get out, America jumped in and continued it to prevent the spread of communism.
The Stones as a band had longevity - when Brian Jones died they recruited Mick Taylor (who's on this song), when Taylor quit after four (I think) albums they got Ronnie Wood (who's still with them), when Bill Wyman quit he was replaced, and most recently Charlie Watts passed away.
This song has powerful relevance right now, over fifty years later. The way things are going right now, it doors feel like we're just a shot away from all out war between Democracy and Fascism.
yup, the drums of war are beating in the pacific, a relatively new military coalition with Taiwan includes the US, France, Japan, Canada, Australia, Philippines, and India, i might be forgetting another one though
@@chrisbowden4070 You left out the reason for the coalition...the dangerous and aggressive red china which is behaving like a bully to all her neighbors....Context is everything!
It was the late 60's and it seemed the whole world was burning. The Vietnam War was one pile of tinder, the civil rights movement was another, and the youth movement of rebellion was the match, not only in the US but around the world. "Just a shot away" was literally true - remember that World War I, the Great War, the War to End All Wars, started with a single shot, the Shot Heard Round the World. Every war starts with a single shot, so _don't take that shot._
War is just a shot away. Love is just a kiss away. How is this not a splendid text. Not to mention a wonderful piece of music. Special shout out to Merry Clayton. I'm not gonna be here very long. This song is going to be my farewell at my funeral. As disturbing the lyrics might sound it's a comferting aswell. Excuse my English, I'm from Holland ;-) Thanks guys for your comments. Just ' discoverd' you and i'm a big fan already. Cheers! 💖
Another amazing reaction.....I grew up listening to the Stones, Mom was a huge fan. I love seeing your reaction to the first few notes....makes me smile.
Rock all the way. Blues influences. Not pop. Love my Beatles / Stones kept going for decades & refused to quit! Written during Vietnam war, never stops being relavant. Used in many movies/ esp war movies. Chills. Every time. “War, children …” They’re addressing us, talking to us. It’s an old phrase like “ok, children, what’re we going to do about it.” Once you hear Merry Clayton sing her verse, listen for the crack in her voice when she says ‘murder’. Sounds like she’s screaming, & Mick Jagger says ‘woah’ in the background. He loved it.
I checked for your RS reactions and you've got a deep rabbit hole that's 🔥 to go my friends! No trash 😉 in this list! "Sympathy For The Devil" "Paint It Black" "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" "Brown Sugar" "Start Me Up" "You Can't Always Get What You Want" "Wild Horses" "Angie" "Beast Of Burden" "Jumpin Jack Flash" "Honky Tonk Women" "The Midnight Rambler" (LIVE) "Waiting For A Friend" "
Merry Clayton, if you don’t know who she is, your ears are missing out. She stared singing in church and got her own recording contract by the age of 14. At a very young age, she had already worked with Elvis Presley and Ray Charles. At 20 while pregnant, she recorded background vocals on Gimme Shelter. At first she didn’t want to do it because of the lyrics that she had to sing. She agreed after Mick Jagger explained the meaning and importance behind them. She agreed to do it and she gave it her all so hard that her voice cracked. After that take, she did a couple more takes and went home. Later, unfortunately she had a miscarriage and lost her baby. For years after she couldn’t even listen to the song. She took this good song and turned it into a classic! The producers and the band ultimately used the take where her voice cracked. Every time I hear this song, it does one of two things to me, it gives me goosebumps or makes me cry. That’s how powerful it is, how much raw energy and emotion that is put into this performance. This is the ONLY song that Grand Funk Railroad covered in which I like the original version better because of Merry’s singing. If you haven’t heard any of her other work, it’s worth your time to check her out.
This song still give me chills every time. The Stones started out emulating American blues music whic Mick Jagger loved. Blues is definitely in their roots. They’re still doing concerts, in or close to their 80s.
That was nonsense you read about the Stones & Ed Sullivan. He banned them because they were supposed to change the lyrics from Spend The Night Together to Spend Some Time Together, which they agreed to do until they took to the stage live m. Same thing happened to The Doors on that show with Light My Fire, where Morrison was supposed to, but didn’t, leave out or change the lyric We Couldn’t No Higher ~
Keith (Keef the Reef) Richards, lead guitarist is immortal. He fell out of a coconut tree at 70, ended up in a coma, so decided it was probably best to go easy on the coke! Apparently! Either way he's a legendary drugs disposal unit!!
One of the best intros ever - (thanks Keith!) Jagger/Richards were influenced by the events in the student riots in Paris in 1968 (they were there) when they wrote this song. Also events of ww1, i.e 1 shot helped lead the world to war. Harrold Wilson kept the UK out the Vietnam war (thankfully)
Yes, I was there at the first appearance of PRINCE at the coliseum when he was supposed to open for the Stones. He tried but the crowd eventually booed him off the stage. Showing his maturity he slammed his guitar to the stage and stomped off. The audience dusted him off and went on to major talent starting with George Thorogood and on until the Stones locked up for the night. Fabulous concert 4-5 hours of great music.
Thank you! I. Love. This. Song. 😊❤️ I’ve always loved how it sounds kind of dark and ominous, but there’s hope at the end (“love is just a kiss away”) They are drawing a parallel between literal war (Vietnam) and the domestic ‘war’ in the US and other countries, in which people were fighting against the injustices of their own governments/ social norms (civil rights, women’s rights, etc.) “The fire is sweeping our very street today…” Not so fun fact, singer Merry Clayton belted this out and later suffered a miscarriage, which is often attributed to the recording of this song 😔 Monkey Man, Paint It Black, Ruby Tuesday and (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction are other great Stones songs Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name 😊
Brilliant Choice of 1st Song! Great Reaction. "Gimme Shelter" is about the young men being 'Drafted/Conscripted' (forced) to fight in the Vietnam war, and those consequences. Many tried to evade or resist that Draft. "Gimme Shelter" is them _Pleading for Shelter._ AFAIK, some 'moved' to Canada, etc. A _Favourite_ Rolling Stones song. The opening is so chill, like driving over endless bridges across sunny Florida Keyes. I even thought it was about a coming Hurricane when I was young. Best Wishes Chaps. ☮
My mom's favorite band so I grew up listening to all their albums. They're amazing! She saw them when I was like 10 or 11 and I got so mad she wouldn't take me lol
I listen to a lot of reactions and you guys are tops. Sometimes your cluelessness amazes me (no offense) but you are always spot on with your analysis and the fact you reacted to Elliot Smith - which in itself is astounding- is pretty amazing.
One of the greatest classic rock songs EVER! Merry Clayton was incredible on this song, that voice crack is legendary! The Rolling Stones are still rocking 60 years strong! Take that all you wanna be rock stars! No one will ever come close to the legends that are the Stones! RIP Charlie Watts!
This was the first song I recorded on my new cassette recorder my dad gave to me in 1969. It still remains one of my favorite Stones songs. Some recommended Stones songs are: “Honkey Tonk Women”, “Brown Sugar”, “Sympathy for The Devil”, “Rock and a Hard Place”, “You Got Me Rockjng” and “Hang Fire” to start with. I enjoy watching your reactions and I’m rediscovering songs I love.
Check out Rolling Stones - Paint it Black - Sympathy for the Devil - Can't get no Satisfaction - Shattered - Wild Horses - Angie - Let's spend the Night together - Start me Up - She's so Cold - Emotional Rescue - Brown sugar - Waitng on a Friend
Thanks for reacting to this one! I think this is probably one of the two best songs the Stones ever did (the other is Sympathy For the Devil.) This song came out in 1969, and was about more than one thing - the Vietnam War, the atrocities of any war, the assassinations of the Kennedys and King, the riots, cities burning, the battles between young people and police - also on the personal level, about Keith Richards' being upset about suspicions that his girlfriend was having an affair with Mick Jagger. Like a lot of great songs, it fits a lot of situations, personal and worldwide, micro and macro. That was a time when things felt as if the whole world had gone crazy - I was ten years old when this song came out, and it fit the evening news, the conversations people were having, the combo of grief over past and present with dread of what might come next. By the way, I'm an old USMC radio operator, and one of the things I learned is that you can end a transmission with "Over," meaning "I've finished this thought and I'm waiting for you to reply, but I'm staying on the line," or "Out," meaning "Goodbye, I'm signing off." So "Over and out" means "Please go on! I'm hanging up now."
The stone have 6 amazing albums between the late sixties and early seventies, Beggars Banquet, Exile on Main Street, Sticky Fingers, It's Only Rock and Roll, Goat's Head soup and Let it Bleed. That alone makes them one of the greatest bands of all time.
They were distinctly different movements, but did influence one another. The Stones started as a Blues band, but did flirt (often superbly) with Psychedelia, notably on ‘Their Satanic Majesties…’.
Viet Nam era. Daily news reports giving body bag counts. Film of villages getting wiped out with Napalm, burning bodies running into the jungle, every American losing friends, family, neighbors etc. For what reason nobody can say today, but everybody knows why. If you look at the background, it shows bombs blowing up. Sad song. Another great song in the same era is Fortunate Son by Credence Clearwater Revival. There are others. If you search Viet Nam era music, you'll see a lot of it.
The Stones started as a Blues band and have always been committed to the Blues, which arguably has run through all their music. Their name was taken from the Blues maestro Muddy Waters’ lyrics and they took the opportunity to play with Blues Legends when they could (there are RUclips videos of some of these). They were not alone in this: many bands and singer’s in the ‘60s started playing Blues, including Rod Stewart and Elton John. Whilst the Vietnam War was prominent at the time this was released, there were also various other Wars going on then, particularly in Africa, as Britain and other European countries gave independence to countries that had been part of their Empires and in South America.
One of their most powerful songs. Quick rundown: the Stones started in London as big blues fans, singing blues-rock - they were The Beatles "evil twin" back in the 60s, with a friendly rivalry. Originally Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Charlie Watts, and Bill Wyman - they moved into pop-rock and flirted with psychedelia. The band moved more towards straight rock in the 1970s. They're still going, though only Jagger and Richards (the songwriting heart of the band) are left of the original members of the band. Jones died in mysterious circumstances in 1969, Wyman left the band in the 1990s, and Watts died last year. Huge catalogue - their most famous sings include "Satisfaction", "Paint It, Black", "You Can't Always Get What You Want", "Time Is On My Side", "The Last Time", "Jumping Jack Flash", "2000 Light Years From Home", "Ruby Tuesday", "Start Me Up", "Let's Spend the Night Together", and "Honky Tonk Women"... and that's the tip of the iceberg.
The Rolling Stones would show up again on Ed Sullivan a few years later singing "Let's Spend the Night Together." They edited the lyrics to "Let's Spend Some Time Together" and you can see Mick Jagger rolling his eyes as he sang.
This is THE perfect song to be introduced to Rolling Stones, other than Simpathy for the Devil, it has it all, great bluesy melody, amazong voices and a message that it will always be relevant.... Top 3 Rolling Stones song
Hey! The Stones. Right on. They are a helluva prolific band, sometimes releasing two albums a year. I think I own about 30 Stones records. Some other potential tracks to react to: Jig-Saw Puzzle She's a Rainbow Mother's Little Helper Paint it Black I Am Waiting Let it Bleed
The Ed Sullivan Show was in the day of live TV. Screaming teens and that kind of fandom was all new. The Animals, the Beatles and many of the British invasion performed on his show and as kids, it was the first time we got to see these bands.
Definitely one of the Stones’ many flagship songs! Fortunately, for some crazy off reason you never “heard this song” at least most people have been acquainted with some Stones if they’ve seen a Scorsese film! Great reaction!
OK Peeps, this seques into a documentary that you have to watch. It is called "20 feet from Stardom" The show starts out with this song. It is about backup singers that help make the most iconic rock songs (mostly rock) songs even better. It discussed the struggle from being a backup singer to being upfront as your own star. Predominantly it is about the black back up singers that added the flavor to songs like Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones. (merry Clayton and then Lisa Fishcher (live) also sweet home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynard. In one section of the docu, the backup singers says when Lou Reed sings, "and the colored girls go, "doot, da doot" he is talking about the backup singers.. Lisa Fischer is one of the main singers in this documentary. She backed up Tina Turner, Luther Vandross, the Police and was the backup singer on the Rolling Stones' tour for many, many years. She did make her own album and won a grammy, on "How can I ease the pain" but did not make another ablum becuase she was uncomfortable and went back to singing background where she is considered the queeen of backup singers. A must see
This is about the political and social unrest at the time. There was the war in Vietnam, race riots, and Charles Manson. Mick Jagger sings of needing shelter from this "Storm."
Fun fact, if you listen after the female vocalist hits that high note, you can hear someone go "Whooo!" in the background. Pretty sure that was one of the guys in the studio when they recorded this, and they just kept it in
Heard that Keith got the idea while sitting in an upper floor windowsill watching the people below scramble for cover as a big dark thunderstorm rolled in.
I just discovered this channel so I'm still cherry picking my way through past episodes. Love your reactions. Here are my picks if they haven't been done before: Jefferson Startship "White Rabbit", Meatloaf "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" and, of course, you can't have reaction without RamJam's "Black Betty". Great stuff guys.
In a doco I heard Mick Jagger started writing the lyrics when from his hotel room window he watched the people in the street below running for cover from a sudden heavy downpour of rain.
Love to see two musicians react to this song, of another genre, and "getting it". Hollywood's reaction when "Rape" was sung by Merry Clayton, was genuine. Amazing, and thank you for sharing. And this was released in December 1969. Great reaction.
This is a classic. I remember hearing for the first time in Guitar Hero 3 if I'm not mistaken. I also remember the first time that I listened to Rivers of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name (official video) and Polyphia - Goat (official video). Great songs that you still haven't reacted to yet.
I was born in 54 and was 15 when this came out....soph in high school....I bought it in dec of 69....rode to the record store on my 69 Yamaha 125 trail bike i had got for my 15 b-day....I had a sucky magnavox record player....but it was good for 69. The Stones were a blues-rock band ....Muddy Waters was Richards fav......Life was great then but worried about turning 18 with no end to the war in sight....my best friends brother was called up in Dec 69 ( he turned 19 in Oct 1969).......drafted in the Army and was dead by Aug 1970.....killed in a helicopter crash.
The best bands of that era and probably still the best in the world are: Rolling Stones, Beatles, Pink Floyd. Led Zepplin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Jethro Tull all British Bands
Nice to see some of the younger generations - in this case Hollywood and Smokey - waking up to reality. Yeah, Gimme Shelter was all about Viet Nam when it came out in 1969, but the message is in-your-face universal and remains arguably the Stones' signature song. In any event, the tune remains heavily listened to after 50 years and will likely remain so in another 50 - if we have another 50.
the last sentence hit hard
This song isn’t about Vietnam…Mick wrote it about an apocalyptic doomsday that he saw coming. In reality the song being released when it was in December 1969 was the death peel of the “Summer of love” and heralded the coming of the violence of the 1970s. After 1968 and the DNC riots, Vietnam going on and on, the Manson murders…The whole perfect world that the post WWII era represented was coming crashing down around the youth.
@@ralphdougherty1844 IMO, the apocalyptic doomsday began way before our time, but was jump-started in modern times with the JFK murder. Then with the first major act being the Viet Nam war, a tone was set that has only mushroomed since. I was at the 68 DNC, naively at the time, but learned exactly who owned us and what the game was. Only question now is what the end game will be.
I'm betting we don't have another 50.
more like a reaction of the entire era and all what was going down...including the war but everything else too.
If you think the lyrics though,, it's basically saying all of those horrible things that come with war, like Rape, Murder, etc are just a "shot away." Conversely, Love is just a kiss away. It's an anti-war song basically saying "Make love, not war."
Indeed..That was my take too...
Exactly!
It’s essentially a song about how easily violence can erupt. Everyone’s been somewhere where you feel like it’s about to kick off, when violence is in the air…
That's what it's made to look like due to how important the anti war driver was at this time for sales. But the real topic is writer Keith Richards' feelings when the legendary rock muse and hedonist Anita Pallenberg slept with her third Stones member Mick Jagger, while in a relationship with Richards. Highly recommend "Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg" which BTW is not only an excellent documentary, but also the only reason I know this.
@@QualeQualeson That is odd. I would have never guessed anything close to that looking at the lyrics, but the documentary sounds interesting. I'll check it out.
Best Stones song to start your reactions on. It’s an anti-war song. And the wailing female vocals in the bridge set this song far apart from the rest of their catalog. Great reaction.
Rape, murder that's war. It's disgusting but that's what happens.im a 3000 year old vampire who bakes for Panera, but my familiar Danny says i shouldjtvv say that lol
Yes.
@@voltakackackack666 da fuc?
War is just a shot away. But love is just a kiss away. It's up to us to choose. Keep it up Hollywood and Smokey.
I don’t know why this song is not considered a duet. Merry Clayton is more than a backup singer on this song.
She makes the song in my opinion. Her vocals are unbelievable. You can hear a wow from Mick when she does her solo.
And she was 8 months pregnant when she recorded this
@@chrisleech6229 And lost her kid the next day. She was called in at 3am to sing, did it in two takes, and went home. She found at 8am she had a miscarriage.
Andrea, while it is an outstanding mid song verse sung by Clayton it is overstated to consider this in any is a duet
The lyrics were written by Mick and Keith and the haunting guitar riff composed by them as well with no input from Merry.
Even without Merry’s astonishing vocal it would still be an absolute classic regardless
I always thought she was the lead singer on this song. her voice is so amazing.
Keith Richard’s guitar work is just so great on this song. His solo on the break makes this song.
He shows why sometimes less is more with a solo. The space between his riffs is so good and compliments the rhythm and melody extremely well.
Not sure if you guys have heard the whole song or just the chorus, but you guys would be blown away by The Stones' masterpiece song "You Can't Always Get What You Want". Pretty much everybody has heard the chorus, but the progression of that song is phenomenal, layers upon layers.
Merry Clayton is an effin icon. The film 20 feet from stardom is a must see. She sang on many songs you probably know. Like Sweet Home Alabama. Y'all should dig into her!
Been wanting to see that for years!! Watching it this weekend.
I see people are still pretending to know who Mary Clayton was before googling ' back up singer on gimme shelter"
@@thomasmills339 ok nice assumption 😗 but you're wrong. Oh well.
@@thomasmills339 Merry Clayton.
The Stones at their swaggering, menacing best. This was at the height of the Vietnam war in 1969 and the song had lost none of it's power. It's timeless.
Anything by the Stones from the late 1960's to the early '70's is pure gold, guys. Try "Sympathy For The Devil", "Midnight Rambler", "Can't You Hear Me Knocking", "2000 Light Years From Home", "Under My Thumb", "Paint It Black", "Tumbling Dice", "Bitch", "Sway", "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and so many more.
Don't forget street fightin' man
I was born in 49. The Stones expressed my anger and rebellion against the Vietnam war and Nixon. The Stones songs @davecurry listed are the soundtrack of my life in those days, was born in a crossfire hurricane!
Harold Wilson wisely kept the UK completely out of Vietnam. Most Brits could see how utterly futile was the conflict.
Merry made this song. Her screeching voice still give me chills every time I hear her. Rolling Stones r the best rock group of all times 💯💯💯🎶🎶🎶💯💯💯
The lady who sang on this (forgot her name) she did this in 2 takes. She was pregnant. They called her to come in at 3am. The studio door was so big, they couldn't hear her when she arrived. She managed to open the door herself.
At 8:51 you can hear her voice crack (and Mick say "whoo") because she was giving it her all. She doesn't know if it was the singing or the heavy door, but the next day, she lost her baby.
Her name is Merry Clayton.
Sorry for her loss but that performance sends chills up my spine
Oh man thats terrible.
@@happyapple4269 yeah, buy she never felt any ill-will to the band or that recording session. Great attitude.
@@1848revolt I saw some videos of her singing the song herself which she also had on a solo album. It's great.
The GREAT Merry Clayton ❤
Listen for Mick to say "whooo" after Merrie's third "murder" when her voice breaks (8:52) Incredible. Once you hear it, you'll always hear it. Cool AF.
I’ve just heard the recording and now all I can hear Mick “whoops” totally awesome.
The very shocking (and insanely amazing!) "rape, murder" line is one of the most powerful anti-war messages in rock and roll. Rape and murder (of civilians) is always part of war, one of the MANY reasons it should be the absolute last, last, last resort and avoided if at all possible. GREAT video, keep up the awesome work!
One of the best rock songs ever. Keith Richards said it was another writing of him growing up and hearing war alarms going off and tough times.
He would have been 1 or 2 years old during WWII, so I'll take it as a poetic license.
the war with the North Vietnamese who were communists, was originally France's war. Vietnam was one of their colonies, but when France decided to just give up the colony get out, America jumped in and continued it to prevent the spread of communism.
I'm 70 years old and still crank this up when I hear it. It is passion of the times.
The Stones as a band had longevity - when Brian Jones died they recruited Mick Taylor (who's on this song), when Taylor quit after four (I think) albums they got Ronnie Wood (who's still with them), when Bill Wyman quit he was replaced, and most recently Charlie Watts passed away.
Ronnie Wood joined from The Faces as he was already friends with Keith...
Mick Taylor is not playing on this song. It's all Keith. He also wrote most of it.
@@TonyMowatt OK, thanks
I remember the day this came out Vietnam, Peace or War you choose, love or hate.... that what this song is about.......
There were top 40 stations but there were “underground “ rock stations found on FM only. Not all radios had FM. Keep it real, guys! Love ya! 💕
This song has powerful relevance right now, over fifty years later. The way things are going right now, it doors feel like we're just a shot away from all out war between Democracy and Fascism.
It does feel like it
Agree
yup, the drums of war are beating in the pacific, a relatively new military coalition with Taiwan includes the US, France, Japan, Canada, Australia, Philippines, and India, i might be forgetting another one though
Unfortunately all too real… unless we do something.
@@chrisbowden4070 You left out the reason for the coalition...the dangerous and aggressive red china which is behaving like a bully to all her neighbors....Context is everything!
It was the late 60's and it seemed the whole world was burning. The Vietnam War was one pile of tinder, the civil rights movement was another, and the youth movement of rebellion was the match, not only in the US but around the world. "Just a shot away" was literally true - remember that World War I, the Great War, the War to End All Wars, started with a single shot, the Shot Heard Round the World. Every war starts with a single shot, so _don't take that shot._
Sure feels like we're in similar times in early 2024!
Merry Clayton singing in the background burning it all down
War is just a shot away. Love is just a kiss away. How is this not a splendid text. Not to mention a wonderful piece of music. Special shout out to Merry Clayton. I'm not gonna be here very long. This song is going to be my farewell at my funeral.
As disturbing the lyrics might sound it's a comferting aswell. Excuse my English, I'm from Holland ;-) Thanks guys for your comments. Just ' discoverd' you and i'm a big fan already. Cheers! 💖
Another amazing reaction.....I grew up listening to the Stones, Mom was a huge fan. I love seeing your reaction to the first few notes....makes me smile.
Rock all the way. Blues influences. Not pop. Love my Beatles / Stones kept going for decades & refused to quit! Written during Vietnam war, never stops being relavant. Used in many movies/ esp war movies. Chills. Every time.
“War, children …” They’re addressing us, talking to us. It’s an old phrase like “ok, children, what’re we going to do about it.”
Once you hear Merry Clayton sing her verse, listen for the crack in her voice when she says ‘murder’. Sounds like she’s screaming, & Mick Jagger says ‘woah’ in the background. He loved it.
I checked for your RS reactions and you've got a deep rabbit hole that's 🔥 to go my friends! No trash 😉 in this list!
"Sympathy For The Devil"
"Paint It Black"
"I Can't Get No Satisfaction"
"Brown Sugar"
"Start Me Up"
"You Can't Always Get What You Want"
"Wild Horses"
"Angie"
"Beast Of Burden"
"Jumpin Jack Flash"
"Honky Tonk Women"
"The Midnight Rambler" (LIVE)
"Waiting For A Friend"
"
My favourite Stones song for sure, lyrics are powerful but that riff is unreal!
You said it mate...
54 yrs old and just as relevant today!
Merry Clayton, if you don’t know who she is, your ears are missing out. She stared singing in church and got her own recording contract by the age of 14. At a very young age, she had already worked with Elvis Presley and Ray Charles. At 20 while pregnant, she recorded background vocals on Gimme Shelter. At first she didn’t want to do it because of the lyrics that she had to sing. She agreed after Mick Jagger explained the meaning and importance behind them. She agreed to do it and she gave it her all so hard that her voice cracked. After that take, she did a couple more takes and went home. Later, unfortunately she had a miscarriage and lost her baby. For years after she couldn’t even listen to the song. She took this good song and turned it into a classic! The producers and the band ultimately used the take where her voice cracked. Every time I hear this song, it does one of two things to me, it gives me goosebumps or makes me cry. That’s how powerful it is, how much raw energy and emotion that is put into this performance. This is the ONLY song that Grand Funk Railroad covered in which I like the original version better because of Merry’s singing. If you haven’t heard any of her other work, it’s worth your time to check her out.
Man you guys gotta check out the "gimme shelter the best version ever"
And for a couple other stones songs
- miss you
- can you hear me knocking
This song still give me chills every time. The Stones started out emulating American blues music whic Mick Jagger loved. Blues is definitely in their roots. They’re still doing concerts, in or close to their 80s.
That was nonsense you read about the Stones & Ed Sullivan. He banned them because they were supposed to change the lyrics from Spend The Night Together to Spend Some Time Together, which they agreed to do until they took to the stage live m. Same thing happened to The Doors on that show with Light My Fire, where Morrison was supposed to, but didn’t, leave out or change the lyric We Couldn’t No Higher ~
Keith (Keef the Reef) Richards, lead guitarist is immortal. He fell out of a coconut tree at 70, ended up in a coma, so decided it was probably best to go easy on the coke! Apparently! Either way he's a legendary drugs disposal unit!!
Play With Fire! It's so short but absolutely amazing! One of my all time favorite songs!
One of the best intros ever - (thanks Keith!)
Jagger/Richards were influenced by the events in the student riots in Paris in 1968 (they were there) when they wrote this song. Also events of ww1, i.e 1 shot helped lead the world to war.
Harrold Wilson kept the UK out the Vietnam war (thankfully)
Yes, I was there at the first appearance of PRINCE at the coliseum when he was supposed to open for the Stones. He tried but the crowd eventually booed him off the stage. Showing his maturity he slammed his guitar to the stage and stomped off. The audience dusted him off and went on to major talent starting with George Thorogood and on until the Stones locked up for the night. Fabulous concert 4-5 hours of great music.
Thank you! I. Love. This. Song. 😊❤️ I’ve always loved how it sounds kind of dark and ominous, but there’s hope at the end (“love is just a kiss away”)
They are drawing a parallel between literal war (Vietnam) and the domestic ‘war’ in the US and other countries, in which people were fighting against the injustices of their own governments/ social norms (civil rights, women’s rights, etc.) “The fire is sweeping our very street today…”
Not so fun fact, singer Merry Clayton belted this out and later suffered a miscarriage, which is often attributed to the recording of this song 😔
Monkey Man, Paint It Black, Ruby Tuesday and (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction are other great Stones songs
Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name 😊
Shan stole my comment 😉but yeah, what she said! Love Merry’s backing vocals in this!
@@AmberPearcy 😆😊
This song has an almost perfect slow-build intro. It's my favorite part of the song.
Brilliant Choice of 1st Song! Great Reaction. "Gimme Shelter" is about the young men being 'Drafted/Conscripted' (forced) to fight in the Vietnam war, and those consequences. Many tried to evade or resist that Draft. "Gimme Shelter" is them _Pleading for Shelter._ AFAIK, some 'moved' to Canada, etc. A _Favourite_ Rolling Stones song. The opening is so chill, like driving over endless bridges across sunny Florida Keyes. I even thought it was about a coming Hurricane when I was young.
Best Wishes Chaps. ☮
My mom's favorite band so I grew up listening to all their albums. They're amazing! She saw them when I was like 10 or 11 and I got so mad she wouldn't take me lol
I listen to a lot of reactions and you guys are tops. Sometimes your cluelessness amazes me (no offense) but you are always spot on with your analysis and the fact you reacted to Elliot Smith - which in itself is astounding- is pretty amazing.
One of the greatest classic rock songs EVER! Merry Clayton was incredible on this song, that voice crack is legendary! The Rolling Stones are still rocking 60 years strong! Take that all you wanna be rock stars! No one will ever come close to the legends that are the Stones! RIP Charlie Watts!
This was the first song I recorded on my new cassette recorder my dad gave to me in 1969. It still remains one of my favorite Stones songs.
Some recommended Stones songs are: “Honkey Tonk Women”, “Brown Sugar”, “Sympathy for The Devil”, “Rock and a Hard Place”, “You Got Me Rockjng” and “Hang Fire” to start with. I enjoy watching your reactions and I’m rediscovering songs I love.
Check out Rolling Stones - Paint it Black - Sympathy for the Devil - Can't get no Satisfaction - Shattered - Wild Horses - Angie - Let's spend the Night together - Start me Up - She's so Cold - Emotional Rescue - Brown sugar - Waitng on a Friend
Thanks for reacting to this one! I think this is probably one of the two best songs the Stones ever did (the other is Sympathy For the Devil.)
This song came out in 1969, and was about more than one thing - the Vietnam War, the atrocities of any war, the assassinations of the Kennedys and King, the riots, cities burning, the battles between young people and police - also on the personal level, about Keith Richards' being upset about suspicions that his girlfriend was having an affair with Mick Jagger. Like a lot of great songs, it fits a lot of situations, personal and worldwide, micro and macro.
That was a time when things felt as if the whole world had gone crazy - I was ten years old when this song came out, and it fit the evening news, the conversations people were having, the combo of grief over past and present with dread of what might come next.
By the way, I'm an old USMC radio operator, and one of the things I learned is that you can end a transmission with "Over," meaning "I've finished this thought and I'm waiting for you to reply, but I'm staying on the line," or "Out," meaning "Goodbye, I'm signing off." So "Over and out" means "Please go on! I'm hanging up now."
The stone have 6 amazing albums between the late sixties and early seventies, Beggars Banquet, Exile on Main Street, Sticky Fingers, It's Only Rock and Roll, Goat's Head soup and Let it Bleed. That alone makes them one of the greatest bands of all time.
Merry Clayton, I’m 62 and ya still thrill me to the bone. Magnificent vocals, and Mic was pretty damn prime that day.
Keith Richards plays that guitar so dirty…. To good.
"The psychedelic blues movement?" I must have slept through that time.
The Stones were formed to be a blues band.
They were distinctly different movements, but did influence one another. The Stones started as a Blues band, but did flirt (often superbly) with Psychedelia, notably on ‘Their Satanic Majesties…’.
Cannot describe the feeling i get when i hear the opening bars to this song.
Pure genius.
Viet Nam era. Daily news reports giving body bag counts. Film of villages getting wiped out with Napalm, burning bodies running into the jungle, every American losing friends, family, neighbors etc. For what reason nobody can say today, but everybody knows why. If you look at the background, it shows bombs blowing up. Sad song. Another great song in the same era is Fortunate Son by Credence Clearwater Revival. There are others. If you search Viet Nam era music, you'll see a lot of it.
My favorite RS song. Perfection. Masterpiece. Timeless.
The radio stations back then played a wide variety of genre's.
My favorite Stones song. Great reaction guys. Happy 4th of July 🎇🎇
The quintessential question back in the day, the answer to which people would make a judgement about you was "Beatles or Stones?"
Both
@@MrYossarianuk an opinion would be formed with that answer as well XD
@@cazgerald9471 And if someone choice 'neither' immediately get them out your life.
Another rabbit hole I'd 💜 to see y'all go down!! So many great from the Stones that I bet y'all have heard in movies or on radio.
I think it’s impressive that a young newbie first timer nailed it with the “psychedelic blues” reference right off the bat
this is one of the best songs ive ever heard
Kings of Leon:
* Closer
* Waste a Moment
* Supersoaker
* California Waiting
* Wait for Me
Great reaction guys. The stones started in blues covering Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry Have saw them 4 times I am 66 lol
This song is EVERYTHING 🔥
that voice crack during the "rape murder" verse with mick freaking out in the background is timeless
You've now met the Rolling Stones.
I never tire of this song, every time I hear it it’s perfect in its entirety! 😎
The Stones started as a Blues band and have always been committed to the Blues, which arguably has run through all their music. Their name was taken from the Blues maestro Muddy Waters’ lyrics and they took the opportunity to play with Blues Legends when they could (there are RUclips videos of some of these). They were not alone in this: many bands and singer’s in the ‘60s started playing Blues, including Rod Stewart and Elton John.
Whilst the Vietnam War was prominent at the time this was released, there were also various other Wars going on then, particularly in Africa, as Britain and other European countries gave independence to countries that had been part of their Empires and in South America.
One of their most powerful songs. Quick rundown: the Stones started in London as big blues fans, singing blues-rock - they were The Beatles "evil twin" back in the 60s, with a friendly rivalry. Originally Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Charlie Watts, and Bill Wyman - they moved into pop-rock and flirted with psychedelia. The band moved more towards straight rock in the 1970s. They're still going, though only Jagger and Richards (the songwriting heart of the band) are left of the original members of the band. Jones died in mysterious circumstances in 1969, Wyman left the band in the 1990s, and Watts died last year. Huge catalogue - their most famous sings include "Satisfaction", "Paint It, Black", "You Can't Always Get What You Want", "Time Is On My Side", "The Last Time", "Jumping Jack Flash", "2000 Light Years From Home", "Ruby Tuesday", "Start Me Up", "Let's Spend the Night Together", and "Honky Tonk Women"... and that's the tip of the iceberg.
The Rolling Stones would show up again on Ed Sullivan a few years later singing "Let's Spend the Night Together." They edited the lyrics to "Let's Spend Some Time Together" and you can see Mick Jagger rolling his eyes as he sang.
Stiller & Mira were not only a comedy act, they're Ben Stiller's parents!
This is THE perfect song to be introduced to Rolling Stones, other than Simpathy for the Devil, it has it all, great bluesy melody, amazong voices and a message that it will always be relevant.... Top 3 Rolling Stones song
A MUST HEAR Classic,,
Argent "Hold Your Head Up"
god i f**king luv this song, not my type of music, but this is classic!
Hey! The Stones. Right on. They are a helluva prolific band, sometimes releasing two albums a year. I think I own about 30 Stones records. Some other potential tracks to react to:
Jig-Saw Puzzle
She's a Rainbow
Mother's Little Helper
Paint it Black
I Am Waiting
Let it Bleed
The comedy duo of Stiller and Meara are Ben Stiller's parents.
The Ed Sullivan Show was in the day of live TV. Screaming teens and that kind of fandom was all new. The Animals, the Beatles and many of the British invasion performed on his show and as kids, it was the first time we got to see these bands.
This song was mandatory for any war movie with a fight scene montage.
Definitely one of the Stones’ many flagship songs! Fortunately, for some crazy off reason you never “heard this song” at least most people have been acquainted with some Stones if they’ve seen a Scorsese film! Great reaction!
OK Peeps, this seques into a documentary that you have to watch. It is called "20 feet from Stardom" The show starts out with this song. It is about backup singers that help make the most iconic rock songs (mostly rock) songs even better. It discussed the struggle from being a backup singer to being upfront as your own star. Predominantly it is about the black back up singers that added the flavor to songs like Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones. (merry Clayton and then Lisa Fishcher (live) also sweet home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynard. In one section of the docu, the backup singers says when Lou Reed sings, "and the colored girls go, "doot, da doot" he is talking about the backup singers.. Lisa Fischer is one of the main singers in this documentary. She backed up Tina Turner, Luther Vandross, the Police and was the backup singer on the Rolling Stones' tour for many, many years. She did make her own album and won a grammy, on "How can I ease the pain" but did not make another ablum becuase she was uncomfortable and went back to singing background where she is considered the queeen of backup singers. A must see
Such an epic song the Vibe! So powerful!
This is about the political and social unrest at the time. There was the war in Vietnam, race riots, and Charles Manson. Mick Jagger sings of needing shelter from this "Storm."
It was a war between North Vietnam and south Vietnam, then everyone else stepped in
This and “Paint it Black”-faves!
After years of being the nearly boys to the Beatles here they are finally going toe to toe with them. 68 to 72 was the Stones golden period.
Fun fact, if you listen after the female vocalist hits that high note, you can hear someone go "Whooo!" in the background. Pretty sure that was one of the guys in the studio when they recorded this, and they just kept it in
Love the intro of this song.
Really liked your commentary on this song. You got it
Heard that Keith got the idea while sitting in an upper floor windowsill watching the people below scramble for cover as a big dark thunderstorm rolled in.
And that, gentlemen, is the finest song you will ever hear. No contest whatsoever.👍
If you listen closely when Merry Clayton's voice cracks you can hear Mick Jagger shout "woah" in the background.
I just discovered this channel so I'm still cherry picking my way through past episodes. Love your reactions. Here are my picks if they haven't been done before: Jefferson Startship "White Rabbit", Meatloaf "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" and, of course, you can't have reaction without RamJam's "Black Betty". Great stuff guys.
In a doco I heard Mick Jagger started writing the lyrics when from his hotel room window he watched the people in the street below running for cover from a sudden heavy downpour of rain.
Damn! My dude's got a Puscifer shirt on! Nice! 🤘
And still touring and drawing millions of audience.
Long live The Rolling Stones.
Love to see two musicians react to this song, of another genre, and "getting it". Hollywood's reaction when "Rape" was sung by Merry Clayton, was genuine. Amazing, and thank you for sharing.
And this was released in December 1969. Great reaction.
This is a classic. I remember hearing for the first time in Guitar Hero 3 if I'm not mistaken. I also remember the first time that I listened to Rivers of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name (official video) and Polyphia - Goat (official video). Great songs that you still haven't reacted to yet.
I was born in 54 and was 15 when this came out....soph in high school....I bought it in dec of 69....rode to the record store on my 69 Yamaha 125 trail bike i had got for my 15 b-day....I had a sucky magnavox record player....but it was good for 69. The Stones were a blues-rock band ....Muddy Waters was Richards fav......Life was great then but worried about turning 18 with no end to the war in sight....my best friends brother was called up in Dec 69 ( he turned 19 in Oct 1969).......drafted in the Army and was dead by Aug 1970.....killed in a helicopter crash.
Hollywood had no idea Mick Jagger was in The Rolling Stones, but he knew about his mouth LOL
there are a few bands that will get me off my chair, walk over to the device I am listening to and turn the volume right up, this is one of them.
The best bands of that era and probably still the best in the world are: Rolling Stones, Beatles, Pink Floyd. Led Zepplin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Jethro Tull all British Bands
Check out "can't you hear me knocking" 🎶🔥🤘