The Triumph of Merry Clayton
Here's The Thing with Alec Baldwin
iHeartPodcasts
4.3 • 8.4K Ratings
🗓️ 28 December 2021
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
(Recorded October 6, 2021) Even if you don’t know the name Merry Clayton, you know her voice. It’s the one belting on The Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter and it is remarkable - you can actually hear Mick Jagger hooting and hollering in the background after Clayton sings the hook. Clayton started providing backing vocals for Bobby Darin as a teenager and went on to record with Ray Charles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Carole King, Neil Young, and the list goes on and on. Her story is featured in the 2013 documentary 20 Feet From Stardom, which celebrated the often-overlooked contributions of backup singers to popular songs and won the Oscar for Best Documentary. Following a near-fatal car accident, Clayton has returned to release her first solo album in more than 25 years, Beautiful Scars.
This episode introduces guest host Talia Schlanger, who will occasionally be featured on Here’s the Thing. Schlanger is a performer, musician, and broadcaster. She has interviewed hundreds of artists as the former host of the NPR-distributed program World Cafe and throughout her career at CBC.
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | I'm Alec Baldwin and you're listening to Here's the Thing from I Heart Radio. |
| 0:08.4 | We have a special episode for you this week. |
| 0:10.9 | I want you to meet someone. |
| 0:12.5 | Talia Schlanger, hi Talia. |
| 0:14.1 | Hey Alec, it's great to be here. |
| 0:16.3 | So Talia, you're a performer and musician. |
| 0:19.0 | Tell us a little bit more about yourself. |
| 0:21.0 | Yeah, right now I'm recording an album of my own original music that I write and sang |
| 0:24.9 | in play on guitar. |
| 0:25.9 | But I started my career professionally in theater when I was 14, doing a bunch of musical |
| 0:29.9 | festivals toward the States with the Green Day Show American Idiot and went to school |
| 0:34.1 | for broadcasting, writing for radio and TV. |
| 0:37.6 | You're also a radio host and producer you've interviewed. |
| 0:41.0 | A lot of people, correct? |
| 0:42.3 | Yeah, I used to host the NPR syndicated show World Cafe. |
| 0:45.4 | We interviewed a different musician every day. |
| 0:47.9 | You're Canadian and you frequently guest host on the CBC. |
| 0:50.8 | In fact, that's where I heard you one night on my radio. |
| 0:54.0 | Your voice just jumped out at me and I thought, I've got to have it on my show and here you |
| 0:57.6 | are. |
| 0:58.6 | We've it, but here I am. |
| 1:00.2 | Yes. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from iHeartPodcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of iHeartPodcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.