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
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?”
