Play it Again, Sam #44a - "Gimme Shelter"

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I'm going to throw a bit of a curve ball at you in this morning's entry of my Play it Again, Sam music series, but it's you that shall benefit. We are at #44a, the "original" portion of the discussion: "Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones. "Gimme Shelter" is the leadoff track from The Stones' classic 1969 album, Let it Bleed. It was spelled as "Gimmie" on the original release, later changed to "Gimme." While Mick Jagger says that the song reflects the turbulent times of the late 1960's (Vietnam, rioting in the streets, chaos, pandemonium,) Keith Richards claims that the song is merely a result of him watching people seeking refuge from a sudden rainstorm. "Gimme Shelter" features vocals from Merry Clayton (credited as "Mary,") the idea of producer Jack Nitzsche. As the story goes, the then-pregnant singer was summoned from her slumber after midnight, went to the studio, performed her vocals, and went back home to bed. While it was released as a single, I found no evidence that it charted anywhere. I repeat. This classic did not chart. Anywhere. It was covered a bunch of times, however, which I will get to in the second part of this discussion. It's just a shot away. (Info verified by Wikipedia)