There aren’t nearly as many Rolling Stones cover versions as there are Beatles covers. That makes this one all the more important: Merry Clayton, who almost stole the show from Mick Jagger as a background singer on Let It Bleed (1969), released her own single version in 1970 – and even named her debut album after the Stones classic.

Clayton turned one of the Stones’ greatest songs into a first-class soul drama: raw, intense, full of pain and power. Her voice carries the track into a new dimension – proving that some classics only reveal their full force once the background singer steps into the spotlight.