"20 Feet from Stardom" (2013) Brilliant documentary!!!

Last night I finally finished with never-ending TV saga "Under the Dome" and as expected, at the end of second season nothing has been explained or solved, it just goes on and on in manipulating bubble-land, forcing viewers to follow season after season until we actually forget what happened in the first place. I honestly doubt that I will continue watching it when third season comes along. But feeling suddenly relieved that I survived all this drama, I turned my attention to something that I had good feeling about - I read about this documentary some time ago and decided to check it out, what a thrilling experience!

"20 Feet from Stardom" is immensely enjoyable, affectionate and profoundly compassionate look at the life and destines of background singers, hence the title. It is something I was aware long ago - probably back in the 1980s when I was teenager listening than-current pop hit "Culture Club" and quickly noted that backing vocals of Helen Terry were far superior to the main singer. Through the years it became kind of hobby to spot great background voices without whom the final results would never be the same, it seems no matter how great stars were, they often shone even better (or were inspired by) when they have brilliant and oh-so-brief support from the background. This documentary finally set the record straight - yes, these anonymous voices are equally important and as someone noted, trough the years stars change but musicians and backing vocals on the stage always stay there constantly present.

Tons of famous people here talk about phenomenon of backing vocalists - everybody from Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Sting and Bruce Springsteen theorise about importance of background singers on their albums and that little/huge step that separates musician from a star. Some of those girls are actually far more comfortable in the background than being in the spotlight. Naturally there is a thrill of ambition but also a frustration when promises and plans don't work out. Many of them were so celebrated in the field that they always found work, but even more of them suffered humiliations, cheating and simply quick change of music trends. What is most fascinating is something I always wondered about - some of these backing vocalists are honest-to-God far superior singers than many solo artists.

Bette Midler makes interesting statement when she describes music industry in 1950s where backing vocalists were without exception mostly white, sugary and cheerful voices until early 1960s when Phil Spector and the whole girl-group phenomenon finally ushered powerful black voices on the scene. Here is where mighty Darlene Love comes in the picture and she is legendary background singer on whose shoulder everybody else was standing ever since - even with the fact that she was impoverished and anonymous (reduced to cleaning houses) when her hit singles played on the radio, people like Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder paid attention to that girl in the background. Documentary also follows destines of other voices like Mable John (a former Raelette behind Ray Charles), ex-Ikette Claudia Lennear, powerhouse voices like Merry Clayton and Tata Vega (who sang in "Colour Purple"), people like The Waters Family (who sang behind every possible project imaginable) up to present time with Judith Hill (behind Michael Jackson) and most fascinating of all, Lisa Fischer who is in words of Chris Botti "a freak of nature" and   can sing circles around everybody in the business - just watching her singing is seriously life-changing experience because this girl sings from a deep spiritual place from somewhere inside her and though people in the industry recognise this (she is often not just backing vocalist on Sting/The Rolling Stones/Tina Turner tours but constantly given solo spot to shine) her career never really took off. She got herself "Grammy" for one album and than disappeared in the background again - Patti Austin thinks that no matter how strange this might sounds, some people genuinely prefer camaraderie and joy of group creation to celebrity status. Tata Vega thinks that this is a true, spiritual magic of music and not anything else about the business. Lastly, Merry Clayton is still crushed when decades after her solo albums went nowhere reminisces how she expected that if she gave everything honestly and from the heart, the success will happen automatically. (She was the unforgettable voice behind "Gimme shelter" on The Rolling Stones classic).


I truly enjoyed this movie and was even more excited to find out it was awarded with "Oscar" for the best documentary, which gave chance to Darlene Love to stand on the Academy Award podium and raise that powerful voice to the skies. She really unleashed it and its impossible to watch that moment without celebrating it together with her. Raise the glass for all the ladies from the background because they deserve it.