This music documentary, unlike any of its predecessors, focuses on artists not usually the center of attention in the music industry, the backup singers. This film portrayed the careers of the unsung forces behind many notable cuts from the past fifty years.The essence of these great backup singers is rooted in gospel music and black culture. In the 60s, singers like Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Patti Austin, and many other black women (and a few men) became the sound of many legendary cuts, for which they did not receive the recognition they deserved. Many songs from that era's catchy hooks came from these artists, but unless you are a music historian, you wouldn't be aware. This movie sheds light on the hidden stars behind some of the most famous tunes in history.And the colored girls go/"Doo do doo do doo do do doo …" – Lou Reed Walk On The Wild SideThe only artist of the bunch that I knew anything about previous to this film was Darlene Love from her previous encounters with Bruce Springsteen, but this movie was extremely enlightening about her rise,fall, and resurrection. It chronicled her days as (in)famous record producer, Phil Spector's go-to-girl in creating hit after hit in the 60s. He helped spark her career as lead singer of The Blossoms, but also had her record hit songs such as He's A Rebel, and then release them under a faux group name and have a group lip sync them for performances (in the case of He's A Rebel, it is credited to The Crystals). Even when Love finally broke free of Spector's hold, he ultimately bought her back in, thus putting a damper on her hopes and dreams until much later in her career. Her eventual election into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2011 is one of the movies, and her careers, high points. Most of the other backup vocalists did not have the same amount of success Love had, but their stories were fascinating nonetheless.Through all the hardships these singers faced, there is a great story of liberation that came with rock 'n' roll, specifically from the United Kingdom. Many artists from the UK were fascinated by the soulful harmonies produced by these early backup vocalists and wanted that sound replicated in their recordings. Musicians from Joe Cocker, David Bowie, and The Rolling Stones all feature these vocalists on some of their most classic recordings. Merry Clayton's tale marking one of the most prolific and strongest vocals in rock history is truly an amazing thing. Her chilling screams of "Rape, murder/It's just a shot away" in The Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter sends chills down the spine of anyone who hears it. The Rolling Stones have continued to recruit black, female vocalists to this day including Lisa Fischer, whose career is also highlighted in this film. A most poignant point in the movie depicts four images of Fischer fading in, harmonizing with herself, and then fades out until we are left with nothing but a single microphone as we are told of the lessening of demand for backup vocalists in today's industry.Towards the end of the film Sting plays with the idea that maybe it is just pure luck that those who have "made it" are where they are. Patti Austin comments that one needs a certain amount of "ego" to make it in the music business. Maybe it is a combination of both.This film is a must see for any music lover, as it is extremely entertaining and enlightening as a great untold story of the music business.

With a family friend paying a Christmas visit soon,I decided to search around for a music documentary that he see during the holiday period.Picking up an old copy of a UK film magazine called Empire,I spotted a review for what sounded like a fab tune of a documentary,which led to me getting ready to meet the people 20 feet away from stardom.Outline of the documentary:Starting off in the early days of popular music,the film shows artists to largely play everything safe in their live performances,with the singers & their back-up singers (both groups of which were mostly Caucasian) giving stiled,reserved performances.As the 60's arrived,the civil rights movement in America began to make its voice heard loud and clear,with Motown and other record labels giving African-American singers the chance to unleash their voice.Whilst the singers find themselves delighted over giving dozens of soon-to-be classic songs their winning hook and fiery sass,they each soon discover how hard it is to reach the front stage. View on the documentary:Focusing a large section of the documentary on 60s Girl Groups, some of director Morgan Neville's interviewees sadly decide to take the opportunity to "re-write history", (or to put it in a more honest manner,lie!) with singer Darlene Love (whose comments in the interview led to Neville paying the rights for songs that Love did not perform on!) claiming that she performed on songs such as Da Doo Ron Ron & songs by The Crystals,with Love's Crystal "vocals" actually being those of Dolores La La Brooks.Along with some of the interviews being a bit dodgy,Neville also takes an unexpectedly restrained approach to going into the full behind the scenes details into the making of the songs.Neville keeps away from revealing the business side of the music industry, (with the nearest that the film gets being 2 of the women saying that they had to get a second job,thanks to backing-vocal work drying up) and also avoiding any mention of the excesses displayed in the 60's/70's Rock scene.Spreading an amazing soundtrack across the films 90 minute running time,Neville allows the music to shine bright like a diamond,as the soundtrack goes from pounding hard Rock to soaring melodies,with Neville displaying an amazing skill in tracking down rare solo recording of backing singers bringing now- famous songs bursting to life,with Ava Cherry, Robin Clark and Luther Vandross ripping the plastic from David Bowie's plastic Soul,and the still-pretty Merry Clayton giving a breath taking performance,which puts all of the unsung backing singers at the front of the stage.

20 Feet from Stardom was about 5 background singers that never quite made it to the top but were very talented. I think this was to show people the struggle from being a background singer to being a Solo artist. Their names are Merry Clayton, Darlene Love, Claudia Lennear, Lisa Fischer, and Judith Hill. I liked how they could look back on their memories with a smile on their face. I learned that it's not easy to make it somewhere in this world but that doesn't mean it's not worth trying. It surprised me how well these ladies could sing, how talented a lot of background singers are. I would recommend this documentary to anyone.

I can't say I ever thought much about backup singers. Now I won't be able to watch any performance without wondering about the lives and aspirations of those off to the side. The stories are interesting, as are the discussions of the puzzling nature of fame in the music industry. It's also fascinating to see how much these people *love* singing and music. Many of them seem to love it more than the people they back up; they live purely within the song.Even though the movie was only 90 minutes, it felt a little long to me; at a certain point it felt like they'd said everything they had to say and were just repeating themselves and showing us a few more songs. But it was very engrossing for most of the way through.I don't really believe the performers who tried at, and failed to reach, solo success; sure they say now it's probably for the best, but I'll bet any of them would still take it if it was just handed to them.The talent exhibited is pretty impressive, especially Lisa Fischer, who is a truly phenomenal singer. On the other hand, when you actually look into the solo albums of some of these people, you can see that their lack of success isn't that puzzling. I found a video with Fischer that is some generic song that fails to show her range; any competent singer could have done it. And that's the thing, it doesn't matter how talented you are if you don't have a vision, or have a producer with a vision. And that vision has to resonate with people. Yes, these people had incredible talent (and at least one of them probably did have a great album), but in a way what the movie shows is how talent is only a small part of the equation.