Darlene Love talks about going from backup vocalist to lead singer in Oscar-winning documentary
Marcus Garvey Park
18 Mt. Morris Park West
Sunday, August 17, free, 7:00
www.summerstage.donyc.com
www.twentyfeetfromstardom.com
It’s easy to see why Morgan Neville’s Twenty Feet from Stardom was such a critical and popular success, raking in more than five million dollars at the box office and winning an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. Yes, it tells the story of a fabulous group of remarkably talented backup singers, including Darlene Love, Judith Hill, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer, Táta Vega, Claudia Lennear, Jo Lawry, Lynn Mabry, and David Lasley. Yes, there are some big-time superstars singing their praises, including Bette Midler, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Stevie Wonder, Chris Botti, and Mick Jagger. And the music and inside tales are simply phenomenal, particularly the behind-the-scenes scoop on “Gimme Shelter,” which featured Clayton on the original record, while Fischer’s been singing it live onstage with the Stones for the last twenty-five years; surprising looks at Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” and David Bowie’s “Young Americans”; Love discussing Phil Spector, “He’s a Rebel,” and cleaning houses; and Hill’s attempt to be both a background vocalist and the lead singer playing her own songs. (Sadly, Clayton was involved in a serious car accident this June and “has a long road of recovery ahead,” according to her website.)
But at the film’s tender heart is the idea of honoring the people in the back, those without whom many of these famous success stories might be very different. Most Americans, when it comes down to it, live in the background, the men and women who make things happen while someone else ultimately gets the credit. In Twenty Feet from Stardom, the background singers finally get their due, and in a way each and every one of us does as well. Of course, it also helps that these marvelous women have sensational voices and plenty of great anecdotes to share. Twenty Feet from Stardom is screening August 17 at 7:00 in Marcus Garvey Park at the special SummerStage / ImageNation Cinema Foundation presentation “Bellatrix! A Soul Train Tribute to Women in Music,” which begins with live performances by Jamila Raegan, the Ki Ki Experience, and Raye 6 & Phyllisia Ross, with Winston’s Crew Collective and the Firey String Sistas serving as the house band, followed by a Soul Train Jam spun by Ubiquita Sound System.