20 FEET FROM STARDOM: MORE THAN BACK UP

If music is little more to you than mindless sounds coming out of a radio in the car then this movie might not be for you. Then again perhaps once you watch it you'll get more out of the music you hear. Perhaps you'll realize the craftwork and emotions that spew forth from that box in the car or your stereo are part and parcel with what makes music so special. I thought this film would be a movie about Darlene Love and discovered it was so much more.

20 FEET FROM STARDOM is a movie that on the surface talks about back up singers throughout the history of rock and roll. They started back in the fifties and sixties but progressed from there. A few were content to simply be next to mega stars. Some gained fame and fortune of their own. But most found themselves off to the side of the main act, helping him or her achieve the accolades they desired themselves. This movie starts as their story but slowly alters into a history filled with some fantastic music.

Many of the back up singers are African-American women who played a major yet unrecognized part of musical history. They were members of groups like the Blossoms which featured the afore mentioned Darlene Love. The movie describes how her connection with producer Phil Spector resulted, for example, in her voice being heard as the main singer for the Crystals who then lip synched her record when performing. It wasn't until years later when she gained fame on her own and this was after she left music for some time to work as a house cleaner of all things. It was hearing her own voice on the radio singing "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" while working at that job that made her decide music was what she was destined to do.

But not all singers had the good fortune that Love did. Singer Claudia Lennear was hugely popular as a back up singer with many groups, in particular Joe Cocker and with the Rolling Stones. And yet her solo career went nowhere. She now teaches Spanish. Lisa Fischer also sang with the Stones and has toured with them in each of their concert tours from 1989 through the making of this film. And yet solo star status has bypassed her as well.

Each of the ladies (and one man) whose story is told here had that desire to sing, to express themselves and bring music to the world via their voices. They were there when it all began and in the hey day of rock and roll as we know it. And yet few will recognize their names. But when the music tracks they sang on are played here you'll find yourself with your jaw dropping and saying "That was her? I had no idea!"

While there is much joy in hearing some of this music again there is great sadness in these stories as well. That stems from the fact that while they were there, while they were contributing to music that we all know and love, they never got that recognition they so richly deserved. At least until this movie came out. The fact that it won the Oscar this year for best feature documentary will be a great help in getting their stories told.

Most of them are older now. Many have found work elsewhere other than in music. Some have stayed the course and continue to find plenty of work in everything from commercials to sound effects to still back up singing. The fact that they can still out sing many new youngsters is amazing to see.

As I watched the film another thing that saddened me was the current state of music today compared to the music these heroes of rock were making back then. Music consisted of actual instruments as well as real, un-filtered vocals. It was actual music as opposed to tweaked voices, programmed computer sounds and loops of classic tracks repeated to offer a back beat. If nothing else perhaps this movie will make some singer out there look at what is possible with real instruments and voices. Maybe they'll see that it's about the craft of perfecting your voice as opposed to the histrionics of waving your hands up and down while you shift from note to note.

It's not about who wins AMERICAN IDOL, it's about actually making music. Tell me the truth; after all those seasons of the show how many can you still name who won and how many are actually chart toppers now? I'm guessing very few (I can think of two). And yet here we are, in some cases almost 50 years later, talking about women who sing as good today as they did in their prime. If you like music then don't miss this movie. If you're a music lover then make a point of adding it to your collection.

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