20 Feet from Stardom (2013)

Wonderful exploration of the surprisingly small world of backing singers in the US music industry.One observation by Sting gets to the heart of it, when he says the difference between the talented singer and a star is down to circumstance, luck, destiny ... whatever, but that the best people deal with it. He's not being harsh, just accepting that only a very few have the completeness to achieve stardom. Or maybe he means the best are those who survive and live good lives.We're shown the greatness of heart and the bitterness of failure among those who don't have that completeness. In the end it is sad, but nothing can take away from the commitment of the performers, as their faces light up in remembrance of glory or grow blank with despair. As one guy says, If you get hooked on music you are forked! A lot of emotion, but two especially powerful moments, with the performances of Gimme Shelter: the original singer says she decided to "blow them out of this room" and the isolated track of her vocal cracks, and the later singer overwhelms a live audience.

They're the secret weapons behind most of the iconic music of their era but the public rarely knows their names. They take over the world of white backup singers and plain vanilla performances. They come from the gospel world. Darlene Love works under producer Phil Spector who uses her voice and released it as other people. These women are part of some of the most iconic songs ever.This is a lot of information and a lot of different people. There are plenty of big names and recognizable faces. It's a lot of stories and songs. The first half is more like a highlight reel of fascinating behind-the-scene snippets. There's nothing wrong with that but it does get a little repetitive. The overall flow does allow the flow of time to deliver an overall story of backup singing in general. The second half recounts some of the girls trying to make it on their own and that part is interesting.

"Twenty Feet from Stardom" is written and directed by Morgan Neville, who is not new to the genre at all. He has already worked on documentaries about Johnny Cash, Pearl Jam and Ray Charles to name only a few. Here, however, he takes a look at these who are not in the limelight: the background singers. It is a bit of an irony that his biggest success, namely an Academy Award win for Best Documentary, comes with putting the focus on these and not on the real superstars. I cannot say too much about how deserving this film was to win as I have not seen any of the other nominees, but I have seen Blackfish and it is quite a shame that this Orca-based documentary did not even get nominated.I did not really like "20 Feet from Stardom". Most of it is very clichéd. They keep saying several times that you need a huge ego for a huge career and that they are maybe background singers as they lack that ego. However, from the way these ladies acted and talked, I did not have the impression at all that they weren't egoistic enough. They seemed actually to have a bigger ego than some of the stars they did the background for. Maybe it simply is that they are not talented enough? The upside of this documentary is that you hear some real quality songs and see some interesting artists in a bit of a behind the scenes documentary. I liked the Stones' performance of Gimme Shelter with a magnificent performance from the female singer and also the version of "Lean on Me" near the end. These two are not enough to save the film from mediocrity though. It is certainly not the ultimate background singer documentary I had hoped for.The Phil Specter criticism part was probably intended as one of the emotionally sad highlight, but the way it was displayed with the look in her face and the music in the background was just so over the top as if a 1,000 people just died that it felt completely artificial and cringeworthy. Other than that, the majority of the film is uplifting despite them letting us know what a tough job they actually have. But all the ones interviewed have performed with absolute superstars, so my sympathy is kind of limited here. If there is an upper class of background singers, then it is those people shown int his documentary. What about the ones struggling even harder? Where are they? It just lost a lot of credibility for me because of that. I am sure they made good money and still they behaved like they got absolutely nothing.The film also showed that it is actually possible to make it from background singer to "real" singer and I liked the "Lion King" reference as I quite adore the film. What I found strange is that this film somehow lets the audience think there are only black female background singers. With one or two exceptions, none of the many people in there were male or white. I don't know what Neville intended with limiting it to that one specific group and what his point was in doing that. I personally would have hoped for a more general film in terms of the history of background singers instead of the specific lives and fates of those interviewed. Sometimes it just wasn't interesting enough to attract my attention. Not recommended.

Though many of the names in the film you may not know, the songs they have sung are familiar. Be it "Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones, "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynard Skynard, the music within Disney movies, or the songs of Whitney Houston, the voices of the featured musicians are within some of your favorite songs, and this film features the ones who made a career out of being in backup; who tried for stardom and got sent back to being backup; one who is on her way to being a star; and a handful who gave up the life because they lost the desire for it. Either way, all together, you are treated to what is almost like an hour and a half version of Unsung, from TV One, made into a movie.Characters & StoryIn the film, there are a handful of names which are commentators. Be it the legendary singers like Sting, Stevie Wonder, and even archival footage from Luther Vandross, or the backup singers like Dr. Mable John, who worked with Ray Charles; Darlene Love and Fanita James, who opened the doors for Black background singers; Lisa Fischer, whose voice is perhaps the most phenomenal of all the featured artists; and Judith Hill, who perhaps you may recognize from singing with Michael Jackson during his This Is It concert film; we hear the story of multiple musicians, in their own right, who have a love for singing.With the older crew, they give their history in the game from start to present, and they tell us about some of the bumps which got in their way. But, with Judith Hill, the sole young talent focused on, you hear about some of the issues about transitioning in modern times from background to lead. And, the real heart of the story, to me, deals with not just the power of background music, but the power of Black women's voices and how they, and the training that comes from doing gospel music, revolutionized the music industry. Be it Ray Charles using them for his sound, or The Rolling Stones using them to give them a sense of soul. The movie maybe about background acts, but its heart truly is about giving these woman, the often unsung, the recognition which is possibly only given by those who are true, and studious, music lovers.PraiseI haven't covered many documentaries, but the few I have all are deeply informative. Whether it be Paris is Burning, which gave viewers a look into 90s gay culture, and ball culture; Blackfish which exposed Sea World; or The Invisible War which put a spotlight on sexual assault in the military; I have been lucky enough to find documentaries which not only inform, but tell a story which may not have some glamorous movie star playing a role, but instead they have people who were actually there, experiencing, witnessing, and living a life worth telling. And with 20 Feet From Stardom, things are no different. Each woman, and the handful of men, tell us about a subject matter which probably isn't too often noted. Yes, you may notice that most singers, no matter what their background, have Black background singers, but you don't take much note of them. This film though gives them a voice, let's their personalities shine, and reminds us that Tamar Braxton probably wasn't the first, and won't be the last, who was singing in the back and was deserving of being in the front. Luther Vandross was a background singer, Mariah Carey did background vocals, and look where they are now.But, as Lisa Fischer notes, while the glamor of being in the front is nice, that isn't the dream of everyone in the business. And with her, she shows the other side of being in the background. Yes, you get praised and people may wonder why you aren't out in front, but some people like playing their position. Being able to have that memorable moment in song and then step back and live a normal life helps her explain that there are really varying paths a background singer can have. Some people had paths like Claudia Lennear, where some of the people she worked for were not just looking for a voice, but a nice piece of ass. Then there are people like Judith Hill who are in limbo, trying to afford being in the front, but not getting the financial backing to do so. And the story really tries to give everyone their time to tell their story so that no one is just there. Making this, certainly, not definitive, but so informative that it lays the foundation for anyone who has thoughts, and ideas, of getting into background music, or someone who wants to learn about the influence of background singers, especially Black ones, over generations.CriticismIn all honesty, I would have liked for the troubles of transitioning or being a background singer to be more elaborated on, but perhaps what was given was just enough. Outside of that, there isn't much to complain about, unless some acts you wanted to know more about than others. Or if you wanted to learn more about how it is in modern times.Overall: Worth SeeingI love this film. I think it is worth seeing and I wish this film had a soundtrack because it contains so many songs which I have forgotten about over the years. And, with it being nominated for an Oscar, I hope it wins.