When I made my Oscar predictions I knew that this documentary was the front runner in its category, but I bet on an upset. That didn’t happen. Now that I’ve actually seen the film, I see why it won — it’s great. Had I seen it before the telecast, I like to think I would have predicted its win.
Director Morgan Neville introduces us to several rather famous back-up singers in an effort to explain what performing music live means to people who, in general, are not the focus of adoring fans. Darlene Love is the prime example of a woman just on the edge of fame who has had an enduring career but is not a household name. I confess that I couldn’t place her. I didn’t know anything about the Blossoms, her group of the 1960s, though I did finally recognize her as Danny Glover’s wife in the Lethal Weapon series. Nor did I know that she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.
Other women spotlighted are Merry Clayton, Tata Vega, Lisa Fischer, Judith Hill, Claudia Lennear, as well as the Waters family. I had heard of Merry Clayton and I knew of Claudia Lennear, but I didn’t know any of the others. The film mixes film and television footage of them from the past with recent interviews. Most all of them (and other back-up singers) released solo records — Lisa Fischer won a Grammy — but none of them could sustain a solo career, and most of them have continued to perform as support for other acts.
What makes this movie great is that we get to know the women as they struggle first to succeed in a male-dominated business, and then to accept that stardom has eluded them. It is the music that keeps bringing them back, or in one case, causes regret that the business has left her behind. Their personalities are wonderfully presented with respect for what they did accomplish, how they have adjusted to the evolution of their lives, and how they are commanding greater respect now than ever before because the nature of the business has changed.
My favorite of the women is Lisa Fischer. Her voice is amazing and her attitudes about the business and the progression of life are refreshingly simple and honest. Her chronicle of how she was recruited by the Rolling Stones for the song “Gimme Shelter” is outstanding. Director Neville did his research, nabbing interviews with Mick Jagger, Sting, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Bette Midler, Sheryl Crow and music executives to provide background about these terrific background singers. The feelings expressed by everyone about finding one’s place in life is universal, and the music is superb. It’s one of the best movies of 2013. ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆. 12 March 2014.