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And we said that we both gonna be big rock and roll stars
Last night, L. and I went to see 20 Feet from Stardom, which is a documentary about many of the talented backup singers who've worked in rock'n'roll since the days of the Raelettes and the Blossoms (with Darlene Love), most of whom have never gone on to have successful solo careers, whether by choice or because of circumstance.
The movie skirts around the elephant in the room that is racism, though some of the women do mention that the music industry has the mindset that there is already an Aretha or a Whitney, so there doesn't need to be another black woman with a gospel background tearing up the charts. They get a little closer to it with Merry Clayton talking about her decision to sing backup on "Sweet Home Alabama" and then there's a later clip of her doing an incendiary version of Neil Young's "Southern Man." Merry Clayton, if you've not heard her name, is the woman who sang the female vocal on "Gimme Shelter," which is basically the part that makes it the greatest rock song of all time (in my opinion; the guitar riff is the other part of what makes it so great). There's not really anything about how whites stole the music and the moves from blacks and made it into a billion dollar industry, though. (It's there obliquely when you see interview clips with the big name rock stars talking about how great these ladies are, and except for Stevie Wonder, they are all white men.)
I learned some things I didn't know - I didn't know that Darlene Love wasn't credited for the songs she sang that were hits for the Crystals, for example, and that she'd left the music industry before her comeback in the 80s. Also, she looks and sounds FANTASTIC at 70.
I also didn't know that Luther Vandross was in the backup crew for David Bowie's "Young Americans" (or that that is when Bruce Springsteen met Luther Vandross).
Anyway, the movie is full of great music and interesting stuff about the history of rock and awesome ladies being awesome. I recommend it.
***
[rant about work redacted]
At least I've got a four day weekend coming up after today.
***
The movie skirts around the elephant in the room that is racism, though some of the women do mention that the music industry has the mindset that there is already an Aretha or a Whitney, so there doesn't need to be another black woman with a gospel background tearing up the charts. They get a little closer to it with Merry Clayton talking about her decision to sing backup on "Sweet Home Alabama" and then there's a later clip of her doing an incendiary version of Neil Young's "Southern Man." Merry Clayton, if you've not heard her name, is the woman who sang the female vocal on "Gimme Shelter," which is basically the part that makes it the greatest rock song of all time (in my opinion; the guitar riff is the other part of what makes it so great). There's not really anything about how whites stole the music and the moves from blacks and made it into a billion dollar industry, though. (It's there obliquely when you see interview clips with the big name rock stars talking about how great these ladies are, and except for Stevie Wonder, they are all white men.)
I learned some things I didn't know - I didn't know that Darlene Love wasn't credited for the songs she sang that were hits for the Crystals, for example, and that she'd left the music industry before her comeback in the 80s. Also, she looks and sounds FANTASTIC at 70.
I also didn't know that Luther Vandross was in the backup crew for David Bowie's "Young Americans" (or that that is when Bruce Springsteen met Luther Vandross).
Anyway, the movie is full of great music and interesting stuff about the history of rock and awesome ladies being awesome. I recommend it.
***
[rant about work redacted]
At least I've got a four day weekend coming up after today.
***
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Merry Clayton who pretty much broke my heart,
*nod nod*
And they didn't even include the most heartbreaking thing, which is that shortly after she did the female vocal on "Gimme Shelter," she had a miscarriage (she was pregnant during that session).
or the other woman (name I don't remember, Claudie? but she was an Ikette and slept with Mick Jagger) who now teaches ESL and doesn't perform.
Claudia Lennear. Yes, she was also fabulous, and the inspiration for the song "Brown Sugar." There's nice article about her here, timed to coincide with the release of the movie.
LOVED this movie.
Yeah, I really enjoyed it.