海角大神

The title of the wonderful documentary 鈥�20 Feet From Stardom鈥� can be taken literally. Morgan Neville鈥檚 film is about a cross section of female backup singers who, though uniformly glorious, reap little glory with the public. Their pipes are in many cases every bit as startling and powerful as the headliners they back, so the question the film asks is, Why aren鈥檛 these women 鈥� among them, Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer, T谩ta Vega, Claudia Lennear, and Judith Hill 鈥� stars in their own right?

The answers are complicated and variable. For an artist like Lisa Fischer, who won a Grammy in 1992 for her first single, 鈥淗ow Can I Ease the Pain,鈥� the hothouse of stardom simply didn鈥檛 fit who she was. Of all the women interviewed in the film, she seems most comfortable with being a backup singer 鈥� for the late Luther Vandross, Tina Turner, Alicia Keys, The Rolling Stones, Chaka Khan, and many others.

Her situation is very different from that of the legendary Darlene Love, who was a staple in Phil Spector鈥檚 stable 鈥� you can hear her loud and clear on 鈥淒a Doo Ron Ron鈥� 鈥� before, according to her, he helped sabotage her solo career. (She sang the lead, uncredited, on the hit 鈥淗e鈥檚 A Rebel,鈥� by The Crystals.) For years she worked as a cleaning lady before resuming her career in the 1980s.

Then there鈥檚 Merry Clayton, now 64, who indelibly screams out 鈥渞ape, murder 鈥� it鈥檚 just a shot away鈥� in the infernal Rolling Stones anthem 鈥淕imme Shelter.鈥� And the mesmerizing Judith Hill, at 29 the youngest of the singers profiled, who sang at Michael Jackson鈥檚 funeral (she was supposed to accompany his final tour) and was recently voted off NBC鈥檚 鈥淭he Voice鈥� singing competition in what is surely one of the more boneheaded decisions in TV history.

This is one music documentary that isn鈥檛 simply a glorified concert film, though there are plenty of performances to savor. Neville has made many first-rate music documentaries (most recently 鈥淭roubadours鈥�) and the late A&M Records executive Gil Friesen acted as the producer, which surely contributed to the film鈥檚 savviness. (Full disclosure: I worked with Neville in the late 1990s on two episodes for A&E鈥檚 鈥淏iography鈥� 鈥� on Sidney Poitier and the Hustons 鈥� when he was starting out.)

Aside from being a signal contribution to the field of musical performance on film, as well as a tribute to singers who deserve a prime place in history, 鈥�20 Feet From Stardom,鈥� which includes encomiums from Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Mick Jagger, and Sting, also raises a larger cultural issue. How important is it for an artist to be a star?

This is not an idle question at a time when there are so many pseudostars among us, and when stardom itself is the goal for so many in show business. The artistic authenticity of these women needs no defense 鈥� except that, of course, alas, it does.

And yet, however sad or resigned many of these singers might feel about what might have been, none of those feelings come through when they are onstage. I have rarely seen a movie that better expressed the revivifying nature of music. (Many of the women, not surprisingly, grew up singing gospel in church choirs and had preachers for parents.)

I had the great pleasure when I saw this film at Sundance of having lunch with the ladies, and I can tell you, it felt like a jamboree. Many of them have known each other for years and their togetherness had a spiritedness that was a performance all by itself. They were so happy with the film that they rarely went more than a few minutes without singing about something, anything 鈥� even if it was the menu choices.

It鈥檚 the same joy that comes through, despite all the rue and hardship, in 鈥�20 Feet From Stardom.鈥� Grade: A (Rated PG-13 for some strong language and sexual material.)