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Morgan Neville directs this Oscar-winning documentary exploring the often neglected role of backing singers in rock and roll history. Through tracing the stories of enduring vocal support artists such as Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer and Tata Vega from the heyday of rock and roll to the present day, the film endeavours to bring to the fore musicians whose voices adorn many of the most famous songs in pop history yet remain largely unknown. With artists such as David Bowie, The Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley often employing African-Americans to provide their backing vocals, the film also highlights the importance of these singers as trailblazers for a more inclusive musical mainstream - though the individuals themselves never quite made it to centre-stage...
While the lead singers in rock, pop, and R&B are the ones who get the glory, knowledgeable music fans will tell you the backing vocalists often add the touches that make a performance truly memorable, and though many backup singers have the respect of their peers in the music business, they`re all but unknown to the average listener. Twenty Feet From Stardom pays homage to some of these unsung heroes, including Darlene Love (the un-credited lead voice on some of Phil Spector`s most memorable productions of the 1960s), Merry Clayton (who contributed a striking vocal cameo on the Rolling Stones` "Gimme Shelter", Lisa Fischer (who has appeared on albums by Sting, Tina Turner, and Aretha Franklin, as well as touring with the Rolling Stones), and the Waters Family (they sang with Michael Jackson on the album Thriller and lent their voices to the films The Lion King and Avatar).
