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.

As a professional musician myself, it was particularly wonderful to see these marvelous singers and entertainers finally getting their full due in a film all their own. So often, singers with far less talent get the spotlight, with these incredibly brilliant voices so often left behind, or worse still, never given the credit their stellar talent truly deserves. This film, happily, fills that void. You could say the same of great actors. Only a handful of them get the attention, while so many others, often more talented, have to make due with being the perpetual "second fiddle." That said, I also noticed that the one thing that often separates great background singers from great soloists is something I simply call, "charisma," that hard to describe, magnetic, magical quality that makes someone able to take that spotlight, and fill it. Although there are those who have made successful careers largely built upon physical looks alone, this singular characteristic is the one that separates the stars from the "also-rans," in my opinion. But in any regard, this film never fails to capture this elusive quality, while still giving these amazing talents the accolades that they've so rightfully earned. Well worth watching.

This music documentary, unlike any of its predecessors, focuses on artists not usually the center of attention in the music industry, the backup singers. This film portrayed the careers of the unsung forces behind many notable cuts from the past fifty years.The essence of these great backup singers is rooted in gospel music and black culture. In the 60s, singers like Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Patti Austin, and many other black women (and a few men) became the sound of many legendary cuts, for which they did not receive the recognition they deserved. Many songs from that era's catchy hooks came from these artists, but unless you are a music historian, you wouldn't be aware. This movie sheds light on the hidden stars behind some of the most famous tunes in history.And the colored girls go/"Doo do doo do doo do do doo …" – Lou Reed Walk On The Wild SideThe only artist of the bunch that I knew anything about previous to this film was Darlene Love from her previous encounters with Bruce Springsteen, but this movie was extremely enlightening about her rise,fall, and resurrection. It chronicled her days as (in)famous record producer, Phil Spector's go-to-girl in creating hit after hit in the 60s. He helped spark her career as lead singer of The Blossoms, but also had her record hit songs such as He's A Rebel, and then release them under a faux group name and have a group lip sync them for performances (in the case of He's A Rebel, it is credited to The Crystals). Even when Love finally broke free of Spector's hold, he ultimately bought her back in, thus putting a damper on her hopes and dreams until much later in her career. Her eventual election into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2011 is one of the movies, and her careers, high points. Most of the other backup vocalists did not have the same amount of success Love had, but their stories were fascinating nonetheless.Through all the hardships these singers faced, there is a great story of liberation that came with rock 'n' roll, specifically from the United Kingdom. Many artists from the UK were fascinated by the soulful harmonies produced by these early backup vocalists and wanted that sound replicated in their recordings. Musicians from Joe Cocker, David Bowie, and The Rolling Stones all feature these vocalists on some of their most classic recordings. Merry Clayton's tale marking one of the most prolific and strongest vocals in rock history is truly an amazing thing. Her chilling screams of "Rape, murder/It's just a shot away" in The Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter sends chills down the spine of anyone who hears it. The Rolling Stones have continued to recruit black, female vocalists to this day including Lisa Fischer, whose career is also highlighted in this film. A most poignant point in the movie depicts four images of Fischer fading in, harmonizing with herself, and then fades out until we are left with nothing but a single microphone as we are told of the lessening of demand for backup vocalists in today's industry.Towards the end of the film Sting plays with the idea that maybe it is just pure luck that those who have "made it" are where they are. Patti Austin comments that one needs a certain amount of "ego" to make it in the music business. Maybe it is a combination of both.This film is a must see for any music lover, as it is extremely entertaining and enlightening as a great untold story of the music business.

I can't say I ever thought much about backup singers. Now I won't be able to watch any performance without wondering about the lives and aspirations of those off to the side. The stories are interesting, as are the discussions of the puzzling nature of fame in the music industry. It's also fascinating to see how much these people *love* singing and music. Many of them seem to love it more than the people they back up; they live purely within the song.Even though the movie was only 90 minutes, it felt a little long to me; at a certain point it felt like they'd said everything they had to say and were just repeating themselves and showing us a few more songs. But it was very engrossing for most of the way through.I don't really believe the performers who tried at, and failed to reach, solo success; sure they say now it's probably for the best, but I'll bet any of them would still take it if it was just handed to them.The talent exhibited is pretty impressive, especially Lisa Fischer, who is a truly phenomenal singer. On the other hand, when you actually look into the solo albums of some of these people, you can see that their lack of success isn't that puzzling. I found a video with Fischer that is some generic song that fails to show her range; any competent singer could have done it. And that's the thing, it doesn't matter how talented you are if you don't have a vision, or have a producer with a vision. And that vision has to resonate with people. Yes, these people had incredible talent (and at least one of them probably did have a great album), but in a way what the movie shows is how talent is only a small part of the equation.