20 Feet from Stardom [Blu-ray] [2013]

A brilliant expose of the exploitation of the singers that actually sang the songs we all recognize. An inspirational program of how raw talent and the love of music survives even though the music industry fails to reward the most talented artists. A story of life.

"20 Feet From Stardom" has been rightly called the sister piece to "Standing In The Shadows Of Motown". There are poignant moments in history as well as described by those we already know in the spotlight. For those of us whom already have experience the epiphany of identification with the chorus and not the lead, the film acts as validation to a point. Only one of thy stories really attempts to show the lack of real opportunity for those young black singers, but as much as I hate these singing contests on network TV, they are honest in stating they are looking for stars. I only saw one here in Darlene Love. The stories, historical clips and pictures were successful in painting the tapestry of the time ,and were the most entertaining. Claudia Lennear as one of the Ikettes, for example, was appropriate and acute. The Lisa Fischer segment seemed a bit underwhelming and left me unsympathetic. I love the music and the attitudes of the back up singers, but not everyone is a star. Bruce Springsteen is bold enough to state it, but I'm not sure if many of those on screen fully accepted that.

This is an interesting documentary about some of the best, mostly unknown backup singers from the 60's on. Many sang as studio backup singers for numerous famous acts, and often got little or no credits. Some of them tried to make it as solo acts, but in spite of their talent, never made it big. Darlene Love did win and Oscar for her performance.

A fitting tribute to backup singers who have done so much for the famous successful musical artists they performed for.Their professional talents and beauty are so valuable and could definately be Main Headliners themselves.What a great documentary !

Very interesting film about the career paths of some of the background singers of the past 40 years or so. It was a little overlong, and ironically, some of the deleted scenes were the best! Fascinating perspectives from some of the famous artists they worked with on the road and in the recording studio. I actually want to find out a little more about some of the women featured and may watch again soon, to make note of their names.

What an awesome doc! If you have any interest in the history of rock and roll/r&b/pop music, this is a must watch. Very cool to see these singers get the attention they deserve.

It is good to know that the people to whom we owe so much great music are finally being recognized and given a voice to tell their story. It was also an enlightening view of the music business and how it has changed recently.

Story of some of the greatest female backup singers in rock and R&B who never quite made it to stardom since they were 20 feet away from the main mike! Well made movie that is very interesting!