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Created Jul 28, 2013 10:21PM PST • Edited Jun 26, 2022 07:47PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Very Good 3.5

   “Gimme shelter or I’m gonna fade away.” Some of the stars of this rocking documentary got their shelter from Jagger, the superstar who sang Gimme Shelter and from countless other single-namers. Not gonna fade away now, not with 20 Feet from Stardom sporting Mick, Bruce, Stevie, Sting, Bette & Darlene.

   Springsteen informs us at the start of the movie that 20 feet can be a long walk, even if the worldclass background singers profiled in 20 Feet from Stardom have every bit the pipes of an Aretha or a Whitney.

   Instead, their lot in life is to stay in the studio, or shake and shimmy behind the lead singer, or maybe to have a moment in the spotlight. The movie introduces us to several of them, including Darlene Love, the original super background singer, and Merry Clayton, she of the iconic “Rape, murder! It’s just a shot away!” Gimme Shelter scream from Let It Bleed. (Rock fans wondered for decades. The answer is here.)

   Others include the great Lisa Fischer, the Stones’ primary background singer since ‘89, and Judith Hill, who was rehearsing with Michael Jackson for his This Is It shows. Of course, those shows never occurred because of MJ’s sudden death, just one more heartbreak for these often snakebitten artists.

   Yet, 20 Feet from Stardom isn’t heartbreaking or downbeat. It’s ultimately joyous and often fascinating. If you revere the Stones, the Boss or most any other rock or R&B superstar, it’s a consistent treat, in the same vein as Standing in the Shadows of Motown. Music fans shouldn’t let it fade away.

4. Acting

   Really Great 4.5

   The background singers don’t have star charisma, while the superstars who do simply sit still and talk. That’s great and even fascinating, but kinda hides their light under a bushel. Anyway, the movie’s not about the superstars, so let’s start with the background singers who perform 20 feet from stardom.

   • Darlene Love is the senior sister of this sorority, in part because she’s tasted some solo success. Her Christmas – Baby Please Come Home is one of the great rock-n-roll songs, Christmas or otherwise. Check her out in the nearby video. I LOVE THAT SONG!
   • Lynn Mabry backed up Talking Heads on Stop Making Sense, the greatest concert movie of all.
   • Merry Clayton was woken one night in ‘69 to come to a midnight session with the Rolling Stones. They needed her to sing one verse. "Rape, murder! It’s just a shot away, It’s just a shot away!" That worked out pretty well, other than she miscarried later that night, per Reality below.
   • Lisa Fischer is best known as the Stones’ main current backup singer, the woman who sings Merry Clayton’s Gimme Shelter part with Mick on stage. Nice gig. She’s comes across as remarkably normal in the movie.
   • Judith Hill is the youngest and has the highest current profile, notably from her abortive gig with Michael Jackson, as documented in This Is It.
   • Claudia Lennear is often cited as inspiration for the Stones song Brown Sugar. In any case, it’s a tickle watching first her and then Mick Jagger reflect on their late Sixties frolicking together.
   • Táta Vega backed up Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Madonna and many more. ’Nuff said.

   Then there are the superstars who get interviewed about their background singers. Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Mick Jagger and Stevie Wonder give the most time and are remarkably generous. Jagger’s reflections on his old girlfriend Claudia Lennear and his current backup Lisa Fischer are priceless. Sheryl Crow (who was once a backup singer herself) and Bette Midler are also interviewed.

   There’s also terrific archive footage of other superstars for whom they sang: David Bowie in his Young Americans phase (complete with commentary from Springsteen), Ray Charles and the Raylettes, Phil Spector from his Sixties heyday, and Luther Vandross, who also began as a backup singer.

   Finally music luminary Lou Adler makes a brief appearance. How about a documentary about Jack Nicholson’s best friend? I’d pay to see it.

5. Male Stars Really Great 4.5

6. Female Stars Really Great 4.5

7. Female Costars Really Great 4.5

8. Male Costars Really Great 4.5

10. Film

    Good 3.0

    The film suffers a bit from choppy editing and discursions into the mundanities of the singers lives. How about more of their singing!!

11. Direction OK 2.5

12. Play Good 3.0

13. Music Great 4.0

14. Visuals Good 3.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Tame 1.4

    Sex and drugs and rock-n-roll are often mentioned, though not shown.

17. Sex Titillating 1.6

18. Violence Gentle 1.0

19. Rudeness Salty 1.6

21. Reality

    Natural 1.0

    As a straight-up documentary, the rFactor is 1.0 or totally natural.

    Of more interest is the underlying reality the movie reveals. For instance, Merry Clayton muses about her failed solo career. And yet, the video shown of her back in the day displays a singer wearing veritable going-to-market clothes without a hint of glamour or overt sexiness. It may not be fair that glamour and sexiness are required to make the 20 foot leap from backup to lead, but that’s what the game requires.

    Finally, a super serious note. According to an ’86 LA Times article, Merry Clayton suffered a miscarriage upon returning home from the Gimme Shelter session. She credits her spiritual recovery from that tragedy to her faith in God and the fact that she returned to the Gospel music of her childhood. Amen to that.

22. Circumstantial Natural 1.0

23. Biological Natural 1.0

24. Physical Natural 1.0