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Showing posts with label 20 Feet from Stardom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 20 Feet from Stardom. Show all posts
I want craft services, I want paparazzi and I want publicists making a scene -- Joan Rivers, I Hate Everyone... Starting with Me, 2012.
Well, she got the red carpet Hollywood treatment today even if there was literally no red carpet, it being a funeral and all. One of the all-time Queens of Comedy was sent out in absolute style. I'm envious! How could I not be? The bitch had Howard Stern giving the eulogy! Audra McDonald came to sing "Smile"! Hugh Jackman sang the Peter Allen song, "Quiet Please, There's a Lady on the Stage." Not many funeral services are this star-studded and leave you qvelling and wanting more! In general, I cannot wait to get out and over to the reception (food, socializing, dancing and open bar).
The glamor and radiance of this funeral would make Joan proud. Barbara Walters, Whoopi and Rosie O'Donnell were there. Bernadette Peters, Tommy Tune. Alan Cumming. Diane Sawyer was there, Paul Schaffer, Donald Trump, Clive Davis! And many more luminaries of show business too numerous to mention. Today Margaret Cho wrote that Joan put the fun back in funerals.
Fans swarmed to say their goodbyes. The NYPD provided bagpipers. The NY Gay Men's Chorus sang. We were sending off royalty after all. Self-made royalty, the best.
If you have to die, sweeties, this is the way to have a funeral service. Service? Joan was putting together her last show for all the world. She asked that, instead of flowers, donations be sent to Gods Love We Deliver and other charities.
Farewell, Joanie. There's no one like you. You will be missed indeed.
Thought I'd go over some of the events and gossip that interested me over this past week and that I thought my readers might enjoy as well.
Beloved columnist-superstar Liz Smith reported in the New York Social Diary, Huffington Post and Chicago Tribune on Wednesday's promotional luncheon to get the documentary film, 20 Feet from Stardom, nominated for an Oscar.
Wrote Ms Smith: "Girl, what the hell is the matter with you. How come you're having a heart attack? Explain this to me!" That was the great Darlene Love, doing her best Bette Midler
imitation (and it's very good!), telling what Bette phoned and said to
her, a week after Darlene's heart attack several years ago. Bette knew
Darlene was out of danger. She called her old friend to make her laugh.
Darlene told this story the other day at a celebration for Morgan Neville's fantastic documentary, "20 Feet From Stardom."
This tells the history of back-up singers -- you know, those girls
who stand in the back harmonizing with the star, filling in notes the
star can't hit, and sometimes -- as in Darlene Love's case, singing the
whole damn song, and then seeing it released under some other group's
name! So this is an extraordinarily poignant, life and talent affirming
look at these women, some of whom -- like the majestic, incredible Lisa
Fischer -- seem content not to have made it "big" as a solo performer.
There are others who have regrets, but concede that perhaps they didn't
have the stamina, confidence or "killer instinct" to go it alone.
La Liz ends by saying: I attend so many events, luncheons, celebrations of this and that. Many
are amusing, some are valuable for gathering bits of news, a great many
produce nothing but a pain in the ass and a ridiculous taxi fare.
Very few hit you in the heart and soul. This did. And so will "20 Feet
From Stardom." Remember this the next time you listen to your
favorite singer. If you hear voices in the background -- though one
hears less now, with the rise of technological post-recording gimmickry
-- just realize those voices belong to women, and men, who give their
all for somebody else. And maybe you'll realize that you too, are a
"back-up singer" in life.
Meanwhile, a reporter from Showbiz 411 wrote:I asked Darlene if she ever talks to her “Lethal Weapon” co-star
Danny Glover. They played husband and wife in the four Richard Donner
films.
Darlene, ringed in Shirley Temple curls, said: “I don’t speak to him.
Keep that man away from me.” That was a surprise because I thought she
reserved such sentiments for Phil Spector only. What’s the issue?
“He wanted to sleep with me, it was a big problem. Once he called me
at home and said, I’m looking at a picture of you right now. You don’t
know what I’d like to do with you.” Love laughed, but she was dead
serious.
Meanwhile, the new Pope, "Eggs" Benedict, was in the news this week with his generally well-received comments on the gay community that, at least, signals progress of sorts. Time magazine wrote:
...[I]t was a question [the Pope] was asked on the flight back to Rome, about
homosexuality, that has come to define the trip and has sparked hope
that the Roman Catholic Church might be softening its stance on being
gay. (Even using the word gay, which Francis did in English while
otherwise speaking Italian, is unprecedented for a Pope.)
Is
there anything new in what he had to say? Well, yes, in terms of tone.
And this is no small thing. Francis' immediate predecessors called
homosexuality an "intrinsic moral evil" and branded homosexuals as
"intrinsically disordered." Instead of mirroring those blanket
condemnations, Francis offered kindness and compassion. Then, in an act
of genuine humility, he asked, "Who am I to judge?" It is telling that
this rhetorical question got so much attention, since Jesus, who
Christians believe was the perfect revelation of God, warned, "Judge
not, that you be not judged." Yet previous Popes have shown no
hesitation in being judgmental about homosexuality. This change in tone
is significant.
The gayest legal document ever came across my desk today. Louboutin lawsuit
vs Yves St Laurant for infringing on their trademark for red shoes. The NYC-based, international firm hat represented YSL (& won the case in this dispute
resolution document) even managed to bring Dorothy's
ruby slippers into their argument! Favorite
line in the Louboutin lawsuit: "Oral argument was held in early 2012 in
a courtroom packed with dueling Louboutin- and YSL-wearing
fashionistas." I can just picture it. LOL! (Don't often see the word
"fashionistas" in a legal document.)
Alexis Carrington vs. Shirley Partridge. Says TMZ:
80-year-old Hollywood legend Joan Collins is livid at fellow icon Shirley Jones,
insisting she's NOT some porn-watching swinger pervert and never was --
despite claims in Shirley's new book -- and now, she's threatening Ms.
Jones.
Sources tell TMZ, Joan -- famous for the '80s soap
"Dynasty" -- is pissed over one anecdote in particular, which Shirley
recounts in her book "Shirley Jones: A Memoir," a story about the first
time Shirley met Joan in the late '60s and a 4-person sex party nearly
broke out.
According to the book, Shirley and her then-husband Jack Cassidy were at the home of Joan Collins and Tony Newley for dinner ... and after dinner, Tony proposed they all get naked and watch porn together. Shirley writes, "It was clear what Tony was leading up to -- swinging."
I will add that the Anthony Newley wrote, directed and starred in a movie titled Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? The film was a sleazy vanity project about the thinly disguised Newley, as character Merkin, leading a life of moral decay with real-life wife at the time, Joan Collins. Ms Collins sought divorce shortly after the release of this celluloid embarrassment.
And Jack Cassidy was bisexual; the jury's out on Shirley, who went from '50s/'60s honeydewed ingenue to hardened androgyny by the '70s.
Shirley Jones' book is now on sale. And Joan Collins will revive her club act at B. B. King's NYC in November (ironically, not long after David Cassidy is booked to perform). http://www.bbkingblues.com/bio.php?id=3148
Today, as reported in the Los Angeles Times, there was a Russian-vodka-spilling protest in West Hollywood:
Several West Hollywood bar owners stood curbside Thursday, each holding a large Stolichnaya vodka bottle.
The men planned to pour out the containers, filled with water, in symbolic protest of anti-gay legislation that recently passed in Russia, Stolichnaya's home, banning "propaganda
of nontraditional sexual relations" such as informing kids about
homosexuality. “We do street theater to raise public consciousness about the issue,” said West Hollywood City Councilman John Duran.
Duran and the owners do not blame the vodka company, per se. LGBT people are being beaten, jailed and killed for acts as small as
holding a rainbow flag, said Alfredo Diaz, owner of Revolver Video Bar
in West Hollywood. Diaz and others called for an immediate end to such
abuse.
A similar event took place in NYC yesterday.
The winter Olympics must be moved to another country. It is unacceptable for the Olympics Committee and the world community to allow this event, where even gay Olympic athletes are threatened, to take place in Russia under current conditions.
As the documentary, 20 Feet from Stardom, opens wider in cinemas across the USA, with a real possibility of being Oscar-nominated next year, Darlene Love continues to promote the film on tv talk shows and in the press. This, it seems, has invoked a renewed indignant frenzy from La La.
Fasten your seatbelts, she warned her Facebook fans today, paraphrasing Bette Davis in All About Eve. This is going to be a bumpy ride.
I just went to see the movie "20 Feet from Stardom," a documentary
about background singers, which Darlene Love claims to be HER movie,
when in fact, it's about and features background singers in general,
including Merry Clayton and Lisa Fisher. I should mention that the
latter two singers blew me away with their extraordinary talent. [Ahem! -- Buddy B] http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2013/06/audio-beaverhausen-20-feet-from-stardom.html
Toward the beginning of the film, there is a scene where Darlene Love
and the other two members of her group, The Blossoms reunite to sing an
impromptu version of "Da Doo Ron Ron." At that point, I knew where
things were going.
There is a scene where you see
The Crystals performing "He's A Rebel." While this is being shown,
Darlene is discussing her drama of how she had been shortchanged to the
point where her career really didn't begin until she was 40 years old.
She blames The Crystals for being partially responsible for this (which
is a lie, by the way). She gives the impression that by that record
(and "He's Sure the Boy I Love) having been released under The Crystals'
name, she was shortchanged out of a career. If it weren't for The
Crystals' name which Phil had substituted for her own name, Darlene's
career would not have been launched.
Darlene forgets
that she was nowhere in sight at the time. We were an established
professional group who had had records released (with Barbara on lead
vocals). We had traveled extensively both domestically and
internationally. In fact, we first heard Darlene sing as we were
traveling on the road to a gig. That's when we heard "He's A Rebel"
which was announced as being recorded by The Crystals. We were all in
our teens at the time and I was the youngest. We got our manager on the
phone to learn what was happening. He said that we'd have to learn the
song and do it in our shows as it was released as a Crystals record.
Around the same time, the famous DJ Murray the K announced on the radio
that it was not The Crystals who were singing on "He's A Rebel" which
added to the confusion. We were angrier than Darlene could ever have
been as we were already a professional group and vocally, we did not
require a Darlene Love--or anyone else--to make us famous. We already
were famous. Darlene was a housewife at home raising children and also
cleaning houses for others.
The Crystals had nothing
to do with stopping Darlene Love. Why didn't she travel with her group
"Bob B. Soxx & The Bluejeans" with whom she had a hit with
"Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah?" We were on tour and were told that Bob B. Soxx
& The Bluejeans would be joining us. I was happy as I thought I
would get to see Darlene, whose voice I always liked. Then I saw Bobby
Sheen appear with two other girls. I asked him about where Darlene was.
He explained that she was married and living at home, raising children,
so he had to bring a substitute for her. So that's the group she could
have joined in order to launch her career.
Everything
you hear from Darlene regarding and against The Crystals is a blatant
lie. On some of her radio interviews, she jokes that if it weren't for
her, The Crystals would not be working. If that isn't a joke!
Returning the the new movie, Darlene sings "Da Doo Ron Ron" at the
beginning of the film and later shows The Crystals lip synching to "He's
A Rebel" to suggest that Darlene had been the voice behind all of The
Crystals' records, which could cause people who don't know the truth, to
think that that The Crystals didn't sing anything on their own.
My manager and myself were able to discuss this with Morgan Neville,
the director of the film. He knew who La La Brooks was and that I had
recorded "Da Doo Ron Ron." When we explained everything to him, he sadly
expressed regret that he had used the footage of Darlene and the
reunited Blossoms singing that song. He explained that he had simply
asked them to sing anything and Darlene chose "Da Doo Ron Ron." In
retrospect, he wished that they would have sung a gospel song instead;
it would have been a lot cheaper, considering the money it had cost to
license the Phil Spector song.
At the end of the
day, I must say that I admire the great background singers and respect
them wholeheartedly because they spoke the truth about their lives. If
Darlene would one day come forward and also tell the truth and express
how she had to ride on my back to gain success, then she would gain my
respect.
I would love for you guys to share this
post as far and as wide as possible. Quoting from Humphrey Bogart's line
in "Casablanca," "OF ALL THE GIN JOINTS IN ALL THE TOWNS IN ALL THE
WORLD, SHE WALKS INTO MINE."
Ouch! Fasten your seatbelts indeed, referencing both All About Eve AND Casablanca! Our Ms Brooks signs off on her vitriolic Facebook post with -- get this! -- "Love you all, La La"
By the way, La La has a new single out on Norton Records, vinyl 45 rpm. It's a cover of The Rolling Stones' "Play with Fire." Should be fierce.
"And the colored girls go 'doo-da-doot-a-doot-doot-doo....'" So goes the
famous chorus on Lou Reed's classic '70s glam rock song, "Walk on the
Wild Side." It's the back-up singers who beautifully and artfully take
over, ultimately delivering us to the hot sax fade-out. And so begins the soundtrack cd for the documentary, 20 Feet from Stardom, now in selected theaters.
None other than a woman who most certainly paid her dues in the music industry as an uncredited girl-group singer for Phil Spector and one of the hardest working back-up girls in the industry, Ms Darlene Love, has been at the forefront of promoting this great movie about the unsung -- if I may say -- story of the voices that really can make or break a single.
Love has been on the tv talk-show circuit tirelessly to discuss 20 Feet, culminating with her moment on the couch with David Letterman. She has been all over the press, notably in a recent Rolling Stone interview and talking with The New York Times. The latest New Yorker article about Love on Letterman really serves as a great primer on her career if you need to know more. (He stole my "unsung" joke, I swear! I had it all prepared.)
(http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2013/07/01/130701ta_talk_friend
Darlene Love was recently, and long-deservedly, inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame. One of the best tracks on the album is the rare version of her recording of "Fine, Fine Boy," produced by Phil Spector, who surprisingly gave his permission for two Love tracks to be used in the film and on the soundtrack. (The other is the girl-group classic, "He's a Rebel," which Spector released under the name, The Crystals.) The album track of "Fine, Fine Boy" differs from the one used in the film (showcasing Spector's obsessive perfectionism), as is the divine Merry Clayton's "Gimme Shelter," and these rare tracks are worth the price of the cd alone.
It is, indeed, when the back-up singers step into the spotlight, fronting songs, that the album's best, rarest and most valued tracks are found. Ms Clayton's soulful "Nobody's Fault But Mine" with back-ups by Oren Waters, Judith Hill, Tata Vega and ex-Harlette Charlotte Crosley is an amazing aural experience. But even better is her powerful rendition of "Southern Man."
Lisa Fischer's "Sure on this Shining Night" with its traditional church-choir back-ups highlights this always amazing singer's ability to carry a brief but classic hymn. Tata Vega and Judith Hill's "Let's Make a Better World" is a brightly buoyant pop-gospel number while Judith Hill's solo power ballad (with simple piano accompaniment), "Desperation," impresses as well. Not a single bum track on this album, people.
Back-up girls strongly carrying the iconic Bowie tune, "Young Americans," Talking Heads' "Slippery People" and Joe Cocker's "Space Captain" are also featured. Some of the star performers may have even felt the need to snarl, like Bette Midler to her Harlettes, "Ok, back-up girls! Back up!"
The album concludes with a sterling rendition by Darlene Love covering "Lean on Me," showcasing the range and power of her voice. She is a national treasure at this time.
Must-see movie (now in selected theaters) and must-have album. Each very highly recommended. Terrific remastering work; album produced by Morgan Neville. Available @ Amazon.com.
P.s.: You might best know Tata Vega from her 1979 disco smash posted below:
