Bette Midler and Darlene Love Celebrate 20 Feet From Stardom
“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.
