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20 Feet From Stardom
''20 Feet from Stardom'' is a 2013 American documentary film directed by documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville and produced by Gil Friesen, a music industry executive whose curiosity to know more about the lives of background singers inspired the making of the film. The film follows the behind-the-scenes experiences of backup singers and stars Darlene Love, Judith Hill, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer, Tata Vega, and Jo Lawry, among many others. On March 2, 2014, it won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 86th Academy Awards, 23 years after the similar documentary ''In the Shadow of the Stars'' (which focused on the members of an opera chorus instead of its stars) won the same award. Lisa Fischer said of backup singing: "I reject the notion that the job you excel at is somehow not enough to aspire to, that there has to be something more. I love supporting other artists." She added: "Some people will do anything to be famous. I just wanted to sing." Cast * Lou Ad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morgan Neville
Morgan Neville (born October 10, 1967) is an American film producer, director and writer. His acclaimed film ''20 Feet from Stardom'' won him the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2014 as well as a Grammy Award for Best Music Film. His documentary '' Best of Enemies,'' on the debates between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley, was shortlisted for the 2016 Academy Award and won an Emmy Award. His 2018 film '' Won't You Be My Neighbor?'', a documentary about Fred Rogers, received critical acclaim and became the highest-grossing biographical documentary of all time. Neville has been nominated for five additional Grammys for films including ''Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story'', ''Muddy Waters: Can’t Be Satisfied'', ''Johnny Cash’s America,'' and ''The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble.'' Neville’s other films include '' The Cool School'', ''Shotgun Freeway'', ''Keith Richards: Under the Influence'', and, as producer, '' Miss Americana'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
In The Shadow Of The Stars
''In the Shadow of the Stars'' is a 1991 American documentary film about the San Francisco Opera by the husband-and-wife team of Irving Saraf and Allie Light as it depicts the lives of the various members of the chorus, rather than the big name stars. Operas featured in the film *''The Flying Dutchman'' (Richard Wagner) *''The Rake's Progress'' (Igor Stravinsky) *''Macbeth'' (Giuseppe Verdi) *''L'Africaine'' (Giacomo Meyerbeer) *''Il Trovatore'' (Verdi) *''La Boheme'' (Giacomo Puccini) Accolades The film which won the 1991 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ... for Light and Saraf. Availability It was released on DVD in 2005 with extra scenes and the Oscar acceptance speech by Saraf as bonus features. It is available for s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lynn Mabry
Lynn Mabry (born March 21, 1958) is an American singer. Early life Born in Vallejo, California, Mabry's mother enjoyed playing piano and her father was a choir director and radio DJ. They divorced when she was 3 years old. Career She got her start in Sly and the Family Stone, along with Dawn Silva. In 1977, she joined P-Funk. The following year, Mabry and Silva became the original Brides of Funkenstein, releasing their first album ''Funk Or Walk''. Mabry became pregnant and left the band in 1979. She gave birth to a daughter named Akasha Larain Morrison in December 1979 (father is Walter "Junie" Morrison). Silva continued The Brides with backing singers Sheila Horne and Jeanette McGruder for another year. In 1983, Mabry joined Talking Heads for their concert film ''Stop Making Sense''. She also spent time as a background vocalist, continuing to tour with such acts as Rita Coolidge, Namie Amuro and Bette Midler and George Michael in 1989 on the song "If You Were My Woman". I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claudia Lennear
Claudia Lennear (born Claudia Joy Offley; 1946) is an American soul singer and educator. Lennear began her performing with the Superbs before becoming an Ikette in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. She was also a background vocalist for various acts, including Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, and Freddie King. She released her only solo album in 1973. Lennear was featured in the 2013 Oscar-winning documentary ''20 Feet from Stardom''. She was inducted in the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame in 2019. Early life Lennear was born Claudia Joy Offley at Providence Lying-In Hospital in Rhode Island. Her last name was changed after her mother married Leo V. Lennear, a Navy man stationed in Newport. She grew up in different neighborhoods in Providence. Although raised a Catholic, her grandmother taught her to sing gospel songs as a child. In elementary school, Lennear studied music theory and took French at St. Charles Borromeo parochial school. Her career goal was to become a translator at t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Lasley
David Eldon Lasley (August 20, 1947 – December 9, 2021) was an American recording artist, singer, musician and songwriter. He was best known as a touring background singer for James Taylor, as a session singer on recordings by artists including James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Luther Vandross, Chic, Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Bette Midler, Dusty Springfield and Boz Scaggs; as a songwriter for artists including Bonnie Raitt, Whitney Houston, Anita Baker, Maxine Nightingale, Rita Coolidge, Crystal Gayle, and Luther Vandross; and for his solo albums, albums with his 1970s vocal group Rosie, and for his early years in Detroit with his vocal group The Utopias. His best known songs include Maxine Nightingale's " Lead Me On" (co-written with Allee Willis), The Manhattan Transfer's "Shaker Song" (co-written with Willis and Jay Beckenstein), and Boz Scaggs' "Jojo" (co-written with Scaggs and David Foster. In 1980, David Lasley was signed by David Geffen to Geffen Records. At the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gloria Jones
Gloria Richetta Jones (born October 19, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter who first found success in the United Kingdom, being recognized there as "The Queen of Northern Soul". She recorded the 1965 hit song " Tainted Love" and has worked in multiple genres as a Motown songwriter and recording artist, backing vocalist, and as a performer in musicals such as ''Hair''. In the 1970s, she was a keyboardist and vocalist in Marc Bolan's glam rock band T. Rex. She and Bolan were also in a committed romantic relationship and had a son, Rolan Bolan (born September 26, 1975), together. Biography Early life and career Jones was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and moved to Los Angeles, California, at the age of seven, where she first started singing. Jones' first taste of fame came at the age of 14, when, while still at school, she formed with Frankie Kahrl and Billy Preston the successful gospel group the COGIC Singers, with whom she recorded the album ''It's a Blessing''. Although ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mable John
Mable John (November 3, 1930 – August 25, 2022) was an American blues vocalist and was the first female signed by Berry Gordy to Motown's Tamla label. Biography John was born in Bastrop, Louisiana, on November 3, 1930, the eldest of at least nine siblings. At a very young age, she and her parents, Mertis and Lillie (Robinson) John, moved north into Arkansas, where her father got a job in a paper mill near Cullendale, where four of her brothers (including R&B singer Little Willie John) and two sisters were born. In 1941, after her father was able to secure a better job, the family moved to Detroit, where two additional brothers were born. She attended Cleveland Intermediate School, and then Pershing High School. After graduating, she took a job as an insurance representative at Friendship Mutual Insurance Agency, a company run by Berry Gordy's mother, Bertha. Later, she left the company and spent two years at Lewis Business College. She subsequently ran into Mrs. Gordy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnership with Keith Richards is one of the most successful in history. Jagger's career has spanned over six decades, and he has been widely described as one of the most popular and influential frontmen in the history of rock music. His distinctive voice and energetic live performances, along with Richards' guitar style, have been the Rolling Stones' trademark throughout the band's career. Jagger gained press notoriety for his romantic involvements and illicit drug use, and was often portrayed as a countercultural figure. Jagger was born and grew up in Dartford. He studied at the London School of Economics before abandoning his studies to join the Rolling Stones. Jagger has written most of the Rolling Stones' songs together with Richards, and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Susaye Greene
Susaye Greene (born September 13, 1948) is an American singer and songwriter. She was the last official member to join the Motown girl group The Supremes, remaining in the group during its final years of existence from 1976 to 1977. She is a successful songwriter as well, having written hit records for Michael Jackson, Deniece Williams, and many others. Biography Early life and career Born in Houston, Texas, Greene began her professional career at age 12. As a teenager, she moved to New York City where she attended Professional Children School, graduating in 1966 and later from the New York City High School of Performing Arts, and appeared in various commercials. Prior to joining The Supremes, Greene sang with Ray Charles' Raelettes and Stevie Wonder's Wonderlove, which paired her with Deniece Williams and Shirley Brewer. In 1973 she sang lead as a guest vocalist on New Birth's hit " Until It's Time for You to Go" (a cover of Buffy Sainte-Marie's song). In 1975 she co-wrote " F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three live albums, as well as contributed to several film soundtracks. Her most popular songs include " All I Wanna Do" (1994), " Strong Enough" (1994), "If It Makes You Happy" (1996), "Everyday Is a Winding Road" (1996), " My Favorite Mistake" (1998), "Picture" (2002, duet with Kid Rock) and "Soak Up the Sun" (2002). Crow has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide and won nine Grammy Awards (out of 32 nominations) from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. As an actress, Crow has appeared on various television series including ''30 Rock'', ''Cop Rock'', '' GCB'', ''Cougar Town'', Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, '' One Tree Hill'' and '' NCIS: New Orleans. Childhood and education Cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ava Cherry
Ava Cherry is an American singer and model. She collaborated with English musician David Bowie between 1972 and 1975; the two met in New York City when she was a nightclub waitress and Bowie was touring for ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars''. Afterwards, they began a period of personal and artistic collaboration that heavily influenced the ''Young Americans'' "blue-eyed soul" era. Following this, she struck out as a solo singer and backing artist for musicians such as Luther Vandross and Chaka Khan. Growing up in Chicago with significant exposure to the local African-American music culture, Cherry became an influence in the works of a number of pre-eminent artists, as well as a respected musician in her own right. Cherry's influence on ''Young Americans'' through her connections to major soul music institutions such as Sigma Sound Studios and the Apollo Theater has proven a particularly noted part of her legacy, as has her contemporaneous work wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chris Botti
Christopher Stephen Botti ( ; born October 12, 1962) is an award-winning American trumpeter and composer. In 2013, Botti won the Grammy Award in the Best Pop Instrumental Album category, for the album ''Impressions''. He was also nominated in 2008 for his album '' Italia'' and received three nominations in 2010 for the live album ''Chris Botti in Boston''. Four of his albums have reached the No. 1 position on the ''Billboard'' jazz albums chart. Coming to prominence with the 2001 recording of his ''Night Sessions'' album, Botti established a reputation as a versatile musician in both jazz and pop music for his ability to fuse both styles together. Early life Botti was born in Portland, Oregon and raised in Corvallis, although he also spent two years of his childhood in Italy. His earliest musical influence was his mother, a classically trained pianist and part-time piano teacher. He started playing the trumpet at nine years old, and committed to the instrument at ag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
