July IO, 2013
ÉFljr
Relegated
to
B ackground
^lortlanb (Observer
O f course, the m arket is full of
such "wafer thin" music, and no­
where near saturated with the soul­
ful and inspired work that these
backing vocalists have been pro­
ducing for years, in service o f
other more famous stars. But there
is the real difference between that
work — which this film rightly cel­
ebrates — and singing one's own
truth.
As intrigued as I was to hear
M erry Clayton describe the think­
ing that went into her decision to
back Lynard Skynard's "Sweet
Home Alabam a," I am more inter­
ested in hearing what she would
like to sing about the South. (L is­
ten for her cover o f Neil Young's
"Southern Man.")
A lth o u g h N e v ille , p e rh a p s
wisely, refrains from answering
the questions his film poses, I
hope his film will succeed in cre­
ating that kind o f interest in other
listeners. It’s worth noticing - and
one can't m istake it here — that
these voices, relegated to the back­
ground, are m ostly the voices of
wom en o f color, and they are
voices whose quality exceeds, in
richness, originality, and depth,
m uch o f what attracts and keeps
m usic industry attention. As in so
m any other parts o f our culture
(not least, law and film criticism ),
we would do well to inquire after
the voices we are missing.
her transportingly beautiful impro­
visations in the film); she does not
der! It's just a shot away" sequence love some of what goes into star­
in the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shel­ dom, and petered out of her own
ter." The respect that crosses Mick attempt at a second album after win­
Jagger's face as he listens to her ning a Grammy.
vocal some 40 years later is unmis­
I worry (and suspect, from some
takable.
of the commentary I've read) that
That intersection with the hugely people will reach for that answer -
successful artists who have worked that these women just didn't have
with these women is an important the drive that it takes to be a star. My
aspect of the film. Jagger describes own sense, from watching the film,
the fun he had working with Claudia is that the truth is more complex, and
L ennear, the gorgeous form er says more about the music industry
"Ikette" who traveled with the and about American audiences than
Stones and is thought to have in­ it does about these women (includ­
spired their hit, "Brown Sugar." Both ing Lisa Fischer).
Jagger and Sting speak admiringly
Several o f the backup singers
of Lisa Fischer, a singer of unearthly m ention being told that "there was
talent and range who has toured already A retha" (Franklin), as
with both of them.
though the presence o f Franklin
Stevie W onder and Tata Vega and Patti LaBelle and the few other
recall their first encounter, when wom en o f color som ehow indi­
he recognized their vocal connec­ cated a saturation o f the m arket,
tion, and W onder m uses about som ething I can't recall hearing
the prospects for Judith Hill, an a b o u t a rtis ts o f o th e r b a c k ­
astounding younger vocalist who grounds. (D id anyone w orry
w as p r e p a r in g to to u r w ith about this when a string of cute
M ichael Jackson when he died white boys won A m erican Idol?)
and has inspired short spikes of Sting offers one of the more in­
interest (as when she sang at sightful com m ents, noting that
Darleen Ortega is a judge on
Jackson's funeral), but has yet to such reality program s suggest the Oregon Court of Appeals and
m ake a record deal.
that one can rocket to stardom the first woman of color to serve
The question of why these sing­ without doing the spiritual work in that capacity. Her movie re­
ers have not achieved more notori­ that goes into creating musical
view column Opinionated Judge
ety lingers over the film. Darlene art. The fam e that singers will appears regularly in The Port
Love was robbed of credit for some achieve w ithout doing that work land Observer. You can find her
of her vocals; her producer, the no­ is, in his words, "wafer th in " - but movie
blog
at
torious Phil Specter, recorded them it is fame denied w orthier artists.
opinionatedjudge.blogspot. com.
and then released them as the work
of the Crystals. She spent years
cleaning houses before returning to
singing in her 40s.
After years of toil in the back­
Located at
ground, Merry Clayton attempted a
solo career and, though the music
sounds impressive, it did not sell
4545 NE MLK
well. Tata Vega, who experienced
similar disappointment, recalls criti­
(Blue & White Building behind the fence)
cisms of her appearance (most of
these women are gorgeous, though
Sunday is Family Day!
not necessarily as defined in the
mainstream); she comments philo­
Bring the family in for family portraits
sophically that, given the pressures
from 3:00pm to 6:00 Each Sunday!
of the business, it's probably just as
well that she didn't hit it big, since
she might well have died of an over­
dose if she had. Claudia Lennear
eventually abandoned her attempts
at a solo career and has taught Span­
ish for many years. Judith Hill did a
stint on TV's "The Voice," but didn't
make it to the finals.
The mostly white male stars these
singers have backed speculate
about the reasons why they haven't
been recognized. It takes a lot of ego
to make it in the music business.
You need good management and
Or call for appointment today
people to write music that shows off
your voice. You need powerful
503-730-1156
people to promote you. Lisa Fischer
comments that she loves making
melodies (which comes across in
Studio is also ready for Pet Portraits!
c o n tin u e d f r o m page 9
Page 13
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PORTLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS
INVITATION TO BID - CONSTRUCTION # 2 0 1 3 -1 6 7 8
PPS 2013 Roof Repairs
BIDS DUE JULY 1 7 ,2 0 1 3 AT 2:00 PM
PUBLIC OPENING JULY 1 7 ,2 0 1 3 , AT 2:15 PM
Portland Public Schools, School District No. U , Multnomah County,
seeks Bids from qualified firms to provide labor and materials for
roof repairs.
A Mandatory Pre-Bid meeting will be held at 10:00 AM on July 1st,
2013 at the Professional Roof Repairs (PRC) office conference
room, 1108 SE Grand Avenue, Suite 3300, Portland, OR 97214,
Tel. 503.280.8/59. Portland Public Schools conducts such meet­
ings in order to clarify information provided in the ITB and to pro­
vide interested Bidders an opportunity to ask questions about the
ITB. Subcontractors are encouraged to attend.
Sealed Bids, in an envelope clearly listing the vendor name and Bid
title, will be received by Stephen Hirai, Contract Analyst at: Bid
Desk, Purchasing & Contracting, Blanchard Education Service Cen­
ter, 5 0 1 N. Dixon St, Portland OR 97227, no t la te r than 2:0 0 PM,
Ju ly 17, 2013.
The Bid documents may be obtained from the ORPIN website,
www.orpin.oregon.goy. Firms must be registered with ORPIN to
obtain and download documents; registration is at no cost. Con­
tract terms, conditions and Specifications may be reviewed at the
Purchasing & Contracting Department, 501 N. Dixon Street, Port­
land Oregon, 97227. For additional information about this project,
please contact the Purchasing Contact, Stephen Hirai, at
503.916.3314, or email at purchasing@DDs.net.