"Darlene Love: I Know Where I've Been" is a documentary about one of the greatest singers in pop music history, but it's also a deep look at the idea of identity in the music world.Darlene Love made some of her biggest hits in the early 1960s, when she was part of the Phil Spector hit factory.She was in a group called the Blossoms, who Spector used in 1962 to sing "He's a Rebel." This song became the model for the Wall of Sound that Spector was famous for.The song was meant to be sung by the Crystals, but they were 3,000 miles away in New York, so Spector rushed things and gave the song to the Blossoms, even though he officially credited the Crystals.
Darlene Love sang "He's a Rebel" with a strong, confident voice that grew stronger and more powerful, almost like she was showing admiration for the bad boys she sang about.
It's no surprise that Kenneth Anger used this song in "Scorpio Rising" and made her sing about Jesus.Her voice was as powerful as the Wall of Sound she helped create.She sang lead on another Crystals song, "He's Sure the Boy I Love," and did backing vocals on many other Spector songs.In 1963, she sang "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," which is considered one of the greatest Christmas songs ever recorded.
She was credited on that song, but the album "The Phil Spector Christmas Album" came out on November 22, 1963, the day JFK was assassinated.
The record didn't do well, and Spector stopped distributing it after a few weeks.The album was almost forgotten until it was reissued by Apple Records in 1972.Even though she was on the album's biggest song, her name was still missing.
Thirteen years ago, Morgan Neville's documentary "20 Feet from Stardom" honored the backup singers in rock 'n' roll, especially the Black ones who often stayed in the background.
Darlene Love was one of them and played a big part in the film.When the movie won an Oscar for best documentary, she gave a memorable speech at the Academy Awards.
"20 Feet from Stardom" showed that these artists didn't become stars, but it suggested they might have if things had been different.
Darlene Love's situation was a bit different.She was in the background but also a real star.She was out front, leading some of the most magical pop songs of the 20th century.But her name was erased, so her identity was also lost.You could recognize her voice, but she was right in front of you and still invisible.
"Darlene Love: I Know Where I've Been" shows how she lived with the mix of fame, unfairness, missed chances, broken dreams, strength, and finally getting the recognition she deserved.
The movie, like her life, is a special journey and makes you feel closer to the heart of pop music.
Love is now 85 years old, but in the documentary, which is based on a recent interview with her (along with a lot of old footage), she seems timeless.
With her orange-blonde curls and glowing face, her smile, laugh, and personality are full of life, and she doesn't look old at all.She met Paul Shaffer when David Letterman loved "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" and decided to have her perform it on his late-night show in 1986, a performance that became an annual tradition."
The documentary shows Love performing with Shaffer and his band in the Power Station studio.
She sings new versions of some of her most important songs.Her voice is amazing, still powerful and strong.Love also tells her own story well.She understands what she lost—more than just credit, but also the life she might have had.Yet she has moved past sadness and found a way to keep going.
The film's director, Barry Avrich, takes us back to the time of radio (he gives a nice tribute to it in the opening credits), when you'd hear a voice coming out of the radio, and that voice had a strong effect on you.Love, born Darlene Wright in 1941, moved between Los Angeles and Texas, and spent her first 15 years in church, listening to gospel music as much as Aretha or Ray Charles.She joined the Blossoms in the late 1950s, and they sang backup on many classic songs, starting with Sam Cooke's "Everybody Likes to Cha Cha Cha" and then on "Chain Gang," "Rockin' Robin," "Monster Mash," and "Johnny Angel."
From there, they worked with Phil Spector.
They sang backup for him and also replaced the Crystals and Bob B.Soxx and the Blue Jeans, for whom Love sang lead on the beautifully soft "Why Do Lovers Break Each Other's Hearts." Spector was a very intense and often scary person (though he was also very talented), and the way he treated his female singers, moving them around like they were pieces on a game board, had several purposes.It made Spector the main star (he was the first producer to do that).It let him keep the money for himself.And in a bigger way, it was his (racist) way of treating all his singers like they were forced to work for him.
Love became a big part of "Shindig!", the popular rock and roll TV show that let performers be wild and fun (Shaffer gives a great memory of it).
She sang backup on songs like "Monday, Monday" and the Beach Boys' "In My Room." She also went on tour with other Spector singers and started a serious relationship with Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers.Onstage, she had a confident, playful energy.
Her career had many chances she missed, including one that feels like a conspiracy, though it's presented in an interesting way in "I Know Where I've Been." Love was originally supposed to record "River Deep, Mountain High" for Phil Spector.
But at the last minute, he changed the singer to Tina Turner.That song ended up being a major failure, which effectively ended Spector's influence.The theory is that Turner's version had too much R&B style for the pop charts of 1966.Love, with her smoother pop-soul voice, would have made it a hit.Ah, the idea of what could have been!The documentary shows how Spector became more of a creepy figure over time and kept controlling her, even going as far as buying out her contract with someone else.There's no doubt Spector's songs helped her career, but the way he managed it also limited her success.
Love was still singing in the early 1970s, and we hear her do a powerful version of "I'll Be There." But as the peak of R&B faded, so did her opportunities.
She was married several times and had four kids, two of whom got involved in the L.A.gang scene and ended up in prison.(They eventually came back and had success.) Love ended up cleaning houses.Still, she was never forgotten.Bruce Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt, longtime fans, took an interest in her (they are spoken about a lot in the film).She started her career again by performing on cruise ships, which led to the 1984 jukebox musical revue "Leader of the Pack," where she was a main part when it started in Greenwich Village's Bottom Line.It became a big hit.The documentary hints that it was also successful on Broadway (which is not true; it failed there), but Darlene Love was finally recognized.
Her big break came from the exciting performances of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" on Letterman, with bigger choirs each year, and her 2011 induction into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.
Suddenly, everyone knew who Darlene Love was.
"I Know Where I've Been" finishes the journey.
It's a movie that really moves you — in awe of her amazing voice, in understanding the big and small forces of the time that kept her from being recognized, and in realizing what could have been, which should never stop us from being amazed by what actually was.
