tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight, a conversation with two exceptional singers that are finally getting their turn in the spotlight. arlene love and mary clayton are two of the performer singled out in a new documentary titled 20 feet from stardom nominated for an academy award. the film is not to be missed, chronicles the risks and rewards spent mostly in the background providing musical support for stars like staying home of bruce springsteen, stevie wonder, and the rolling stones. merryersation with clayton and darlene love coming up, right now.

>> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: they are the unsung sheroes of the musical season. a great stage or recorded studio, they belonged to darlene love and marry claim that backed up a performance by staying, the rolling stones, and they are

justifiably getting their due. courtesy of a new oscar nominated documentary i fell in love with called 20 feet from stardom. just released now on dvd, it celebrates their career. >> i felt like if i just gave my heart to what i was doing, i would automatically be a star. >> i started cleaning house. there is a world out there that wants to hear you saying. >> they stayed in the game and they are legends. >> it is about time.

tavis: merry clayton, i am delighted to have you here. darlene love, i am honored to have you here as well. i had heard a little bit about your story for years but when i saw this documentary, it reminded me of the adage that people see the glory but they don't know the back story. when i saw the back story, i don't have the language to describe how turned on i was by this documentary. you live the life. >> when i first saw it, i cried. talking about it and seeing it are two completely different things. i was so touched. it is not as bad when you see it

on -- when you tell it as when you see it on screen. i did not know this other stuff even existed. >> was it too much of your business on screen for you? sent darlene some clips of it. sundance, thisf big tall man walking comes right to me. he says come on, let's go. he has these huge hands and he just grabs me. where are we going? and ies me to my feet noticed that it was his wife, myself, and janet freeze. i said, o lord.

>> we can get the kleenex. he still had me by the hand right here. will he ever let my hand go? we got a call from my dear friend, he is going to go crazy. that's cool, the movie is starting. the movie started and i said, oh. way to get that picture from me. i saw a scene of my late husband and my band and i was doing a show. i did not know it was that serious. i are screaming and bullwhips cracking and he was doing this thing. i looked, there was my husband.

>> i had to -- i just broke down. they had to take me out like i shouted at church somewhere. tavis: we will talk about that. both of you are the daughters of preachers. let me come back to what you referenced earlier. you ran right past it but it is so central to the story in the documentary, this notion of you becoming a great background singer and singing with everybody. end uppoint, you cleaning houses. you are in people's houses leaning for them and they have no idea the life that you have led. >> at that point, i forgot who i was, too. tavis: you end up cleaning houses, fast forward, and you

are in the rock 'n roll hall of fame. [laughter] it is a real fast forward, but what do you make of the trajectory that your life has taken? >> every step i have taken is a learning lesson. you can't ever forget where you came from. they were the first black background singers. there weren't any. overcoming,ame so we had to bring other people into the business. warwick.with dionne i worked with elvis presley. it just went on and on and on. i decided to come home and start

this solo career. i was not a crystal. i sang those records under their name. producers and promoters wouldn't hire me. i say, i am not a crystal. i could not find any work. one year can be a long time when you can't find work. i still have kids i have to feed and support. profit keep money in my -- pocket. what made the trip so wonderful was i had a mercedes that was paid for. work.d drive to

park at the bottom of the hill. they were going to have somebody with no mercedes. that is my cleaning lady star. all of those things bring you back to reality. it was really heartbreaking to see it. you went through something, and to hold on, that is all you have to hold onto. withyou come up pentecostal, music is loud in your house. you don't go to dances, you don't go to parties, you don't listen to rock 'n roll. [laughter] tavis: i lived it. >> it was me and god because i had nobody else to help me. just holding on to your faith. what got me was how you held

onto your dignity and your humanity when you know what you're capable of. there are a lot of folks in this town that clean houses. there is dignity in all work. you did it, not by choice. you had to do it. >> i always thought i should be keeping my head up. you know, this is really pitiful. to work, clean the houses. tavis: there is a conversation right about now of the british invasion. it is the topic du jour right about now. this.ody is getting in on

could not have pulled off what they did without a bunch of sisters singing back for them. the documentary goes into how that came to be. what do you make 50 years later of this invasion that would not ?ave been as successful >> i was working with joe cocker and neil young and neil diamond. it was fun. everything james taylor, rita coolidge, carol king. i worked on all of that stuff. i see this guy, let me go back. i am working with ray charles.

i am coming down the stairs and is.e is a guy, there she there she bloody is. that is sister mary. he is not talking to me, and must be something in his head. i remember this young man because we were in england. we saw this guy on the front row and he was doing all this gyration. i am saying, what is wrong with him? is he sick?

he was contorting and doing all kinds of stuff. that was the buoy that we saw with ray charles. in england. i said, what is your name? i am joe cocker. you.ice it is to meet i remember seeing you when i was with ray charles. to 1971. -- alled me and people that help from my friends, all that great stuff he did. he called me to get the singers. he called me as a contractor to get singers. as a result of that, i had a lot of work to do. what are we going to do here? i gave him that. with, wehat i work

have an arrangement. what part do you want us to sing? [laughter] love black is why i women. you don't have an arrangement, what do you want me to saying? i tell the girls, you sing soprano and you harmonize -- we will take it to church. that is what we are going to give them. about these british boys, we brought this. in with us. we brought the holy ghost in with us, as people say. we were giving them that as we ise singing because that what we knew. i did not know how to sing like this. oh yes, hallelujah. getting by with a little help from my friends -- i did not sing like that.

i knew., that is what i brought the church. the shirley matthews and the hollow ways, and all of these wonderful girls. singing background. edna right. on some of the hits you were talking about earlier, the beach boys don't want to hear what mary just did because it doesn't fit the sound of what the beach boys are doing. how did you pull back or dial back on the soul? >> we were already a group. but even when they were trying to record, they did not know where to put us. they had no idea. we could change our harmony styles to fit with anybody. -- which wasgreat

really great. it challenged us to change the sound. the beach boys, donnie rivers, they wanted us to sound livelier. we heard what they sounded like and we emulated them. i love him and he is not here anymore, my good friend sonny bono sang from here to there. but he sounded great when he worked with us. tavis: i got this. on the one hand, you are paid to do this. outbeing paid to help them is one thing. being paid to really do it for them is another. tutorn hire me to be your but don't ask me to take the test for you. >> absolutely. >> but let me say this to you also. when i was 14 years old, i was going to school with darlene's sister and we walked home from school everyday.

i would be singing and carrying on. this little girl can saying. she must've told her, it got back to darlene. a member of the blossoms whose brother was my manager at the time it 14. i was in a session with darlene and the blossoms. i am singing and she pulls me into this, gave me an opportunity. some on, baby sister. she can come in and do this. i go to the session. they picked me up for sixth period. i go to the studio. the singing background with blossoms. so we are singing background for bobby darin and he kept asking darlene, who was that singing so loud he ech? she told me to back up. [laughter] i backed up a little bit.

we start over again. he said, darlene, that voice is really loud. darlene, back up, baby sister. before the session was over, i was almost out the door. knew how topened, i sing in choir and church but i did not know how to sing in a studio. that is what they taught me to do. to be a studio singer. that is what i learned from darlene. a year later, bobby darin signed me to a record deal at 15 years old. by the time i got to ray charles, i thought i knew everything. i want to ask a follow-up on this. one of the things that we know that ray caught hell for was for taking the gospel sound that we all know -- i was raised in a

church, new bethel. darlene was raised in a pentecostal family. my mother is a pentecostal minister to this day. i know this story. we need all that. hell for taking that gospel sound. everybody saw the movie and what he had to deal with. did either of you have misgivings about coming out of the church, coming out of the gospel tradition? making secular music? out.wanted we came from a family where we did not have a whole bunch of money. we had a lot of love. we had close to where -- clothes to wear. but my mother came out here by herself.

my father said he wasn't coming. as a result of that, i knew that i could make money. 25.50 an hour. 15-year-old was making that an hour. i got pulled out of my church choir because my pastor said we can't have a baby sister singing the blues and coming in here on sunday morning. it hurt me, it did something to my soul until my father called and told him -- you remember when we used to sing with duke ellington? how dare you tell her she can't sing in your choir? tavis: how did you deal with it? >> we had trouble with our members. i can't believe you let her sing that music, she is going straight to hell. singing that devil music.

they came from a whole different generation. a whole new world. that kind ofnot do singing. i remember when i was doing a television show and i got sick. i sister took my place. he didn't even realize that it was her because we look so much alike. why did you let her sing on that television show? my father would say, why are you watching it? how are you going to put her in hell for doing it but you're looking at it? that is the biggest problem i had, with the members of the church. but i got past that because i believed music is music. there are only so many cords or keys on the piano. it is the same music as what you are doing with it. i got past-- once that, i was delivered. you listen to it at home and

love it. and you are putting me down for doing it. --is: let me ask you both of you still look good. andy sound good. -- and you sound good. how did you beat off the men? >> i was married. >> how did you beat these -- not just the blacks, but the white boys, too? under that strict background of if you kiss somebody, you get pregnant. our parents did watch over us. by the time we got grown, we didn't want to be bothered by it. it was just too much and we saw the things that happened. i didn't want to be that part of this business.

and you can make a choice. >> i married curtis when i was 20 years old. , i he was raised a conductor married the conductor from ray's band. when we left, we left together. they had me engaged to joe cocker and marrying nick jagger. that is what the press was doing. let them say what they want to say, i know you and do you are going home with. >> we had a lot of protection around us. when i was on the road with tom jones, they had some of the craziest parties ever. but we did not want to be a part of it so we hung out. one night, tom jones came to our hotel room and got us and said, nothing is wrong with my parties, come on, girls.

it was really fun. they were going in and out of the doors and everything. we said good night. they said, it's on now the girls are gone. [laughter] tavis: you are welcome in the studio but not at the party. >> those things made it nice because they really did respect us and they really did know how we felt. but it was fun. missed this -- >> i was born on christmas day. tavis: i wanted to point that out. i could do this another two or three nights. >> this is too short. tavis: can i do another show? can i get 15 more minutes? >> then you get an hour. tavis: i'm going to take my 15

more minutes. we will do this again. you have 15 more minutes? you will see more of this tomorrow night. 20 feet to stardom is out on dvd. darlene love and merry clayton. i have a few more things to get out. we will continue this tomorrow night. as always, keep the faith. >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley. join me next time for a conversation with merry clayton.d their movie "20 feet from stardom."

that is next time, we will see you then. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> be more. pbs.

tonight on "quest" -- bacteria that take pictures. microbes that manufacture medicines. this is synthetic biology. meet the scientists who are imagining an entirely new way to build living systems. and he searches for things that have gone missing. but robin grossinger isn't a detective. find out what he's uncovered in these old photographs that just might change the face of san francisco bay forever. major funding for "quest" is provided by -- the national science foundation. the gordon and betty moore