{"id":821,"date":"2015-05-05T00:22:28","date_gmt":"2015-05-05T00:22:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/?p=821"},"modified":"2015-05-05T00:22:28","modified_gmt":"2015-05-05T00:22:28","slug":"all-you-need-is-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/?p=821","title":{"rendered":"All You Need is Love"},"content":{"rendered":"

All You Need is Love <\/strong><\/p>\n

A setting desert sun, an Evening Under the Stars in the shadow of the San Jacinto Mountains, and the indisputable talents of Darlene Love \u2014 what else is there? <\/strong><\/p>\n

By M. M. de Crinis<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With one of the most recognizable voices that you might not have recognized as hers, Darlene Love has parlayed decades of session work for big-name artists into a blooming solo career with roots as strong as an oak\u2019s.<\/p>\n

As part of Phil Spector\u2019s \u201cwall of sound\u201d hit factory, Love flirted heavily with fame since the early 1960s as a lead singer of The Blossoms who sang background for 20th<\/sup> century household names such as Tom Jones, The Righteous Brothers, Dionne Warwick, Elvis Presley, Nancy Sinatra and Cher (to name only a few). She also established herself as a hit-maker with a handful of her own Billboard classics, including \u201cHe\u2019s A Rebel,\u201d \u201cThe Boy I\u2019m Gonna Marry,\u201d and \u201cHe\u2019s Sure the Boy I Love.\u201d During this time, Love exercised her tremendous instrument without having to do all the heavy lifting that goes with superstar status. And today, she\u2019s flexing those vocal muscles and showing the world why she was one of the most sought-after singers during the Motown era and beyond.<\/p>\n

In the last several years, Love has breached the berm separating backup singers from top-billed artists. She was the headliner for the final season of The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. She\u2019s achieved the coveted golden triad in music: An Oscar and Grammy for her work in the award-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom<\/em>, and an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (or what she calls her \u201cmusic Oscar\u201d). Her double decade stint on the David Letterman Christmas<\/em> show singing the No. 1 holiday favorite \u201cChristmas Baby Please Come Home\u201d kept her in the game, but her will, faith and inestimable talent has pushed her close to the finish line \u2014 even though she\u2019s nowhere near taking her medal and going home.<\/p>\n

If folks in their golden years are \u201cseasoned citizens,\u201d as Ms. Love teasingly refers to mature individuals, then she, at 73, is pepper personified. Bold, feisty, and delivering a pop of flavor to everything she does, Darlene Love is finally reaping the benefits of a life devoted to music and a spirit that projects seemingly eternal youth.<\/p>\n

In anticipation of her appearance at Evening Under the Stars on May 9 \u2014 the year\u2019s major fundraiser for AIDS Assistance Program held annually at O\u2019Donnell Golf Club in Palm Springs \u2014 Love graciously took time out of her busy schedule to speak with The Standard about her road to success and the fierce love she feels for her peers, fans, and the industry to which she has devoted her life.<\/p>\n

The Standard: Thank you for speaking with us, and congratulations on all of your success, particularly in the last several years with a Grammy and Oscar for 20 Feet from Stardom<\/em> and, now, a new album. How does it feel to be firmly in the spotlight?
\n<\/strong>Darlene Love: [Laughs] It\u2019s been amazing. Because, you know, I\u2019ve been at this for about thirty years trying to get on the top of my game. So I\u2019ve been working quite a bit, but what has happened since the Academy Awards is that it has gotten me more recognition. Producers, when they hire you, want to know that you can put butts in the seats. [Laughs] So I have gone from like five-, six-hundred seaters to a thousand, two thousand-room seater now. And I\u2019m doing the same thing! I\u2019m working just as hard for the five-hundred seats as I do for the two-thousand seats. That hasn\u2019t changed. I think what has made me so successful is that I do the same show with the same energy for two hundred people as I would do for two thousand people. The difference level is the energy that the audience gives to you. But other than that, I do almost the same exact show, and it\u2019s a wonderful feeling.<\/p>\n

TS: What do you do to stay emotionally, spiritually, and physically fit to perform with the same energy level and passion you have your entire life?
\n<\/strong>DL: Well, you know, the one thing people always ask singers is, \u201cAren\u2019t you tired of singing those songs?\u201d You know, \u201cHe\u2019s a Rebel,\u201d \u201cDa Do Ron Ron\u201d? I say no, I never really get tired of singing them because every audience is different. And they all want to hear those songs. It\u2019s not like the same people every night. New audiences act and react differently, more or less. So for me, and I don\u2019t know about anybody else, I feel like I\u2019m doing it for the first time for this audience. And I have a lot of faith in God \u2014 I\u2019ve had to, because it\u2019s been me and my husband struggling on this road a long time by ourselves. Also, my daughter is an exercise teacher, and I get up every morning and do a 5 a.m. kickboxing class with her. [Laughs]<\/p>\n

TS: You are an inspiration!
\n<\/strong>DL: [Laughs] That\u2019s what all the ladies in the class say. I can tell when my energy is down, when I really have to pull hard to do a show, that I haven\u2019t been working out \u2014 which usually is because I\u2019m not home, I\u2019m working. But when I\u2019m home, I\u2019m at every class. That\u2019s what gives me that energy and that strength and that power to do shows.<\/p>\n

TS: How about mentally and emotionally?
\n<\/strong>DL: Mentally I\u2019m always prepared. My sister travels with me and she knows when it\u2019s time for people to get out of my dressing room. You know, \u201cMiss Love needs this time by herself, she\u2019s preparing for her show.\u201d And I do. I do a quiet time for about an hour, if I can. I put on gospel music, and I just calm myself down by listening to that. Everybody that\u2019s in that room with me knows it\u2019s my quiet time; that\u2019s how I kind of stay up on my game. I prepare every night to do my show. I don\u2019t just go to work and say, \u201cOK, I\u2019m ready, let\u2019s go on.\u201d [Laughs] I prepare mentally before every show I do.<\/p>\n

TS: How many shows are you doing these days?
\n<\/strong>DL: Well, my biggest show times over the last five or six years was really Christmastime. From November to January 1st<\/sup>, I am busy, busy, busy.<\/p>\n

TS: Lots of people don\u2019t feel like it\u2019s really Christmas until they\u2019ve heard \u201cChristmas Baby Please Come Home.\u201d
\n<\/strong>DL: Exactly. And that\u2019s what I keep trying to tell my agent. I said, \u201cListen, you need to tell people I have another show that I do that\u2019s not a Christmas show.\u201d [Laughs] So that\u2019s what we\u2019ve been doing. What\u2019s been so good is that I don\u2019t have to do more than four or five shows a month. And they have gotten bigger and bigger and bigger, especially since I was singing \u201cChristmas Baby Please Come Home\u201d on the David Letterman Show. The last time I did that song on David\u2019s show was 2014, because he\u2019s retiring. I did that show for 28 years. I get fan mail, and people say they sit around their television set with the children; it\u2019s a big night for them. They wait to see that Christmas show. Somebody passes you on the street and says, \u201cI\u2019m like David [Letterman]; Christmas doesn\u2019t start until I hear you sing that song.\u201d [Laughs] That\u2019s a great reflection on me, that I\u2019m still doing those songs great \u2014 I\u2019m not just sort of doing them, I\u2019m doing them!<\/p>\n

TS: How did you continue believing in yourself and your talent, even while it was your voice that helped launch huge careers for other artists?
\n<\/strong>DL: When I was doing background [singing] during the \u201950s and \u201960s, I loved it. Because there was no pressure, you know? And the singers would come to us and they would say, \u201cMan, we\u2019re excited to have you doing background on our record.\u201d They were just as excited to have us, as we were to sing on their record. They didn\u2019t treat us like old background singers or an old rag that you threw to the side and the say, \u201cOK, it\u2019s time to sing!\u201d [Laughs] They waited to hear our input. There are a lot of stars that we worked for who wanted to hear what we thought of the background. \u201cWhat do you hear here? Do you hear oohs here, ahhs here?\u201d You know, let us know what you want. And then there were the ones that came prepared, and they told us what they wanted. So it was always great because it was always a challenge; we\u2019d never know what the artist was going to want. So we had to be prepared, and we also had to be good enough to learn what they want, you know, and then do it well.<\/p>\n

TS: Would you say then that being one of the greatest session singers in history, being so versatile and flexible, helped you in your solo career?
\n<\/strong>DL: Yes, it did, because when I went out on the road and sang background for like Nancy Sinatra or Sammy Davis Junior, they let us open their show. We did like a 15-, 20-minute opening act. Then we\u2019d go change clothes and do background for the show. So I always got a chance to step out. When we worked for Nancy Sinatra, she\u2019d call me up [on the stage] and say, \u201cThis is the singingest woman I know.\u201d You know I had to have a lot of nerve to be on the stage with her. [Laughs] Then I would do my little thing and people would really applaud. And I\u2019d be going back to sing background, and she\u2019d say \u2014 now the audience would be applauding \u2014 she\u2019d say, \u201cCome on girl, come back up here and take another bow.\u201d Those were great opportunities for me to sing in front of thousands of people, you know, for thousands of people to see me, even though it was just this one little step out. Cher did the same thing with me when I worked for her. She\u2019d pull me out of the background, let me come up there and sing with her. It gave me a thrill. It also helped me when I decided to put my shows together.<\/p>\n

TS: Last year at the Academy Awards, you received a standing ovation when you sang at your acceptance speech for 20 Feet from Stardom<\/em>. Did you plan that or was it a spontaneous decision?
\n<\/strong>DL: It wasn\u2019t a spontaneous that night. But the spontaneous part about it was that I didn\u2019t find out till the night before. [Laughs] They said, \u201cWe want you to go up on stage and represent the girls. And I went, \u201cWhat?\u201d As far as we knew, it was just going to be the producers, because when you do a documentary they only allow the producers to come up on stage. And I said, \u201cWell, what am I going to say? What am I going to do?\u201d And they said, \u201cYou\u2019ll think of something to do. You know, you always do.\u201d I\u2019m one of those people who always land on their feet. And then they said, \u201cMaybe you should sing something.\u201d And I said, \u201cNow I know you all have lost it. What am I going to sing in 45 seconds that would make any sense?\u201d But I did what I usually do; I call upon the strength that I need. I just bowed my head and I said, \u201cOK Lord, give me a song.\u201d And then to get the standing ovation, it was like, man, this is out of sight. [Laughs]<\/p>\n

TS: It must have felt really empowering to be honored like that by Hollywood A-listers.
\n<\/strong>DL: It was amazing. I went to all the parties that I could go to, because they wear you out with parties. [Laughs] When you win an Academy Award, you get in to all the A-list parties. We went to every one of the parties\u2026. If there\u2019s another highlight of my career, I can\u2019t think of what it would be. That night was amazing. There are not a million, but a billion people watching you, and you say to yourself, \u201cWhat am I doing up here? Am I going to make a fool out of myself?\u201d [Laughs] You know, I still think about it. I\u2019ve even dreamed that that happened. And you wake up, and you go, oh yeah, that really did happen. It\u2019s something you just don\u2019t expect\u2026 I am so humbled by all of the accolades. You know, I have the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Oscar (I call it an Oscar too), and the Grammy is going to make the set complete. Three of them, the highest honors you could get in this business: an Academy Award, a Grammy, and being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I don\u2019t know what\u2019s happening next, but I\u2019m going to be ready for it, whatever it is. [Laughs]<\/p>\n

TS: You have an album coming out soon, right?
\n<\/strong>DL: I do. We just finished it. And Steven [Van Zandt] is mixing it right now. I\u2019m so excited, because he said, \u201cOoh, I found the perfect name for that album.\u201d But he won\u2019t tell me what it is. [Laughs] Everybody in the control room said it\u2019s a masterpiece, and that it\u2019s probably one of the greatest albums they\u2019ve heard in many, many years. Steven put his heart and soul into it. It\u2019s something he\u2019s been thinking about doing for years. When I say years, 20 years, as long as I\u2019ve known him. He would always say, \u201cWe\u2019re going to go in the studio one day, Darlene, I\u2019m going to record you.\u201d I\u2019ve never seen anybody work like him, a record producer in a studio, where things just come to him out of the blue. You can just see the wheels turning in his head as he\u2019s listening, you know. So it\u2019s a masterpiece as far as I\u2019m concerned. Except for two songs, everything is brand-spanking new. I just hope the world and our fans are ready for it. [Laughs]<\/p>\n

TS: When you come to the desert next month to perform at Evening Under the Stars, do you already know what you\u2019re going to do?
\n<\/strong>DL: We have a regular show that we do that\u2019s very high energy. When we do shows like this, we try to sing songs that people know, that they\u2019re familiar with. The best thing to do is sing a song the audience knows or recognizes, because they get into it with you. And they start singing with you, which is really great.<\/p>\n

TS: How big is the band that you travel or perform with?
\n<\/strong>DL: There are seven musicians and three singers. It\u2019s pretty big. We have gotten to the place now where we don\u2019t have to do a pickup. We used to just take my conductor and my singers, and then we\u2019d pick up the band, you know, on the way or when we get to California. But God has really been blessing us with good jobs, and now we can afford to take the band with us when we go. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve been working toward. It\u2019s really great to be able to take my band and my singers with me.<\/p>\n

TS: How does it feel for you to now be the person with the backup singers?
\n<\/strong>DL: It\u2019s a lot of work. [Laughs] When I was a backup singer, I just showed up and knew what I was supposed to sing. I didn\u2019t have to worry about hotels or airfares or flights or meet and greets \u2014 all of those wonderful things. But my singers make it so easy for me, because I was going to have the best singers on the planet behind me. [Laughs]<\/p>\n

TS: Having been in the music industry a long time, what is your impression of music today and the industry in general?
\n<\/strong>DL: Well, all I can say is, it\u2019s their music. We had our turn; they have their turn now. I think people expect more of the new people. Now it\u2019s more of a show-show, you know. It\u2019s not just a performance; it\u2019s a show. So much is involved. People expect to see the smoke and the lights and dancers, and they expect you to take your clothes off and be half naked, and that ain\u2019t our world. [Laughs] \u2026 But I\u2019m so appreciative that people still come and see you, you know? They don\u2019t have to. [Laughs] But they do. It actually keeps me humble. I enjoy it so much, and my fans can see that; they can see I am enjoying what I\u2019m doing. You know, I\u2019m not out on that stage going, \u201cOh God, I got to sing this song one more time. OK, come on, y\u2019all.\u201d No, I enjoy it.<\/p>\n

TS: You have so much energy and enthusiasm. And it doesn\u2019t seem like there\u2019s any plan of slowing down soon.
\n<\/strong>DL: Nope, not for a while, as long as I can do it. Just call me Tony Bennett-ette. [Laughs] If he can do it, I can do it, too.<\/p>\n

IF YOU GO
\n<\/strong>22nd<\/sup> Annual Evening Under the Stars
\nMay 9, 5:30 p.m.
\nPerformance by Darlene Love, followed by dancing to Nightshift
\nO\u2019Donnell Golf Club in Palm Springs<\/p>\n

Visit www.aidsassistance.org<\/a> for tickets and information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

All You Need is Love A setting desert sun, an Evening Under the Stars in the shadow of the San Jacinto Mountains, and the indisputable talents of Darlene Love \u2014 what else is there? By M. M. de Crinis   With one of the most recognizable voices that you might not have recognized as hers, Darlene Love has parlayed decades of session work for big-name artists into a blooming solo career with roots as strong as an oak\u2019s. As part of Phil Spector\u2019s \u201cwall of sound\u201d hit factory, Love flirted heavily with fame since the early 1960s as a lead singer of The Blossoms who sang background for 20th century household names such as Tom Jones, The Righteous Brothers, Dionne Warwick, Elvis Presley, Nancy Sinatra and Cher (to name only a few). She also established herself as a hit-maker with a handful of her own Billboard classics, including \u201cHe\u2019s A Rebel,\u201d \u201cThe Boy I\u2019m Gonna Marry,\u201d and \u201cHe\u2019s Sure the Boy I Love.\u201d During this time, Love exercised her tremendous instrument without having to do all the heavy lifting that goes with superstar status. And today, she\u2019s flexing those vocal muscles and showing the world why she was one of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":822,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[397],"tags":[624,148,620,623,147,621,8,622,56],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=821"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":823,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821\/revisions\/823"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}