This is FRESH AIR. I'm Dave Davies. Cissy Houston, the gospel singer and backup vocalist who guided her daughter Whitney Houston to stardom, died Monday at the age of 91. Cissy Houston began singing ...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bruce Springsteen and Mick Jagger appear in the new film "Twenty Feet from Stardom," but only to shine the spotlight on the unsung backup singers who make them sound even better.

Some famous singers shot straight to stardom as lead acts while others had to cut their teeth as backing vocalists before making it on their own right. Mariah Carey sang backing vocals for Brenda K.

There’s something about ‘80s pop music that still resonates with fans of all ages. From Michael Jackson to Madonna, this decade gave us timeless songs that continue to dominate playlists and radio ...

It was in 2005 when KCCI headed to Kansas City to catch up with singer Taylor Mills, who was on tour with Beach Boys co-founder and visionary musician Brian Wilson. Mills, a Des Moines native who got ...

GROSS: After singing backup for a while, you ended up singing with Aretha Franklin as one of her backup singers. C HOUSTON: Yeah, well, I worked with Aretha when she was at Columbia also, the earlier ...