“Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been” — A Riveting Doc of a Pop Icon’s Journey

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Sep 18, 2026 7:02pm PT

‘Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been’ Review: A Stirring Pop Doc Traces How the Great Singer of ‘He’s a Rebel’ and Other Classics Reclaimed Her Name

Phil Spector made her name...and erased it. Barry Avrich's film tells Darlene Love's extraordinary story and pays tribute to her soul-stirring talent.

By Owen Gleiberman

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Owen Gleiberman

Chief Film Critic

@OwenGleiberman

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“Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been” is a documentary about one of the greatest singers in the history of pop music, but it’s also a stunning meditation on the issue of identity in pop. Darlene Love recorded her most defining songs in the early ’60s, when she was part of the Phil Spector hit factory. She led a group called the Blossoms, who Spector recruited, in 1962, to sing “He’s a Rebel,” the track that became the prototype for the Wall of Sound. The song was supposed to have been sung by the Crystals, but they were 3,000 miles away in New York, and Spector, eager to rush the song into production, figured it didn’t matter — he could just credit the Crystals (which he did), and no one would know.

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_Originally reported by [Variety Music](https://variety.com/2026/film/reviews/darlene-love-i-know-where-ive-been-review-1236865848/)._