The day after Dr. Martin Luther King was shot, James Brown gave a concert to keep the peace in Boston. The show is a highpoint of his career, and JB give a brilliant soulful performance. He turned despair and anger into something inspirational, and tried to keep folks from rioting and burning down the city and getting shot by the police. Originally broadcast live on the local PBS affiliate, here is the concert in its entirety."Nothing, however, captures the full measure of Brown's talent like the opening moments of the Boston show, when he plants himself center stage in front of a crowd still reeling from King's death, and launches into a version of "That's Life" that substitutes defiance for resignation without changing a word."
--The A.V. Club (9/20/08)
FYI, James Brown comes on about 7 minutes in, if you want to skip the intro. "That's Life" is at 1:08.
2 comments:
Great stuff. But my dad always said..when the going gets tough, the tough get going...
You are absolutely right. James Brown really put his heart and soul into it--that's for sure. Nowadays, you're lucky to get the bare minimum from some bands--they'll come on late and leave early and that's that. It's STILL inspiring to see James Brown at the peak of his career working so hard to entertain his fans. Cheers to JB!
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