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.
My friend Tommy turned me on to this clip of Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames performing on Ready, Steady, Go! It's a cool performance from the mod British pop singer, another great one from an amazing year, 1965.
As music goes, 1965 is hard to beat. The Byrds had a huge hit with Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man," and Dylan came out with "Like a Rolling Stone," perhaps the greatest single of all time. In a year of classics, The Rolling Stones couldn't get no "Satisfaction," the Who sang about "My Generation", and The Animals screamed "We Gotta Get Out of This Place." The Beatles, still riding a wave of hits since they'd shown up in America the year before, gave us "Help!", "Ticket to Ride," "Day Tripper," and the brilliant Rubber Soul album that marked a new level of sophistication and introspection in pop music, and showcased such classics as "Norwegian Wood," "In My Life," and "Nowhere Man."
There were so many good songs that year, it's hard to keep track. The Temptations sang "My Girl," the Supremes urged us to "Stop! In the Name of Love," and the Four Tops sang "I Can't Help Myself." James Brown came out with "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag." Sam Cooke released "A Change is Gonna Come." Nina Simone played "I Put a Spell on You," and Otis Redding released "Otis Blue." The Kinks released The Kink Kontroversy, Sam the Sham danced with the "Wooly Bully," The Righteous Brothers lamented "You've Lost That Loving Feeling," and the Beach Boys rhapsodized about all those wonderful "California Girls."
I could go on. There were plenty more. There was so much great music that many tracks that would normally have been huge in a regular year got plowed under by the wave. Here's a clip you might have forgotten, with Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames. A great clip from a great year, 1965.
It's Saturday night, and you can't dance. Your moves are tired. You need a crash course in COOL. Unless you want to stand on the sidelines and watch life pass you by, you need to get busy. "Acting" cool doesn't work, and saying you don't dance only convinces people you're an uptight wuss and no fun at all, but dragging out those ancient ballroom moves from your wedding (the disco thing, with that unconvincing lip-bite) is a big mistake that will send folks screaming for the exits. Sure, you can stay at home and mope, but that's a lousy option.
Fortunately, you're in luck. At great expense, we've brought James Brown back to give you a dance lesson. You'll never be as cool as Soul Brother Number One, but having James Brown as your personal trainer can only help your odds. Don't thank me, thank JB. Now get busy!
The amazing Al Green. This is an early Valentine's Day gift, a special one-two punch of pure love and soul wrapped in a snappy 1970s jacket. There is nobody like Al. Coming after heroes Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, and James Brown, Green embodied sweet soul music that was more silken than gritty, and, like Cooke, a combination of Sunday gospel and Saturday night club, the sacred crossing paths with the profane. Conflict makes a story, right? Currently, the Reverend Al gives Sunday services in Memphis, but this clip should take you back to the sweet sexy sinful Seventies. Can you dig it?
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.
