T.A.M.I. Show

‘T.A.M.I.’ show fun to watch four decades later

JAMES BROWN set the stage on fire during the "TAMI" show in 1964.

“The T.A.M.I. Show” is oh, so dated to watch.

But parts of it will have you glued to your TV screen.

It’s considered one of the most important musical concerts ever.

Held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on Oct. 28 and 29, 1964, it was recorded on something called Electronovision, an early high-definition video camera and was later converted to film, well, not much later.

The concert was released in movie theaters on Dec. 29, 1964, a mere two months later!

T.A.M.I. stood for Teenage Awards Music International and if you don’t like that, it also meant Teen Age Music International.

It was hosted by Jan and Dean and included the Supremes, The Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, James Brown and his Famous Flames, Marvin Gaye, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Lesley Gore, Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and the Rolling Stones before they were really well known in the U.S.

The Beach Boys segment was excised from the film earlier on, but is back for the new DVD, just recently released.

Most acts are accompanied by screaming kids and go-go dancers who act like they have been given chocolate and coffee IVs for a week before the concert.

The dancers include future singer Toni Basil and future actress Teri Garr.

The DVD extras include director John Landis commenting on the trailers. He was in junior high school and was given free tickets to the event.

Lesley Gore was the biggest act of the show, at least according to Landis. She became a star at 16 singing “It’s My Party.”

Chuck Berry and Gerry and The Pacemakers played dueling songs. (Berry won.)

Jan and Dean actually did some sidewalk surfacing during an obvious lyp synced-version of “Sidewalk Surfing.”

The film is significant in an historical sense in that there were great racial barriers, especially in the South in 1964.

Yet African-American talents freely associated with white artists. You see white go-go dancers slithering around black artists like Gaye and Berry. It would seem that would cause a stir in the South.

The music is very engaging but the highlight is a mouth-dropping performance by James Brown. How in the world did that man make his legs do that?

Brown, who refused to practice beforehand, twirled across the stage on one foot in such a fashion you would think he was partially animated. Absolutely amazing!

He was followed by the Rolling Stones. A young Mick Jagger tried his best moves, but they paled in comparison to Brown.

It is interesting that this was filmed during the relatively brief period in which Stones bassist Bill Wyman harmonized in backup vocals with guitarist Keith Richards.

It must be something to have been one of those screaming kids panned by the cameras, watching the show today. Even the youngest concert goers would be approaching 60 today.

This was a time before big money was involved. While Berry refused to go on until he was paid in cash, the Four Seasons refused the gig because they wanted $45,000.

The opening theme song, sung by Jan and Dean, erroniously stated the Rolling Stones were from Liverpool. Um, that would be the Beatles, who were NOT on the bill. The Stones were from London, thank you.

This is a compelling time capsule of a period when all kinds of musicians from all genres could come together for an incredible show.

The film is so important, it was named to the National Film Registry by the U.S. Library of Congress in 2006.

No matter your age, this film is worth checking out. You will never forget James Brown’s performance. Trust me.

The T.A.M.I. Show

• Directed and written by Steve Binder

• Run time: 123 minutes

• Fine for any age

• 4 stars out of 4