James Brown’s Groundbreaking 1964 Performance On The T.A.M.I. Show

On October 29 and 30, 1964, an unprecedented diverse lineup of musicians performed concerts at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California. Billed as The T.A.M.I. Show, the concerts were groundbreaking in their inclusion of both Black and white artists on the same stage, and they played a significant role in breaking down racial barriers in the music industry.

In December 1964, a film entitled The T.A.M.I. Show (which was simultaneously said to represent “Teenage Awards Music International” and “Teen Age Music International”), was released in theaters across the United States. Though a mild box office success, the Steve Binder-directed concert film brought the diverse lineup to a larger and broader audience, presenting the talents of the Black performers for the first time to white concertgoers.

The T.A.M.I. Show lineup brought together many of the premier R&B, soul and rock ‘n’ roll musicians of the era. The integrated roster of performers included British Invasion rockers The Rolling Stones, along with English Merseybeat groups Gerry & The Pacemakers and Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas.

American surf rockers The Beach Boys and Jan & Dean, vocalist Lesley Gore and garage rock outfit The Barbarians were also among The T.A.M.I. Show performers. The house band was led by musical director Jack Nitzsche and consisted of members of the legendary collective of Los Angeles-based session musicians known as “The Wrecking Crew,” including drummer Hal Blaine on drums, Glen Campbell and Tommy Tedesco on guitar, Leon Russell on keyboards and Sony Bono on percussion.

The groundbreaking live music event/concert film featured those white acts performing alongside their Black counterparts. The impressive performers included pioneering rock ‘n’ roll guitarist Chuck Berry, Motown R&B/soul legends Marvin Gaye, The Supremes and Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, and The Godfather Of Soul James Brown.

James Brown’s performance featured his backing vocal group The Famous Flames, which consisted of singers Bobby Byrd, Lloyd Stallworth and Bobby Bennett. Brown purportedly expected to be the final performer – a slot that was given instead to The Rolling Stones.

“James Brown vowed that he was going to ‘make the Rolling Stones wish they’d never come to America,” The Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman wrote in his memoir Rolling With The Stones.

James Brown and The Famous Flames might not have banished The Stones from the U.S., but their outstanding performance left an unforgettable impression. Brown’s breakout appearance on The T.A.M.I. Show was among the most important in his career.

In his autobiography, Brown detailed his memories (misremembering some facts about dates and personnel) of The T.A.M.I. Show experience, which was his first time seeing The Rolling Stones perform live.

“Motown had gotten very hot by then, and there were a lot of young white kids hanging all over the Motown stars. When [Famous Flames vocalist Bobby] Byrd and some of the other fellas saw what was happening, they started worrying. ‘Man,’ they said, ‘it doesn’t look like we’re going to get such a good reception.’ I said, ‘Don’t even worry about it. Once we get through, we aren’t going to be able to get out of this place.’

“I think the other acts knew it, too, even if the audience didn’t. They made it plainly understood they didn’t want to come anywhere after us. They knew what we could do. So The Stones, who were really big already, were scheduled to follow us. They came in around one in the afternoon, with a bunch of guards, went straight to their dressing room, and didn’t let anybody get near ’em. Meantime, we were out there doing another rehearsal. When we did, a lot of people came out of their dressing rooms to watch, Mick [Jagger] included. I think he’d heard about us already, but when he saw what we did, he couldn’t believe it.

“After he saw me, he didn’t even want to rehearse. Some discussion started then about them going on sooner. I heard that Mick smoked a whole pack of cigarettes, he was so nervous. We thought that was a good sign, but we knew we still had to deal with the audience of young, young kids … We went on, a little nervous because we didn’t think this audience really knew us, but when we went into ‘Out of Sight,’ they went straight up out of their seats. We did a bunch of songs, nonstop, like always.

“For our finale we did ‘Night Train’ I don’t think I ever danced so hard in my life, and I don’t think they’d ever seen a man move that fast. When I was through, the audience kept calling me back for encores. It was one of those performances when you don’t even know how you’re doing it.

“At one point during the encores I sat down underneath a monitor and just kind of hung my head, then looked up and smiled. For a second I didn’t really know where I was. The Stones had come out in the wings by then, standing between all those guards. Every time they got ready to start out on the stage, the audience called us back. They couldn’t get on – it was too hot out there. By that time I don’t think Mick wanted to go on the stage at all.

“Mick had been watching me do that thing where I shimmy on one leg and when The Stones finally got out there, he tried it a couple of times. He danced a lot that day. Until then I think he used to stand still when he sang, but after that he really started moving around.

“Anyway, after they were finally able to get on the stage, they got over real good. At the end, all of the people on the show came out and danced for the finale. Later on, Mick used to come up to the Apollo and watch my shows. I used to make him come on the stage, and he became a good friend of mine. I like Mick, Keith Richards, and all the guys. I don’t think of them as competition; I think of them as brothers.”

Shortly after The T.A.M.I. Show film was released, Jagger was asked about having to follow James Brown.

“James Brown was probably the best thing about our trip,” Jagger told Disc and Music Echo. “He is a fantastic artist. When you’ve seen him, you’ve seen the act to end all acts. We appeared with him on The T.A.M.I. Show and we had to follow him. It was a disaster in a way because nobody can follow James Brown, it’s impossible.”

Brown’s The T.A.M.I. Show remains among the most revered of his performances captured on film. Brown performed his now-famous cape routine, where he would collapse to the stage floor in apparent exhaustion only to be covered with a cape and then rise again to continue performing, which became a signature moment of the show.

After the performance, Brown received widespread acclaim, and his electrifying set at The T.A.M.I. Show is often considered one of the highlights of his career. The impact of his performance contributed to the show’s significance in breaking racial barriers in the music industry and showcasing the power and influence of Black artists.

Watch The T.A.M.I. Show, which was recorded using the new-at-the-time technology called Electronovision, below: