The T.A.M.I. Show (1964)

Really Surprised!

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Blistering performances.

Just watched on my DVR this edited version of The T.A.M.I. Show that aired on my PBS station, WLPB, a few weeks ago. Whenever a pledge break interrupted the program, Dean Torrance of the host duo of Jan & Dean provided many anecdotes of working with James Brown, and especially The Beach Boys. Despite some numbers and musical acts missing, I highly enjoyed this concert document of the big Top 40 stars of the time which, besides the ones I've already mentioned, included Chuck Berry, who was awesome as he segued from his version of "Maybelline" to that of Gerry & the Pacemakers who then performed "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying". Also nice to see Marvin Gaye performing "Can I Get a Witness" and The Miracles doing "You Really Got a Hold on Me". How about The Supremes' number of "Baby Love" with a really large closeup of lead singer Diana Ross? (Or was it "Where Did Our Love Go?" My mind is a bit scrambled concerning that one.) Or Lesley Gore combining "It's My Party" with its sequel song "Judy's Turn to Cry"? How cool was it seeing the hosts singing their surf hit "Little Old Lady from Pasedena" before introducing The Beach Boys as they went from "Surfin' USA" to "Surfer Girl" to "I Get Around" to "Dance, Dance, Dance"? The final two acts, though, really stole the show with James Brown doing what would become his legendary jumps and having a cape put on him before shaking it off seconds later and then, having Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones closing out with many blues songs with "Time Is on My Side" really getting the audiences' attention as evidenced by the camera showing a mostly white teenage female audience really screaming their heads off as they did during most of the show! Oh, and Mick and James really were impressive with their jumping here. I think I've said enough though I'd also like to mention that Toni Basil, best known for her video of "Hey, Mickey", is the assistant choreographer here and many of the moves done by the mostly female dancers look like something she'd have done at the time. Anyway, watching this for the first time on the public station really makes me want to watch the rest of it on DVD so if I ever get my hands on that, I may add some comments. So on that note, The T.A.M.I Show definitely comes highly recommended.

Well, I was there for the performance, too. I was 16 1/2 or 17. I attended Santa Monica High School. All the kids from school were invited to walk down the street to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium if they were interested in seeing this show, free. I was. No, I didn't get on camera (as the other posting person did), nor did I wish to. But I have to say, it was one of the most exciting shows I had ever seen. The other posting person is correct: James Brown just blew the whole thing away. I was born and raised in Santa Monica, of white ex-farmers who came to Santa Monica from the Midwest in 1920, so it was pretty shocking to see James Brown's performance. I had never seen anything like it in my life. At that time, I thought James Brown was rather akin to some kind of wild monkey from Africa (sorry). I knew nothing about black folks then, and certainly nothing about Mr. Brown or his wonderful music. The Rolling Stones, Marvin Gaye, all the fabulous acts, all in one place. Phew! It was just fabulous. I do feel lucky, having been able to attend, free!

A few weeks ago, I purchased "The TAMI Show 1964" DVD on eBay. It's copyrighted 2002 Apple Records and 2002 Capital Records. The stars on this version include: Jan & Dean, Chuck Berry, Gerry & The Pacemakers, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Marvin Gaye and the Blossoms, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Lesley Gore, The Beach Boys, Diana Ross and the Supremes, The Barbarians, James Brown and the Flames, and The Rolling Stones. Also Delilah films are mentioned on the back cover.I checked eBay today and there are others selling TAMI DVD's. Just search using DVD and TAMI as your keywords.Be advised that the video quality is 1960's standards black & white. But true lovers of this kind of music won't mind at all.

I can vividly remember going to see this brilliant film back in '64 when I was a mere 9 years old. It played at the Capitol Theater in downtown Springfield, MA and was the only theater that had a balcony in our area. It was an event that could never be duplicated (unless the Beatles would have walked into the building.) The showing must have been on a weekend because there is no way I could have made up a lie big enough to have my mother keep me out of school. The theater was electric with young kids & teens screaming, singing, and dancing in the ailes and on the small stage in front of the screen. Naturally popcorn was flying everywhere, and back in those days you flattened out your empty popcorn box and flung it like a rectangular frisbee from the balcony. But sadly enough, to this day, I have not seen one second of that film again.