Live From 1964: The TAMI Show

Jan & Dean ! The Beach Boys ! James Brown! Chuck Berry! Marvin Gaye! Lesly Gore ! Gerry and the Pacemakers! The Barbarians ! (?) As the hype read back in 1964, when the Teen Age Music International concert was staged in Santa Monica, "It's The Greatest,Grooviest,Wildest, Most Exciting Beat Blast Ever To Pound The Screen!!!!" Looking at the show the other night with my longtime musical amigo "Shade" Melton, I was amazed at how well the performances were captured relative to technology c. 1964. Apparently, various disputes over - you know - money held up release of the DVD until last month.


I've seen Chuck Berry three times and James Brown twice, so I'm familiar with the energy they exude in every show. Both of these musical legends were in rare form. I've already documented what made JB bigger than life - his spins, his shrieks, his grunts, growls, groans and his soul-drenched ballads of thwarted love balanced by the uptempo funk dedicated to sex - "Hot Pants", "Cold Sweat"- or the occasional political commentary - "Say It Loud- I'm Black and I'm Proud", "Funky President". All the moves are captured here for future generations, including my favorite "cape" routine - the Godfather of Soul is so overcome with misery, begging his woman to take him back, that he sinks to his knees, collapsing, exhausted, every last drop of angst squeezed out of his soul, only to suddenly stumble to his feet, throwing off the fur fringed cape that his handler has placed reverently on his shoulders, ready to beg for his love just one more time - a routine that would be repeated at least twice at the end of JB's extravaganza, the first farewell occurring when Soul Brother Number One finally allows himself to be guided offstage before the audience screams for more. Chuck Berry opened the show , already a legend in 1964, grinning slyly as he waltzes through "Johnny B. Goode", "Maybelline" and - ironically - "Sweet Little Sixteen." As if to illustrate the music industry practice of constantly stealing other performers' material, The Beach Boys open up their segment a few minutes later with "Surfin' USA" , set to the melody of - guess what? - "Sweet Little Sixteen." The movie "Cadillac Records" chronicles Berry's discovery that he has been ripped off, the implication being that black artists can never be popular without a white artist "covering" their tunes.

The Wilson Brothers, Mike Love and Al Jardine are pure California, striped shirts, white jeans and floppy hair advertising sun, fun and surfing. They run through"I Get Around" as well as one of the best slow dancing tunes from that era - "Surfer Girl" ("In My Room" is even better). Brian Wilson is front and center, grinning and strumming, and - according to Shade - about six weeks away from freaking out and retreating to his bedroom sandbox, his fifteen minutes effectively over.

The Barbarians were included in the line-up much to my surprise, although not performing their biggest hit "Are You A Boy or Are You A Girl?" , but featuring their star one-armed drummer Moulty, the best known member of the Cape Cod based band. Motown is ably represented by a young Marvin Gaye as well as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, both performers at the beginning of their long and successful careers, the most remarkable part of their appearances being the fact that black and white artists are together in the same show, breaking the racial barriers that were still firmly in place in the mid 1960s. Lesley Gore's New Jersey teenaged angst is amply represented with an appearance that seems to go on interminably until she finally sings "It's My Party". The TAMI show also included the Rolling Stones, a last minute addition, along with Gerry and the Pacemakers.

TAMI was hosted by those bleached blonde California endless summer surfing dudes Jan & Dean. It was worth watching TAMI just to hear "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena" again, but I would have preferred "Deadman's Curve". The show predates music videos, sampling and the other trends in today's music, showcasing live, unedited talent, which to me is the best test of a performers' ability. You can do anything in the studio, but once you're live and onstage, there's no turning back. These performers demonstrated that they never lost sight of one of those important components in the music business that is frequently neglected these days - the audience.