Awesome / James Brown

• His electrifying performance at the T.A.M.I. Show in 1964, which includes a prime example of his Not Quite Dead cape routine (during "Please Please Please" of course).
  • When Brown found out The Rolling Stones were due to perform after his set, Brown objected, telling the show's producers, "Nobody follows James Brown!" Keith Richards would later say one of the biggest mistakes the Stones ever made was following him.
  • A 14 year old John Landis attended the concert, and later described the whole crowd's reaction as "Who is this English twerp? Bring James Brown back on!"
• In 1968, Brown gave a free concert at Boston Garden on the night after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. The city's mayor arranged for the concert to be broadcast live on the local PBS station, with multiple replays during the night. King's murder led to multiple riots in major US cities... but not in Boston. A later documentary on this event would be titled The Night James Brown Saved Boston.
  • The most powerful part of the show was when a group of fans (both black and white) rushed the stage to dance, and James held off the police from escalating the situation.
  "“Wait! Wait! Step down now. Be a gentleman. Now I asked the police to step back, because I think I can get some respect from my own people.”

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