James Brown and the Famous Flames 1964

Get past the idiots at the beginning and this is fourteen minutes of pure solid gold soul: the legendary T.A.M.I. show performance. From the moment he comes on you know he's giving it everything. And look at those moves. In later years he lost some (not much, but some) of that energy, but here he's in absolute peak form.

Laydeez and gentlemen..the hardest working man in show business:

Already at this stage in his career he's got that cape routine going: the moment in every show when, overcome with emotion, drenched in sweat, exhausted, he sinks to his knees, and his minders place the cape over his shoulders and solicitously lead him off-stage - only for the man to rip the cape off, spin round, grab the mike, and launch into another round of tear-drenched pleading. It's fabulous theatre.

The Stones had the misfortune to follow this. Keith Richards said it was the biggest mistake of their career. 

Comments

[Dom]

Actually, I think Brown improved with age. I liked him better when he put all the theatrics behind him. (Although I once had a music teacher who tried to explain Paganini's stage appeal by saying he was the James Brown of his day.)

I always feel like I shouldn't like this video, but I just think both Brown and Pavarotti sound terrific together:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Febr_t_qa9U

[Mick H]

Hadn't seen that one before. Yes, somehow it does work - but I still go for the early stuff myself.

Still, we don't have to choose. It's all there.

[Sadie]

I've seen them both perform live. Pavarotti in the 1970's and James Brown in 1961.

Guess which one had me dancing for three solid hours.

[Mick H]

Well yeah, Pavarotti can get you like that.