The T.A.M.I. Show

T.A.M.I. SHOW

The recently re-released T.A.M.I. SHOW, a concert-film from 1964, presents two hours of footage from the decade's top performers. With its Ed Sullivan–style production, polished stage choreography, and screaming audience members, the DVD captures the rise of teen-beat culture and the hitmakers that inspired its hokey dance crazes. The collection famously features the show-stopping performance by James Brown that made the following act, The Rolling Stones, want to throw in the towel. But the caliber of talent made upstaging inevitable. Alternating between Chuck Berry and Brit-rockers Gerry and The Pacemakers, T.A.M.I. makes apparent the mods' sanitizing effect on rock & roll. The seasoned showmanship of Motown acts like Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles contrasts greatly with the whey-faced squareness of Jan and Dean, Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas, and even The Beach Boys. Uniting diverse acts under the umbrella of popular music, T.A.M.I. ends with a full cast sing-a-long to "Let's Get Together." —BS

"Can I Get a Witness" by Marvin Gaye

"I Get Around" by The Beach Boys