Years before his creative apex and subsequent personal tailspin, Brian Wilson leads the Beach Boys through a four-song set at T.A.M.I. (Teenage Awards Music International).
A love song to rock and roll and Los Angeles at a time when both seemed infinite with possibility, The T.A.M.I. Show was a filmed 1964 showcase for soul greats, British Invasion bands, girl groups, Motown stars and surf rockers during that brief window when all those artists coexisted peacefully on the pop charts.
After a romantic montage of sunny Los Angeles exteriors, surf rock duo Jan & Dean make their way to the stage at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium with the help of skateboards. Over the course of two hours, they host the likes of the Supremes, the Rolling Stones, James Brown, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Marvin Gaye, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Chuck Berry, the Beach Boys and more. The show-stopper was, unsurprisingly, Brown, who put on a mind-blowing performance for junior high schoolers who had never seen anything like it in their young lives. The kids were awed but never out of control; in one scene, a single police officer can be witnessed walking up and down the aisle with little to do. A forerunner to Altamont, it was definitely not.
Instead, it was innocent good vibrations all around, except for the Rolling Stones, who didn’t look too happy. The young Brits followed Brown and the still-green group seemed defeated by his astounding energy and superior showmanship before they could deliver even a single guitar lick. But that was okay. The Stones had years to go before they would do their finest work. In that sense, the T.A.M.I. show wasn’t only great but also prelude to even greater things. (Available from Netflix and other outlets.)
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