''T.A.M.I. Show'' is a 1964 concert film released by

American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

. It includes performances by numerous popular

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

and R&B musicians from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The concert was held at the

Santa Monica Civic Auditorium Santa Monica Civic Auditorium is a multi-purpose convention center at 1855 Main Street in Santa Monica, California, owned by the City of Santa Monica. It was built in 1958 and designed by Welton Becket and as a concert venue, it has a seating cap ...

on October 28 and 29, 1964. Free tickets were distributed to local high school students. The

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

"T.A.M.I." was used inconsistently in the show's

publicity In marketing, publicity is the public visibility or Brand awareness, awareness for any Product (business), product, Service (economics), service, person or organization (company, Charitable organization, charity, etc.). It may also refer to the mov ...

to mean both "Teenage Awards Music International" and "Teen Age Music International".

Synopsis

The best footage from the two concert dates was combined into the film, which was released on December 29, 1964. Jan and Dean emceed the event and performed its

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

, "Here They Come (From All Over the World)", written by Los Angeles composers

P.F. Sloan Philip Gary "Flip" Sloan (born Philip Gary Schlein; September 18, 1945 – November 15, 2015), known professionally as P. F. Sloan, was an American singer and songwriter. During the mid-1960s, he wrote, performed, and produced many ''Billboar ...

and Steve Barri, the song erroneously asserting that

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

are from

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

Jack Nitzsche Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche ( '; April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000) was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He first came to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spe ...

was the show's

music director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the di ...

. The film was shot by director

Steve Binder Steve Binder (born December 12, 1932) is an American producer and director. He found success behind the camera on television shows showcasing music, when he was only in his early 20s."Elvis the comeback'". ''Record Collector'', 357 (Christmas 2008 ...

and his crew from ''

The Steve Allen Show ''The Steve Allen Show'' was an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on ABC,

'', using a precursor to high-definition television, called "

Electronovision Electronovision was a process used by producer and entrepreneur H. William "Bill" Sargent, Jr. to produce a handful of motion pictures, theatrical plays, and specials in the 1960s and early 1970s using a high-resolution videotape process for product ...

," invented by the self-taught "electronics whiz" Bill Sargent (H.W. Sargent, Jr). The film was the second of a small number of productions that used the system. By capturing more than 800 lines of resolution at 25 frames per second, the video could be converted to film by

kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 194 ...

recording with sufficiently enhanced resolution to allow big-screen enlargement. It is considered one of the seminal events in the pioneering of music films, and more importantly, the later concept of

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

. ''T.A.M.I. Show'' is particularly well known for the performance of

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the hono ...

and the Famous Flames, which features his legendary dance moves and explosive energy. In interviews,

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

of the Rolling Stones has claimed that choosing to follow Brown and the Famous Flames ( Bobby Byrd, Bobby Bennett, and Lloyd Stallworth) was the worst mistake of their careers, because no matter how well they performed, they could not top him. In a web-published interview, Binder takes credit for persuading the Stones to follow Brown, and serve as the centerpiece for the grand finale in which all the performers dance together onstage.

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''mot ...

, which by 1964 had experienced its first wave of chart-busting crossover success, was represented by three of its top acts:

the Miracles The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential group ...

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

, and

the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...

. The Miracles (

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

, Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, Ronnie White and Marv Tarplin) had, three months earlier, lost the services of their sole female member, Claudette (Mrs. Smokey) Robinson. Claudette, who retired from touring for health reasons, remained as a non-touring member of the Miracles, recording with the group in the studio only. Marvin Gaye, backed by '' Shindig!'' favorites the Blossoms, sang several of his greatest hits. The show also featured

during their reign as the most successful female recording group of the era. The group had three chart-topping singles from July 1964 to December 1964, with the album '' Where Did Our Love Go'' reaching number two.

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...

went on to work with Binder on several of her television specials, including her first solo television special and her famous Central Park concert, ''Live from New York Worldwide: For One and for All''. Throughout the show, numerous go-go dancers performed in the background or beside the performers, under the direction of

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who c ...

David Winters. Among them were Teri Garr and

Toni Basil Antonia Christina Basilotta (born September 22, 1943), better known by her stage name Toni Basil, is an American singer, choreographer, dancer, actress, and director. Her song "Mickey" topped the charts in the US, Canada and Australia and hit th ...

. According to filmmaker

John Landis John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American comedy and fantasy filmmaker and actor. He is best known for the comedy films that he has directed – such as ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), ''National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978 ...

's DVD commentary for the film's trailer, he and fellow ninth-grade classmate David Cassidy were in the audience for the show.

Dick Clark Productions Dick Clark Productions (DCP, stylized in lowercase as dick clark productions or dcp) is an American multinational television production company founded by radio and TV host Dick Clark. The studio primarily produces award shows and other music e ...

later acquired ownership of the concert from Sargent. In 2006, ''T.A.M.I. Show'' was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

and selected for preservation in the

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

List of performers

Solo Performers

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

(died 2017) *

Lesley Gore Lesley Sue Goldstein (May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015), known professionally as Lesley Gore, was an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. At the age of 16, she recorded the pop hit " It's My Party", a US number one in 1963. She ...

(died 2015)

Group Performances

The Barbarians * Jerry Causi - Bass, Vocals * Ronnie Enos - Guitar, Vocals * Bruce Benson - Guitar * Victor "Moulty" Moulton - Drums The Beach Boys *

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop music, pop composition, ex ...

- Bass, Vocals * Mike Love - Vocals * Al Jardine - Guitar, Vocals *

Carl Wilson Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in ...

- Guitar, Vocals (died 1998) *

Dennis Wilson Dennis Carl Wilson (December 4, 1944 – December 28, 1983) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best remembered as their drummer and as the middle brother of bandmates Brian and Carl Wilson. ...

- Drums (died 1983) James Brown and the Famous Flames *

-Vocals (died 2006) * Bobby Byrd -Vocals (died 2007) * Lloyd Stallworth Vocals (died 2002) * Bobby Bennett Vocals (died 2013) Marvin Gaye (And the Blossoms) *

- Vocals ( died 1984) * Fanita James - Backing Vocals * Darlene Love - Backing Vocals * Jean King - Backing Vocals Gerry and the Pacemakers * Gerry Marsden - Vocals, Guitar (died 2021) * Les Maguire - Piano *

Les Chadwick John Leslie Chadwick (11 May 1943 – 26 December 2019), was an English bassist, who was a founding member of Gerry and the Pacemakers. Chadwick was born in Aigburth, Liverpool, Lancashire (now Merseyside), England. Career His bass gui ...

- Bass (died 2019) * Freddie Marsden - Drums, Backing Vocals (died 2006) Jan and Dean * Jan Berry - Vocals (died 2004) * Dean Torrence - Vocals Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas The Miracles *

- Lead Vocals * Bobby Rogers - Tenor Vocals (died 2013) * Ronnie White - Baritone Vocals (died 1995) * Pete Moore - Bass Vocals (died 2017) * Marv Tarplin - Guitar (died 2011) The Rolling Stones *

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

- Vocals, Maracas *

- Guitar, Vocals * Brian Jones - Guitar (died 1969) *

Bill Wyman William George Wyman (né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who achieved international fame as the bassist for the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1993. In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member ...

- Bass, Backing Vocals *

Charlie Watts Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who achieved international fame as the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021. Originally trained as a graphic artist, Watts developed an i ...

- Drums (died 2021) The Supremes * Florence Ballard - Vocals (died 1976) * Mary Wilson - Vocals (died 2021) *

- Vocals

Set list

In order of appearance in the film:

Home media

During the VHS era, there was never an authorized home video release of ''T.A.M.I. Show'' in its full, original cut, although

bootleg Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made a ...

s abounded. Most of the bootlegs were missing the Beach Boys' performance. The Beach Boys had been deleted from all prints made after the movie's initial theatrical run because of a

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

dispute by the request of someone in their management. Selected numbers from the ''T.A.M.I. Show'' were edited together with performances from another concert film by the same producers, ''

The Big T.N.T. Show ''The Big T.N.T. Show'' is a 1966 concert film. Directed by Larry Peerce and distributed by American International Pictures, it includes performances by numerous popular rock and roll and R&B musicians from the United States and the United Ki ...

'', to create a hybrid work called ''That Was Rock''. This film did receive a home video release from Media Home Entertainment's music division, Music Media, in 1984. It was felt that the film was unlikely to be released due to the cost of obtaining the publishing and performance rights to the extensive lineup of artists. (All of the four Beach Boys songs from the show eventually surfaced on DVD in ''Sights and Sounds of Summer'', a special CD/DVD edition of '' Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of The Beach Boys''.) On March 23, 2010,

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

released ''T.A.M.I. Show'' on a restored, digitally remastered and fully authorized DVD, with all performances, including the Beach Boys, included. (A DVD release of the complete film by First Look Studios had been planned for 2007, but subsequently withdrawn.) On December 2, 2016, ''T.A.M.I. Show'' was released in Blu-ray as a combo package with ''The Big T.N.T. Show'' by

. Both features are presented in

1080p 1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen ve ...

resolution, 1.78:1 aspect ratio and DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo. The film was shown in its entirety in Canada on First Choice Network in 1984, the 20th anniversary of its release.

T.A.M.I. Show performers in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Several groundbreaking artists who performed on ''The T.A.M.I. Show'' in 1964 have since been enshrined into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

. As of 2019, those inducted are as follows: * Chuck Berry - inducted 1986 * The Beach Boys - inducted 1988 * The Miracles - Smokey Robinson inducted 1987; The Miracles inducted 2012 * The Rolling Stones - inducted 1989 * The Supremes - inducted 1988 * James Brown & The Famous Flames - James Brown inducted 1986; The Famous Flames inducted 2012 * Marvin Gaye - inducted 1987 * Darlene Love (of The Blossoms) - inducted (solo) 2011 * Hal Blaine (of the Wrecking Crew) inducted (Musical Excellence) 2000 * Leon Russell (of the Wrecking Crew) inducted (Musical Excellence) 2011

References

External links

"''The T.A.M.I. Show'' essay"
by David E. James at

''The T.A.M.I. Show'' Remembered on its 40th Anniversary
* *
''The T.A.M.I. Show'' - Still A Groundbreaking Music Event
*''The T.A.M.I. Show'' essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 , pp. 604–60

{{DEFAULTSORT:T.A.M.I. Show 1964 films 1964 in California October 1964 events in the United States American documentary films American International Pictures films Concert films Events in Santa Monica, California Films directed by Steve Binder Marvin Gaye video albums The Miracles video albums The Rolling Stones video albums United States National Film Registry films 2010 video albums 1960s English-language films 1960s American films