Set yer TiVos, kids. VH1 [yeah, I know] is coming correct this Saturday, April 5th, with the Rock Doc The Night James Brown Saved Boston.
A little background:
On April 5, 1968, less than 24 hours after Martin Luther King's assassination, the city of Boston was in a state of turmoil. When James Brown arrived at the airport to play his already scheduled show he was warned that the mayor, fearing further unrest among the African American community, planned to cancel the show. Brown assured the mayor that the consequences would be much worse if the concert was called off. Not only did the show go on as planned, public television station WGBH broadcast the whole thing. It's an incredible historical document and a fantastic performance by James Brown, who dedicated the show to Dr. King’s memory and brought the raw emotions within himself and his community to a searing head. At one point the restless crowd swarms the stage and amidst the mayhem James Brown tells the cops to stay back and calmly talks the crowd back into their seats. "This isn't how black people should act."
[You can read the rest of this excellent synopsis of the backstage machinations originally recounted by J. Anthony Lucas in Common Ground here. Let's just say Brother James got paid.]
The poorly edited page on the VH1.com site promises
Finally, 40 years after that remarkable and historic moment, VH1 Rock Docs presents "The Night James Brown Saved Boston", a film from David Leaf Productions. It tells the story of that amazing night -- with rarely seen footage of the concert (until now, that concert has been buried in the archives). Through those amazing concert moments...and with the personal reminiscences of James Brown's band members, colleagues (including his long-time manager Charles Bobbit), awe-struck concert-goers (including Newsweek's David Gates), the Boston city government officials and the pointed commentary of several distinguished observers of African-American history (Dr. Cornel West, Dr. Andrew Young, Rev. Al Sharpton) -- the dramatic and emotionally-riveting story unfolds.
Ah, but Boston-dwellers can get a jump on the rest of the nation at the station that made it happen, WGBH,* this Monday, March 31. Duck out of work early and get yer asses over to Brighton, peeps.
The world premiere of The Night James Brown Saved Boston , from director David Leaf (The U.S. Vs. John Lennon; Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson & The Story of SMiLE), will be held March 31 at 6:30pm at WGBH’s new Brighton studios. The event is free and open to the public; RSVP at www.wgbh.org/events.
The world premiere screening will be followed by a panel discussion and question and answer session featuring the documentary’s director, David Leaf; Russell Morash, longtime WGBH producer and director; Charles Bobbit, James Brown’s personal manager; and Northeastern University professor of African-American Studies Dr. Robert L. Hall.
Shout! Factory will be releasing it in August as part of DVD box set called I Got The Feelin': James Brown In The '60s.
*A little part of the cinetrix's soul dies every time she remembers that 'GBH's zip is no longer 02134.
