The T.A.M.I. Show (1964)

Director:

Steve Binder

Writer:

Steve Binder (writer)

Release Date:

29 December 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Tagline:

It's the Greatest, Grooviest, Wildest, Most Exciting Beat Blast Ever to Pound the Screen!

Plot:

Hailed by one music reviewer as "the grooviest, wildest, slickest hit ever to pound the screen," "The T.A.M.I...

Plot Keywords:

Concert Film | Acronym In Title | Rock Music | Independent Film

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Toni Baker	...	Himself (keyboardist, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas) (as Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas)
Florence Ballard	...	Herself (as The Supremes)
The Barbarians	...	Themselves
The Beach Boys	...	Themselves
Chuck Berry	...	Himself
Jan Berry	...	Himself (as Jan and Dean)
Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas	...	Themselves
The Blossoms	...	Themselves
James Brown	...	Himself
Glen Campbell	...	Himself (guitarist in house band)
Les Chadwick	...	Himself
Marvin Gaye	...	Himself
Gerry and the Pacemakers	...	Themselves
Lesley Gore	...	Herself
Pete Hilton	...	Himself (drummer, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas) (as Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas)
Mick Jagger	...	Himself (as The Rolling Stones)
Al Jardine	...	Himself (as The Beach Boys)
Brian Jones	...	Himself (as The Rolling Stones)
Raymond Jones	...	Himself (bass guitar, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas) (as Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas)
Billy J. Kramer	...	Himself (as Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas)
Mike Love	...	Himself (as The Beach Boys)
Leslie Maguire	...	Himself (as Gerry and the Pacemakers)
Freddie Marsden	...	Himself (as Gerry & The Pacemakers)
Gerry Marsden	...	Himself (as Gerry & The Pacemakers)
Martha & The Vandellas	...	Themselves (backing Marvin Gaye)
Mike Maxfield	...	Himself (guitarist, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas) (as Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas)
The Miracles	...	Themselves
Eddie Mooney	...	Himself (guitarist, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas) (as Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas)
Moulty	...	Himself (as The Barbarians)
Keith Richards	...	Himself (as The Rolling Stones)
Claudette Robinson	...	Herself (as Smokey Robinson & The Miracles)
Smokey Robinson	...	Himself (as Smokey Robinson & The Miracles)
Bobby Rogers	...	Himself (as Smokey Robinson & The Miracles)
The Rolling Stones	...	Themselves
Diana Ross	...	Herself (as The Supremes)
Phil Spector	...	Himself
The Supremes	...	Themselves
Dean Torrence	...	Himself (as Jan and Dean)
Charlie Watts	...	Himself (as The Rolling Stones)
Ronnie White	...	Himself (as Smokey Robinson & The Miracles)
Brian Wilson	...	Himself (as The Beach Boys)
Dennis Wilson	...	Himself (as The Beach Boys)
Mary Wilson	...	Herself (as The Supremes)
Bill Wyman	...	Himself (as The Rolling Stones)

Also Known As:

Teen Age Command Performance (UK)
The Rock Revival of 1964 (USA) (informal alternative title)

Runtime:

USA:123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Santa Monica, California, USA

Company:

Screencraft International

Trivia:

"T.A.M.I" stands for "Teenage Awards Music International". The idea of the film was to combine top American and British Invasion groups in one show.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The opening song makes two factual errors. First, its mentioned that Chuck Berry will perform "Memphis", which he does not do in this show. The second error refers to the Rolling Stones as being from Liverpool, when they are actually from London (the latter mistake was corrected on the commercially-available version of the song).

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)

Soundtrack:

Stubborn Kind of Fellow

An incredible experience, THEN and NOW!

I saw this in the theater in '64 or '65 when it was released and it pretty much changed my life. I already loved Jan & Dean, the Beach Boys, Lesley Gore (everyone PLEASE note the correct spelling of her first name: it's NOT "Leslie"!), Gerry & the Pacemakers, etc., but was completely unprepared for James Brown and the Famous Flames.

I kinda didn't know what to make of JB's dramatic finale with the cape, etc., at the time. It actually scared me a bit! (As it apparently did Mick Jagger and Keith Richards!) I thought he was having a seizure or something! It's since become sort of a cliché, down to Paul Shaffer's bit on "Late Night," but at that time no white kids I knew had ever seen anything remotely like THAT! Just blew me away completely!

It's also worth noting that the fantastic backing band for the show was led by noted producer/arranger/performer Jack Nitzsche, who worked with everybody from Bob B. Soxx and the Bluejeans to Captain Beefheart, with a few Lesley Gores, Tim Buckleys, Neil Youngs, Rolling Stones, etc., thrown in for good measure! A true unsung legend in his own right!

The Beach Boys' segment has been cut from most versions since then, if you could find the show at ALL. There was a "That Was Rock: the TAMI and TNT Music Shows" tape that was available years ago, but most of the TAMI Show was missing and the TNT Show I didn't care for much.

I recently found a pretty good copy (DVD-R)of the WHOLE THING ("TAMI Show 1964") on eBay, INCLUDING the Beach Boys' segment, and it brought back some incredible memories.

I hope that someday someone will release a "legitimate," uncut, first-generation quality version of this show, although with licensing deals, etc., I'm not too optimistic. In the meantime I've got the next best thing: a decent-quality uncut DVD-R, with much of it in widescreen format!