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The Night James Brown Saved Boston
This is a the title of a fantastic documentary covering a momentous concert in Boston, the night after Martin Luther King Jr's assassination. I wrote a bit about it a while back, and managed to score a copy off Amazon a few months back. It's an riveting tale recalled by the people who were there, and now it has come out on local release here in NZ, with a bonus disc of the Boston concert included. And it's only $25. Go get it immediately.



The blurb sez "April 5th, 1968 - the morning after one of the most catastrophic moments in American history: the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. America’s inner cities are imploding and in Boston there is a fragile peace.

The Mayor of Boston is about to cancel a long-scheduled James Brown concert to avoid confrontation, a potentially incendiary move, but after warnings [from the only black City Councillor] he has a change of heart and asks, “Is there something James Brown can do to help?”

Directed by award-winning writer-producer David Leaf ("Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and The Story of SMiLE" and "The U.S. Vs. John Lennon"), "The Night James Brown Saved Boston" tells the story of that amazing night, this DVD also features rarely seen footage of the Godfather of Soul’s concert, plus personal reminiscences from those in attendance. The second disc includes the Boston concert in its entirety – James Brown in his absolute prime!

As Oliver Wang says, "I think there's a conventional wisdom that Brown was a shrewd opportunist - which he was - but in an era of such remarkable strife in America, Brown also tried to step up in the social realm as well and while he certainly wasn't the most consistent of activists (see: endorsing Nixon, oof!), is complexities help make him a richer character study; something this documentary drives how very, very well. To boot, it has superior production values and some incredible footage of the time."

From VH1's synopsis.. "Mayor White wants to know if JB will encourage his fans to stay home and watch the concert on television. In so many words, the mayor is saying, "If you'll allow this concert to be on TV tonight, your fans in Boston (code for ghetto class African-Americans) will stay home and the night will be peaceful."

Watch another excerpt from the film below...