James Brown Records His Iconic Live Album At The Apollo

Name: James Brown Records His Iconic Live Album At The Apollo
Uploaded: 2023-10-24T06:41:52+03:00
Channel: Radio Flora TM
Description: In the thick of the Cuban Missile Crisis, James Brown records his electrifying stage show for the album Live at the Apollo, on October 24th, 1962. Brown has

October 24, 2023 40 10 5

In the thick of the Cuban Missile Crisis, James Brown records his electrifying stage show for the album Live at the Apollo, on October 24th, 1962.

Brown has been wowing fans for years, but you wouldn’t know it from his album sales, which typically sell about 10,000 copies. No studio can reproduce his energy, so he books a series of shows at the Apollo Theater in Harlem to record his first live album, paying for it himself because his label boss, Syd Nathan, has no interest.

James Brown – I’ll Go Crazy (Live at The Apollo)

The Apollo is classy but raucous, the perfect place to put on the show he has honed on the Chitlin Circuit, complete with a bit where he falls to the ground during “Please Please Please” until an assistant places a cape over his shoulders and he finds the strength to continue. The whole show lasts just 30 minutes, but it packs a wallop.

James Brown performs "Try Me" at the Apollo Theater (Live)

Live albums are typically the province of jazz musicians, and are usually stately affairs. Brown has other ideas. Microphones are placed just above the crowd, with the most enthusiastic fans well within earshot. His hype man, Fats Gonder, fires them up with a stirring introduction:

It’s indeed a great pleasure to present to you at this particular time, the performer nationally and internationally known as the Hardest Working Man In Show Business, Mr. Dynamite, the amazing Mr. Please Please himself, the star of the show, James Brown and the Famous Flames!

Syd Nathan reluctantly issues the album, which contrary to convention, has no singles. But instead of ignoring it, R&B radio stations play the whole thing, running commercials after Side 1 while they flip the record. It’s a big seller, reaching #2 on the US Albums chart behind Days Of Wine And Roses by Andy Williams. Brown gets a huge bump and becomes one of the biggest stars of the ’60s and ’70s, dominating the R&B chart while consistently landing on the mainstream charts as well, proof that he has found many white fans.

In 1998, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and six years later it was selected by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.

James Brown Records Landmark Live Album