Today, please welcome back our very special guest blogger Jimmy Ray Flynn! Our friend Jimmy is a talented Artist and Writer who originally hails from the great city of Boston, where the three most important things in people’s lives are sports, politics and revenge! Enjoy Jimmy’s first person experience, the night he watched James Brown Save Boston!
Here’s Jimmy:
On this date, April 5 1968, James Brown performed a historic concert at The Boston Garden a mere twenty four hours after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had been assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
America was raw, major cities burned all across the country as streets were filled with violent unrest. Things were calmer in Boston, however, as James Brown came through BIG TIME, keeping the peace with an all out EPIC performance that without question saved the city.
The decision to broadcast the concert live on WGBH was a wise one. People stayed home and grooved to the sounds. Things were COOL, thanks to the iconic legend, a charismatic force of nature, James Brown. As a 15 year old kid I’ll never forget tuning in and watching on our little black and white TV. To this day it remains one of the greatest music events of all time. The fact that there is documentation of what happened that night in April of ’68 is a gift for us all to celebrate. To remember.
One of the more powerful moments occurs towards the end of the show when kids take to the stage. During “I Can’t Stand Myself” you can feel the tension rising between the cops and the audience. Once again, James Brown takes charge and keeps things calm and cool. He asks for and receives RESPECT from his fans. If you’ve never seen “The Night James Brown Saved Boston” you’re in for a treat. Enjoy.
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