Back on April 5, 1968, black, soul singer, James Brown (aka. Mr. Dynamite) may have, in a sense, "saved" Boston from the angry wrath of potential rioters when his performance at Boston Garden was suddenly broadcast live on WGBH-TV..... But when Brown was handed his pitiful pay cheque for his heroics, I don't think he could have cared less if Boston had been burned to the ground.
According to the very disgruntled James Brown - He claimed that he was short-changed by $50,000 when only 2,000 spectators showed up at Boston Garden (which seated 14,000) following Mayor, Kevin White's public announcement, earlier that day, which informed all Bostonians that Brown's concert would, indeed, be televised.
What prompted this hasty decision by White centred around the assassination, one day earlier (April 4), of black, civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, in Memphis.
All across the American nation, King's cold-blooded murder had prompted immediate, widespread violence and mass destruction. By broadcasting Brown's show (as a memorial to King), White was hoping to divert an onslaught of hate-filled violence in his beloved city of Boston.
And, you know what? This tactic of White's actually seemed to work, as violence in Boston was curtailed and kept to an absolute minimum.
Through vintage footage and recent interviews, this fairly interesting documentary clearly presents the American nation at an explosive time in its history when racial prejudices and civil unrest was clearly at an all-time high.
All-in-all - I'd say that this DVD was certainly well-worth a view.
According to the very disgruntled James Brown - He claimed that he was short-changed by $50,000 when only 2,000 spectators showed up at Boston Garden (which seated 14,000) following Mayor, Kevin White's public announcement, earlier that day, which informed all Bostonians that Brown's concert would, indeed, be televised.
What prompted this hasty decision by White centred around the assassination, one day earlier (April 4), of black, civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, in Memphis.
All across the American nation, King's cold-blooded murder had prompted immediate, widespread violence and mass destruction. By broadcasting Brown's show (as a memorial to King), White was hoping to divert an onslaught of hate-filled violence in his beloved city of Boston.
And, you know what? This tactic of White's actually seemed to work, as violence in Boston was curtailed and kept to an absolute minimum.
Through vintage footage and recent interviews, this fairly interesting documentary clearly presents the American nation at an explosive time in its history when racial prejudices and civil unrest was clearly at an all-time high.
All-in-all - I'd say that this DVD was certainly well-worth a view.