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April 5, 1968 -- the morning after one of the most catastrophic moments in American history: the assassination of Martin Luther King. The night before, America's inner cities began going up in flames. The night before, there was trouble in Roxbury, Boston's ghetto. Word on the street is that it's about to get worse. A lot worse.
At Boston's City Hall, Mayor Kevin White is trying to figure out what he can do to keep the fragile peace. Reportedly, he's about to cancel that day's biggest gathering -- a long-scheduled James Brown concert at the Boston Garden. Then, a call from one of Boston's most influential R&B DJs to the lone black city councilman points out the danger of that decision. Simply, he says, if the concert is cancelled, Boston might have the biggest uprising since the Boston Tea Party. And so, faced with the grim reality of making the wrong decision, the mayor and his team turn it around. Rather than cancel the show, they ask "Is there something James Brown can do to help?"
Up until this moment, James Brown has been an unsung civil rights hero. Being black in the music business, especially in the mid-1950s when James first hit his stride, made him a pioneering artist in a still-segregated business. "Crossing-over" wasn't easy, and he knew all too well what it meant to be "colored.". But James Brown doesn't just "feel the pain" of being black in America. Despite all of his success, he's still living it. And in songs like 1967's "Don't Be A Dropout," he's begun to speak out, saying what he believes down to his bones is true. In 1968, he will sing about America as his home, and he's also on the verge of his seminal social statement, "Say It Loud-I'm black and I'm proud."
But on April 5, 1968, James Brown the patriot is also James Brown the businessman, so he definitely isn't in the mood to hear what Boston Mayor Kevin White is asking. 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." Meaning that unlike what might is happening in so many other cities around the country, Boston won't erupt in flames. There won't be rioting. If James will give his blessing. And he does.
Finally, 40 years after that remarkable and historic moment, VH1 Rock Docs presents "The Night James Brown Saved Boston", a film from David Leaf Productions. It tells the story of that amazing night -- with rarely seen footage of the concert (until now, that concert has been buried in the archives). Through those amazing concert moments...and with the personal reminiscences of James Brown's band members, colleagues (including his long-time manager Charles Bobbit), awe-struck concert-goers (including Newsweek's David Gates), the Boston city government officials and the pointed commentary of several distinguished observers of African-American history (Dr. Cornel West, Dr. Andrew Young, Rev. Al Sharpton) -- the dramatic and emotionally-riveting story unfolds.
Even in this bleakest of moments, James knows his job is to go on-stage and give the
people a reason not to riot. He puts on a mesmerizing show. James Brown kept the peace in one of America's most racially inflammatory cities. And he did that just by being James Brown -- setting the stage of the Boston Garden on fire. And the city itself didn't burn. Boston remained peaceful and the night became legendary. And the story of that night is at the heart of the film, "The Night James Brown Saved Boston."
("The Night James Brown Saved Boston" is directed by David Leaf, whose most recent feature documentaries include the Grammy-nominated "Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson & The Story of SMiLE" and the VH1 Rock Doc, "The U.S. Vs. John Lennon.")
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