While we normally concentrate on CD reissues here at The Second Disc, we do occasionally like to highlight other titles which we think may be of interest to our readers. One such project, just announced from Shout! Factory, certainly qualifies: a 2-disc Blu-ray set entitled the T.A.M.I. Show/The Big T.N.T. Show Collector's Edition due out on December 2.
Directed by Steve Binder, T.A.M.I. Show (meaning either "Teenage Awards Music International" or "Teen Age Music International") was filmed on October 28 and 29, 1964 in California and released in December of that year. The concert film featured performances from a diverse A-List of talent from The Beach Boys to The Rolling Stones to The Supremes among numerous other stars (James Brown, Lesley Gore and Smokey Robinson and The Miracles to name a few). The acts were backed by members of the famed Wrecking Crew under the direction of Jack Nitzsche. It was selected in 2006 to be included in The National Film Registry and Shout Factory previously released it on DVD.
The Big T.N.T. Show was filmed in November 1965, also in California, and released in 1966. The sequel once again rounded up a diverse cast of big names including Petula Clark, Ray Charles, The Ronettes and The Byrds. It was directed by Larry Peerce and musically directed by Phil Spector. David McCallum (at the time one of the stars of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and currently starring on NCIS) emceed and conducted the orchestra. This rare film has never been available before on home video.
Shout! Factory's new collection includes all of the special features from the previous T.A.M.I. Show DVD together with new interviews and promo spots. Also included is a 36-page booklet. The Big T.N.T. Show is also being released by itself on DVD. Both films have been mastered from a new high-definition transfer.
We've got Shout! Factory's press release below together with preorder links if you'd like to re-experience these two classic music films.
LOS ANGELES, CA - Fans of classic rock and soul rejoiced when the legendary concert film T.A.M.I. Show made its DVD debut on Shout! Factory in 2009. Now that beloved film makes its Blu-ray debut, along with its long-lost--and much requested--follow-up, The Big TNT Show, on December 2, 2016, as part of the 2-disc Blu-ray set T.A.M.I. Show / The Big T.N.T. Show Collector's Edition, from Shout! Factory. (The Big TNT Show will also be released as a standalone DVD on the same day.) The set will contain all the bonus features from the T.A.M.I. Show DVD, plus new interviews with The Big T.N.T. Show performers Petula Clark, Henry Diltz and John Sebastian, and a 36-page booklet featuring detailed essays by Don Waller, rare photos, and memorabilia.
The Big T.N.T. Show was filmed in Los Angeles in November of 1965 and stars some of the biggest acts of the day, including many future Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members, performing their best material. The Byrds, in their original line-up of Gene Clark, David Crosby, Chris Hillman, Michael Clarke, and Roger McGuinn, perform two # 1 hits, "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season)." Ray Charles gives a rousing performance of "What'd I Say" and "Let the Good Times Roll." A sultry performance by The Ronettes on "Be My Baby" is met with impassioned screams from the audience; The Lovin' Spoonful perform their Top 10 hits "Do You Believe in Magic?" and "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice"; and Bo Diddley fires up the crowd with "Bo Diddley" and "Hey, Bo Diddley." To close the show, The Ike & Tina Turner Revue give an electrifying performance, including "I Think It's Going to Work Out Fine" and "A Fool in Love."
Also on the stage that evening was Petula Clark, performing her No. 1 hit "Downtown"; Roger Miller, playing his biggest hit, "King of the Road"; Donovan, opening his set with Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Universal Soldier"; and the reigning queen of folk, Joan Baez, reflecting the continuing popularity of the genre as the Vietnam War escalated.
Performing to the side of the stage in between acts, but not seen in the film, was the Modern Folk Quartet. Made up of future luminaries - songwriter/producer Chip Douglas, Lovin' Spoonful member Jerry Yester, famous rock photographer Henry Diltz, and songwriter/musician Cyrus Faryar, with session player "Fast" Eddie Hoh on drums, the band closed the evening with the show's Harry Nilsson-composed theme song "This Could Be The Night."
Originally billed as a companion piece to the T.A.M.I. Show after that show's success, The Big T.N.T. Show holds up as an essential time capsule from its day. Phil Spector was on board to help produce, to serve as the on-screen music director, and to play piano for Baez's rendition of The Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Loving Feeling." David McCallum, a rising star appearing in the new TV series The Man From U.N.C.L.E., was tapped to emcee. Filmed at what was then the Moulin Rouge nightclub on Sunset, footage also includes shots of the Los Angeles haunts Chateau Marmont, Ben Frank's coffee shop, and fleeting hot spot The Trip nightclub.
One of the most acclaimed rock events ever captured on film, the 1964 concert known as T.A.M.I. Show also featured performances by several future Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. In a lineup like no other, the Rolling Stones, James Brown, the Beach Boys, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, the Supremes, Chuck Berry, Lesley Gore and others took the stage one after another on October 29 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.
Aside from the five rock groups, all the performers were backed by a band that we've come to know as the Wrecking Crew, famed for playing on Phil Spector-produced hits, Beach Boys albums and much more, with future stars Glen Campbell and Leon Russell, among others. Fanita James, Jean King, and future solo star Darlene Love, billed as The Blossoms, provided backing vocals.
Mastered from a new High-Definition transfer, The T.A.M.I. Show / The Big T.N.T. Show Collector's Edition brings both of these history-making films to life in a definitive set that no fan or scholar of rock and soul music will want to be without.
Various Artists, T.A.M.I. Show/The Big T.N.T Show Collector's Edition (Shout Factory, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD)
Disc 1 - T.A.M.I. Show
List of Performances:
Jan And Dean
(Here They Come) From All Over The World
Chuck Berry
Johnny B. Goode
Maybellene
Gerry And The Pacemakers
Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying
It's Gonna Be Alright
Chuck Berry
Nadine
Gerry And The Pacemakers
I Like It
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
That's What Love Is Made Of
You've Really Got A Hold On Me
Mickey's Monkey
Marvin Gaye
Stubborn Kind Of Fellow
Pride And Joy
Can I Get A Witness
Hitch Hike
Lesley Gore
Maybe I Know
You Don't Own Me
You Didn't Look Around
Hey Now
It's My Party
Judy's Turn To Cry
Jan & Dean
The Little Old Lady (From Pasadena)
Sidewalk Surfin'
The Beach Boys
Surfin' USA
I Get Around
Surfer Girl
Dance, Dance, Dance
Billy J. Kramer And The Dakotas
Little Children
Bad To Me
I'll Keep You Satisfied
From A Window
The Supremes
When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes
Run, Run, Run
Baby Love
Where Did Our Love Go
The Barbarians
Hey Little Bird
James Brown and The Flames
Out Of Sight
Prisoner Of Love
Please, Please, Please
Night Train
The Rolling Stones
Around And Around
Off The Hook
Time Is On My Side
It's All Over Now
I'm Alright
Disc 2 - The Big T.N.T. Show
David McCallum, emcee, conducting the orchestra
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (instrumental)
Ray Charles
What'd I Say
Petula Clark
Downtown
The Lovin' Spoonful
Do You Believe In Magic
You Didn't Have To Be So Nice
Bo Diddley
Hey Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Joan Baez
500 Miles
There But For Fortune
Ray Charles
Georgia On My Mind
Let The Good Times Roll
Joan Baez with Phil Spector
You've Lost That Loving Feeling
The Ronettes
Be My Baby
Shout
Roger Miller
Dang Me
Engine Engine #9
King of the Road
England Swings
The Byrds
Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season)
The Bells Of Rhymney
Mr. Tambourine Man
Petula Clark
You're The One
My Love
Donovan
Universal Soldier
Summer Day Reflection Songs
Bert's Blues
Sweet Joy
The Ike & Tina Turner Revue
Shake
A Fool In Love
It's Gonna Work Out Fine
Please, Please, Please
Goodbye So Long
David McCallum, conducting the orchestra
1-2-3
T.A.M.I. Show / The Big T.N.T. Show Collector's Edition Bonus Features
- Interview with T.A.M.I. Show director Steve Binder
- New interviews with The Big T.N.T. Show performers Petula Clark, Henry Diltz (The Modern Folk Quartet) and John Sebastian
- Commentary by T.A.M.I. Show director Steve Binder
- Original T.A.M.I Show/The Big TNT Show radio spots
- 36-page booklet featuring detailed essays by Don Waller and rare photos and memorabilia
Zubb says
YES! Very excited about this!
Ed says
Hello, Randy. Your statement about James, King and Love being "billed as The Blossoms" seems to suggest that they were an ad hoc group put together for the film. In fact, the Blossoms were a bona fide group of long standing (from the late '50s to the early '70s), making numerous records under their group name as well as backing many other acts and appearing as a regular part of the TV show Shindig.
Randy Fairman says
Hi Ed, Thanks for reading. That statement above is part of the press release provided by Shout! Factory. I'm well aware of The Blossoms, and I suspect they are, too. I believe the wording was simply to highlight Darlene Love's presence to the public that might not be familiar with her group. 🙂
Ed says
My apologies for attributing the statement to you, Randy. Whatever Shout Factory's intent, it was poorly done. Enjoy your weekend.
Mike S. says
According to "Hollywood Rock: A Guide to Rock'n'Roll in the Movies" by Marshall Crenshaw (published in 1994), The Big T.N.T. Show (which I've never seen) also included "This Could Be the Night" by Modern Folk Quartet and two cameos by Sky Saxon of The Seeds, "perhaps only days after 'Pushin' Too Hard' was cut." Crenshaw identifies the above-mentioned orchestra for "One Two Three" (apparently the Len Barry hit "1-2-3") as the Ray Charles Orchestra. He rates both movies as five stars in all three of the book's criteria: music, attitude, and fun. I enjoyed watching the DVD of The T.A.M.I. Show and am looking forward to Big T.N.T.
DAVID CARROLL says
WOW ! JEEZ THE TAMI SHOW STANDS UP TO MULTIPLE VIEWINGS ! I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR ANY SHITTY OLE COPY OF THE TNT SHOW FOR DECADES ! NOW TO GET IT CLEANED UP ,DUSTED AND REMASTERED ON BLURAY MAKES MY DAY.GREAT STUFF! .....TANX DA SLIDER
Zubb says
The only time I saw The Big TNT Show was back when AMC was a good channel and on Saturday Nights they had a segment called American Pop where they would air episodes of the 60s TV show Hullabaloo and classic variety TV shows and specials like Hollywood Palace and Nancy Sinatra's Movin' With Nancy. One Saturday they aired The Big TNT Show. It was great and ever since I saw it I have been waiting anxiously for it to come out on DVD.
JM says
Been waiting for this one quite a long time. There's a reason the theme to Rodney on the Roq is MFQ This Could Be the Night. Rodney B. had to have been in the crowd at the Moulin Rouge, maybe not far from Frank Zappa. Must've been amazing to be in LA at that time. There's even some magic element to that version of 1-2-3 at the end. The band lifts it 5 feet off the ground. The '60's forever man.