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October 24, 1962: James Brown plays the Apollo Theater in New York. The concert is recorded for an album titled Live at the Apollo, released on May 1, 1963.
The album was recorded at the foremost African-American-oriented entertainment venue on Earth, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. But Brown and his backing band, the Famous Flames, performed as if there were no tomorrow.
The album lasts just 31 minutes and 31 seconds. And, of course, it doesn't include most of the songs associated with James, such as "I Got You (I Feel Good)," "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," "It's a Man's Man's Man's Man's World," "Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)," "Sex Machine" and "Living In America." All of those came later.
It does include his 1st hit, from 1956: "Please, Please, Please." And it includes his current hit, a reworking of "Night Train," Jimmy Forrest's 1952 rhythm & blues classic that gave football legend Dick Lane his nickname, and also became a mainstay of high school and college marching bands at football games.
In 2015, Rolling Stone magazine named this album the greatest live album of all time. In his 1995 book The Book of Rock Lists, music historian Dave Marsh said that making a great recording and making a great concert require different techniques that often contradict each other, and thus it was easier to name the worst live albums than the best ones. Nevertheless, he chose this as Number 1 on his best list, saying that it would be perfect if you could see Brown dancing.
The Apollo Theater, at 253 West 125th Street, opened in 1913, for white customers and performers only, even as the Harlem neighborhood around it was shifting from a German to a black neighborhood. In 1934, a new owner made it a venue for black customers and performers, and everyone from Duke Ellington to Lizzo has played it since.
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October 24, 1962 was a Wednesday. This was also the day that the film The Manchurian Candidate premiered. I have a separate entry for that event. And Jay Novacek, the tight end on the Dallas Cowboys' 3 Super Bowl wins of the 1990s, was born on this day.
The baseball season had ended 8 days earlier, with the New York Yankees beating the San Francisco Giants in Game 7 of the World Series. Football was in midweek. The NHL season was underway, but no games were scheduled.
There were 2 games played in the NBA. The Chicago Zephyrs beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 118-107 at the Chicago Coliseum. Walt Bellamy scored 42 points. The next season, the Zephyrs became the Baltimore Bullets. In 1973, they moved to Washington. In 1997, they were renamed the Washington Wizards.
And the St. Louis Hawks beat the Cincinnati Royals, 121-114 at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis. Oscar Robertson scored 31 points. The Hawks moved to Atlanta in 1968. The Royals became the Kansas City Kings in 1972, and the Sacramento Kings in 1985.
