On this day in music history: October 24, 1962 - Live At The Apollo by James Brown & The Famous Flames is recorded. Produced by James Brown, it is recorded at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY on October 24, 1962 (midnight performance). Brown will record his live show at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, against the advice of King Records chief Syd Nathan who believes a live recording with no new material will not sell. Undaunted, Brown will self finance the recording himself, hiring a mobile recording unit (recorded completely live to 3-track tape with no post production overdubs) to capture the performance. The results will be undeniably electric, and upon its release in May 1963 it will create an immediate sensation. The album will break James Brown through to a wider audience beyond his loyal R&B fanbase, selling over a million copies in the US alone. In spite of its long standing popularity, the album will not be released on CD until 1990. The original stereo master tapes had been lost for many years between the time when ownership of Browns masters are transferred from King to Polydor Records. The only accessible tapes before then were second and third generation dubs deemed unsuitable for remastering. Jazz archivist Phil Schaap will find the missing tapes in the Polygram tape vault in Edison, NJ in early 1990, while doing research for another project. Live At The Apollo is inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 1998, and in 2004, the album is added to the National Recording Registry by The Library Of Congress, as being regarded as culturally and historically important. Live At The Apollo will peak at number two on the Billboard Top 200.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 21:00:07 +0000
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