HBO's "Mr. Dynamite" is not the first documentary about musician James Brown. But those behind the film, unlike makers of previous documentaries, had access to all three of the reels containing footage of the famous April 1968 concert in Boston, which WGBH broadcast live to the city.
One of the concert reels – the first of three – had been missing for decades. It was not until three years ago that the WGBH reel was discovered in a vault at the James Brown Estate in Nashville, when access to the estate was granted.
In one scene of the “lost” reel footage, Brown is on stage, addressing the crowd.
“And in Augusta, Georgia, I used to shine shoes on the steps… in front of a radio station called WRDW. I used to shine the shoes in front of that station… But now, I own that station,” says Brown.
The crowd cheers.
“You know what that is? That’s black power,” he continues.
“You do it with this,” he says, pointing to his head. “This is the way you do it. Remember that now
The tapes are an important part of Boston's history. Listen to it in the audio above.
