The Beach Boys Hit ‘The T.A.M.I. Show’ in 1964

The Beach Boys were near their commercial peak when they played The Teen Age Music International Show (better known as The T.A.M.I. Show) on October 28th, 1964. “I Get Around” and “Don’t Worry Baby” had been all over the radio that summer, and “Dance Dance Dance” and “When I Grow Up (To be a Man)” were their newest hits.  The group faced screaming flocks of girls wherever they went, though the overwhelming popularity of the Beatles was beginning to make Brian work extra-hard in the studio. 

The show (filmed for a movie) was held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium and boasted one of the greatest lineups in rock history: Chuck Berry, James Brown and the Famous Flames, Marvin Gaye, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Lesley Gore, Jan and Dean, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Rolling Stones, the Supremes and a house band featuring Hal Blaine, Glen Campbell, Leon Russell and many other studio legends.

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The Rolling Stones later said they made a terrible mistake by agreeing to perform right after James Brown, but the Beach Boys had the easier task of following their good friends Jan and Dean. They played “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” “I Get Around,” “Surfer Girl” and “Dance, Dance, Dance.” Many of their filmed appearances from this time showed the band miming along to a studio recording, but they’re playing live here. 

The T.A.M.I. movie hit theaters in December 1964, but the Beach Boys‘ set was cut out of the film. Some accounts say that Brian Wilson wasn’t happy with his performance, while others report the set was taken out due to contractual issues. Whatever the case, their set was released on a 2010 DVD of the show. Check out their rendition of “I Get Around.”