!!!! Beat, Vol. 5: Shows 18 - 21

Once The !!!! Beat was only a legend. Fans and collectors heard that there was a television show in the mid-1960s that captured the absolute very best of the soul and R&B singers of the day. Some said it was made in Nashville and some said that it was made in Dallas. Musicians remembered working on the show and a few people remembered seeing it, but no one seemed to know what had happened to it. Did the tapes still exist? How many shows were there? Who exactly was on it? All the episodes still exist! It really was a fabulous show! It really was in color! It really did feature the absolute best of the soul and R&B acts of the day! And whereas once just fragments of the shows made their way onto bootlegs, now the entire series is available in first-generation quality. Here is a reminder of what real soul and blues music was like from the absolute original masters.

This DVD of The !!!! Beat T.V. program contains shows 18 through 21, recorded in 1966. It features artists that soul fans never dreamed they'd see in their heyday, like Jamo Thomas, Robert Parker, Mitty Collier, Z.Z. Hill, plus Nashville R&B legends Earl Gaines (featured on our A Shot In The Dark - Nashville Jumps box), Joe Simon, and Bobby Hebb singing his original version of Sunny. Add to that Lou Rawls in his prime, and even more incredible Freddie King.