Many folks don’t remember this awesome (and short-lived) Soul Train like dance show produced by the Godfather himself, James Brown. The show, which included James as the host, featured some of the funkiest music from the late 70’s, a transitional time between the roots of soul and funk to the more mainstream sounds of disco. Given everything else he was up to, we are simply amazed that he was pulling a Don Cornelius in addition to touring heavily and putting out a ton of studio material.
Here is more information about the show:
Future Shock is a television variety show produced and hosted by James Brown which ran from 1975 to 1978. Shot in Atlanta, Georgia and broadcast late on Friday nights on the Ted Turner-owned UHF station WTCG, it featured local amateurs performing a variety of popular and emerging dance styles, including disco, locking and popping, and early breakdancing, to prerecorded music. Brown and his musical guests also performed briefly. Other regular features included dance contests, interviews, and segments on black history. “Future Shock (Dance Your Pants Off)”, a song written by Brown and recorded by Maceo Parker with The J.B.’s, served as the show’s nominal theme music,though it was not consistently used.
Following the example of Soul Train, Future Shock was syndicated nationwide in the United States, but it failed to take root and ceased production within three years. It has not been officially released on recorded media, and with the exception of a handful of episodes recordings of the show have long been presumed lost.