The performance I chose was the Rolling Stone's song "Gimme Shelter" in 1969 on the BBC program Pop Go The 1960s, which features a masterful performance by Mick Jagger and the rest of the group. Jagger beautiful articulates the dark lyrics of the song, flicking his long hair and maintaining a crazed look across his face while he sings. The director emphasizes low angle shots throughout the performance and only occasionally deviates from close up face shots, especially with Jagger, and different hues of colored lighting flash across the musician's faces. This gives the Rolling Stones their larger than life appearance on the screen and adds an eerie tinge to the deeply symbolic lyrics. Jagger keeps his cool while singing, barely flinching as he sings "War, children! It's just a shot away/ Rape, murder! It's just a shot away". The performance slowly builds and peaks around the 3-minute mark and decelerates as Jagger croons "Love sister, it's just a kiss away".
There are more important and influential performances, and the Rolling Stones weren't the most influential group of this decade but I think this particular song holds a lot of weight in music history. "Gimmie Shelter" sets the scene in Vietnam's monsoon season and paints broad strokes about the inherent horrors of armed conflict, but the passionate delivery sets this performance apart from other songs of the era. Rather than aiming for a hopeful message, Richard's writing confidently presents a vivid picture of the conflict to the UK and the US public, who, at the time, overwhelmingly supported the war effort.
Gimme Shelter (1969)
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