The Midnight Special
The full episodes will shine their ever-lovin’ light on you
If you love 70s music (and people must. It is still being played 50 years later), you owe it to yourself to watch The Midnight Special on YouTube.
The Midnight Special was a late-night live music television show that ran from 1973 to 1981. At the time, television stations signed off at 1:00am (after Johnny Carson) and started up again in the morning with the news. The Midnight Special bought air time at 1:00am on Friday nights (technically, Saturday mornings) and convinced Chevrolet to sponsor the show. They had no competition, and the show attracted young people who were willing to stay up late to watch it. Like me.
I loved it. It was the opportunity to see great bands of the day playing live on my television. And like radio at the time, there was an eclectic mix of music styles. Rock, soul, pop, and country were all featured, often on the same show. Famous comedians like Steve Martin, Richard Pryor, and George Carlin were also there.
As a young teen obsessed with music (we didn’t have cell phones, computers, internet, social media, or video games in the 70s), it was the highlight of my week. I got to see my favorite bands and artists, and discovered new favorites almost every week. It is also where I developed my teen crush on the impossibly beautiful Olivia Newton-John.
Another unique feature of the show was having a different musician or band host each episode. Some were good hosts, and some were not. But it was fun seeing musicians out of their comfort zone as show hosts. Wolfman Jack took over more of the hosting duties in later seasons.
There have been clips of single songs from the show on YouTube for years. But they recently started posting full episodes, one per week, in chronological order. So we are getting a new show every week, just like it was in the seventies. As of this writing, there are 36 full episodes available.
My wife and I recently started watching them in order. Last night we watched Episode 6, hosted by the great songwriter Paul Williams who has written dozens of hit songs, including An Old Fashioned Love Song and Out in the Country for Three Dog Night, We’ve Only Just Begun and Rainy Days and Mondays for The Carpenters, and Rainbow Connection for The Muppet Movie. A better songwriter than singer, he mostly bombed in his attempts at host comedy, even with the help of Jonathan Winters. But that is part of the charm of the show. You get to see musicians out of their element, like The Bee Gees acting goofy as hosts. This is not slick, modern television. But it’s fun.
The show also featured Edward Bear, Loretta Lynn, Seals and Crofts, Sha Na Na, and Ravi Shanker. What a crazy mix!
Seals and Crofts played their hits Hummingbird and Summer Breeze. Then they threw in a little bluegrass hoedown featuring fiddle and mandolin.
Loretta Lynn sang her hit Cole Miner’s Daughter while her band stood stationary behind her. The guitar player was absolutely killing it on guitar but never moved a muscle other than his hands. She also sang a clever song with social commentary and a unique musical arrangement called One’s On The Way. I wasn’t familiar with it before, but I really liked it. And she absolutely beamed as she sang.
Edwin Bear was a one-hit-wonder whose song, Last Song, I had mostly forgotten about but have been singing all day today. That is part of the fun of this show. If you are my age, you get to hear songs you forgot about and see one-hit-wonder groups you had never seen photos of and had only heard on the radio. Edwin Bear played drums and sang, and didn’t look like I expected from his voice.
I fast-forwarded through Ravi Shanker. I know George Harrison loved him, and that made him popular in the 1960s, but I have no desire to listen to six minutes of sitar music. Sorry, Ravi. I do try to give everything else a chance.
She Na Na did their awkwardly-out-of-fashion-at-the-time brand of 50s Doo Wop and old-time rock and roll. They were not my favorites, but they were entertaining.
It was not one of the best episodes, but every episode has a few classic moments and songs. As did this one.
The Midnight Special was real music being played live by real musicians. No auto-tune, no teeth-whitening. Just shaggy-haired musicians in funky clothes doing what they did best.* Each episode is a treasure chest of variety. You never know what you are going to get, and that is its greatness.
*During the disco years, they allowed some lip-syncing and added dancers. It was the beginning of the end for the show.
Here are a few clips to show you what you’re missing.
These are just the tip of the iceberg of great performances. Check them out.
Loved, loved, loved The Midnight Special when I was a teen. I watched a few just now from your links. Thanks for the memories!
Wow, Mark! Thanks for reminding me and sharing that its back on again. It was one of my favorites as well, and probably the first place I ever saw George Carlin and Richard Pryor. What a great memory!