From 1972 until 1981, there was a fantastic television program that ran on the NBC television network called The Midnight Special. It was created and produced by Burt Sugarman and was noted for featuring musical acts performing live, which was unusual since most television appearances during that era showed performers lip-synching to prerecorded music.
Many of the performances on the program were truly outstanding. Here’s a look at a number of my favorites. I have tried to list them in chronological order. Enjoy.
1. Do It Again – Steely Dan – Aired February 9, 1973
Absolutely incredible live version of the great Steely Dan tune. They rarely played live early in their career, so this is a just a wonderful treat. What a band!
2. Listen To The Music – The Doobie Brothers – Aired February 16, 1973
Great rocking performance from the Doobies!
3. Jesus Is Just Alright – The Doobie Brothers – Aired February 16, 1973
Another classic Doobie tune from the February 16, 1973 episode (Season 1, Episode 4). The video may say it is from 1975, but if so it was a rebroadcast of the performance initially broadcast in 1973. Great rocking version. Enjoy.
4. Summer Breeze – Seals and Crofts – Aired March 9, 1973
Wonderful version of the classic radio hit.
5. To Love Somebody – Bee Gees – Aired April 6, 1973
The first of several great Bee Gees performances I have included on this list.
6. Will It Go Around In Circles – Billy Preston – Aired April 13, 1973
Great rendition from the “5th Beatle”, worth checking out just for the giant afro haha.
7. Reelin’ In The Years – Steely Dan – Aired April 13, 1973
Introduced by Bill Cosby, a great rare live version of the band’s terrific song.
8. Superfly – Curtis Mayfield – Aired June 8, 1973
One of the very best performances on the series goes to the great Curtis Mayfield!
9. Let’s Stay Together – Al Green – Aired August 3, 1973
A fantastic moving performance from the smooth singer, the one and only Rev. Al Green!
10. Hocus Pocus – Focus – Aired October 5, 1973
High Octane version of the hard rocking classic by the Dutch progressive rock band.
11. The Thrill Is Gone – B.B. King and Gladys Knight – Aired October 5, 1973
Nice duet on B.B. King’s seminal song. The video indicates 1974, but it is introduced by Helen Reddy, who hosted the show on January 31, 1975 when the performance was re-aired for the second anniversary special. But the song was originally broadcast on the October 5, 1973 show.
12. Reelin’ and Rockin’ – Chuck Berry – Aired October 12, 1973
Very enjoyable version of this song by the King of Rock and Roll, joined by the hosts, The Bee Gees!
13. Cisco Kid – War – Aired October 19, 1973
One of the most underrated bands, if not the most underrated band, of all time. Great version of the band’s classic hit.
14. Personality Crisis – New York Dolls – Aired October 19, 1973
Amazing to see the influential early punk rock band, with their androgynous wardrobe, show up on the Midnight Special. But we are thankful that they were included and provided this hard rocking version of Personality Crisis.
15. Hello It’s Me – Todd Rundgren – Aired December 7, 1973
Wonderful, grand piano version of Todd’s classic radio hit.
16. You’re No Good – Linda Rondstadt – Aired December 21, 1973
Strong, powerful version of the country rock hit.
17. The Joker – The Steve Miller Band – Aired January 25, 1974
The recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and his band performed a version of his popular hit The Joker. 1972 is incorrectly noted on the video clip.
18. Come and Get Your Love – Redbone – Aired February 22, 1974
Superb live version from the one hit wonder Native American Band – Redbone. Hail indeed!
19. Ain’t No Sunshine – Bill Withers – Aired March 22, 1974
The great soul artist gives us a terrific, unplugged-style version of his classic radio hit.
20. American Woman – The Guess Who – Aired March 29, 1974
Worth watching just to see the imposing Burton Cummings belting out the lyrics in his groovy white suit!
https://youtu.be/LOjAhCXGdgs?si=2aXPL3JD-UfYOElK
21. Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) – Sly and the Family Stone – Aired August 9, 1974
Always great to hear Sly and the funksters perform this great, grooving song!
22. Dream On – Aerosmith – Aired August 16, 1974
The very first Aerosmith hit from their first album. Great to see the guys so young and vibrant.
23. Love Train – The O’Jays – Aired September 13, 1974
A great live version of the band’s peace and love anthem!
24. Tell Me Something Good – Rufus & Chaka Khan – Aired November 29, 1974
Great funky version of this popular track. Nice use of the Peter Frampton voice-distortion device.
25. Dave Mason – World In Changes – Aired February 7, 1975
Dave Mason is one of the most awesome singers and his music really resonates with me. This song is from the great “Alone Together” album. This is a great example of Dave’s soulful singing and tasteful guitar playing!
26. Lady Marmalade – LaBelle – Aired April 18, 1975
The soul sister Patti LaBelle and the girls all decked out in their sexy space-age outfits, putting on the funky soul sounds in a great rendition of this song.
27. Medley: Lonely Bull, Spanish Flea, This Guy’s in Love with You, Taste of Honey and Zorba the Greek – Herb Alpert – Aired June 20, 1975
Herb Alpert briefly came out of retirement to dazzle us with this wonderful medley of the hits that put him on the map and made him famous. Enjoy!
28. Autobahn – Kraftwerk – Aired July 25, 1975
Amazing performance from the ground breaking German electronic band. Their sound combined driving, repetitive rhythms, catchy melodies and a minimalistic and strictly electronic instrumentation. The group’s simplified lyrics were sometimes sung through a vocoder or generated by computer speech software. As one of the comments to the video notes, it was a big hit in the U.S. because it the American audience thought the band was “singing “Fun Fun Fun auf der Autobahn”, but the lyrics are actually “Fahrn auf der Autobahn” (driving along the Autobahn).
29. That’s The Way I Like It – KC & The Sunshine Band – Aired September 5, 1975
A rousing, coke fueled rendition of the classic disco hit.
https://youtu.be/wFRAbsQSPNY?si=ZmJRqoey-OFUj3mM
30. Nights On Broadway – Bee Gees – Aired December 5, 1975
The Bee Gees made a living hosting and playing on The Midnight Special. A lot of folks give them a hard time for leading the disco charge, but they are an amazing talented group of performers. The vocals are strong on this great song. Enjoy this one.
31. Jive Talkin’ – Bee Gees – Aired December 5, 1975
The last of the Bee Gees songs included on the list, this is another great underrated song. Strong playing and singing drive this one along. Try to stay in your seat listening to this one.
32. Love to Love You Baby – Donna Summer – Aired March 26, 1976
The super sexy queen of disco doesn’t hold back from her sensual moans of love and pleasure in the classic disco hit. Madonna, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry certainly owe her a thank you.
33. Rubberband Man – The Spinners – Aired September 17, 1976
Fantastic version of this song. Awesome Leisure Suits and synchronized dance moves. Hey y’all prepare yourself for some awesome sounds!
34. Play That Funky Music – Wild Cherry – Aired October 22, 1976
Rockin’ version of every less-than-funky person’s theme song. The coke influence is once again front and center. Play that funky music white boy, play that funky music until you die!
35. Breezin’ – George Benson and Carlos Santana – Aired April 22, 1977
Carlos Santana adds a wonderful rock edge to the soft jazz sounds of George Benson. Two great guitarists. Best version ever of this song.
36. Dixie Chicken – Little Feat w/ Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris and Jesse Winchester – Aired June 10, 1977
Fantastic Little Feat tune, made all that much better by the addition of two of my favorite musical ladies, Emmy Lou Harris and Bonnie Raitt! Great Jam! Thank you Midnight Special!
37. We Just Disagree – Dave Mason – Aired December 30, 1977
Excellent live acoustic version of Dave’s classic hit.
38. Boogie Oogie Oogie – A Taste of Honey – Aired August 18, 1978
Who doesn’t love this funky disco anthem? Great live version made that much better by seeing the talented Janice M. Johnson on bass and vocals and Hazel P. Payne on lead guitar and vocals. Enjoy this one as they lead the band through some funky jams. Fabulous version.
39. Disco Inferno – The Trammps – Aired October 27, 1978
One of the defining songs of the disco era. Super funky, cocaine fueled version of the disco classic. Burn the mother down!
40. Le Freak – Chic – Aired December 1, 1978
Niles Rogers and gang bring the funkiest dance craze to the dance floor. It’s called Le Freak. So Freak Out – Le Freak, C’est Chic!
41. Surrender – Cheap Trick – Aired November 24, 1978
The recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees perform a rousing version of their popular hit.
42. Shake Your Body – The Jacksons – Aired February 2, 1979
The King of Pop urging everyone to dance, shout, shake your body down to the ground! There was only one Michael!
43. Brick House – The Commodores – Aired November 9, 1979
The funkiest of the funk songs. Great version of the Commodores classic hit. 36-24-36, she’s a brick house, she’s mighty mighty lettin’ it all hang out!
BONUS:
44. Lark’s Tongues in Aspic Part 2 & Easy Money – King Crimson – Aired October 12, 1973
I include these to illustrate how progressive and open minded The Midnight Special was. So cool that they broadcast a King Crimson performance. If you go through the list of artists appearing in each episode, you realize there were so many cool, innovative artists on the show that unfortunately did not have their performances become readily accessible.
I hope you enjoyed the selections. If there are choices that you are not fond of, feel free to skip over and ignore them. But most importantly, stay positive. Namaste!
Peace!
Luv4music