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…
