Apart from occasional guest spots on Ed Sullivan, rock music was seldom seen on national television in the early ‘70s until the debut of “The Midnight Special.” A recently released six-DVD set serves as a “best of” collection for the series, which ran on NBC from 1972 through 1981.
The show mirrored the changing sensibility of its time by showcasing live performances in a concert setting instead of lip-synching the hits. The room had multiple stages for easy transition between acts. “The Midnight Special” wasn’t hip as much as eclectic. At a time when segmentation (even segregation) was overtaking the way music was broadcast and categorized, “The Midnight Special maintained a Top-40, something for everyone approach. Country singer Mac Davis hosted a show featuring The Doobie Brothers and soul singer Billy Paul. Likewise, country’s Crystal Gale hosted Chuck Mangione and Tom Petty, acts unlikely to share the same bill on the touring circuit.
The August 1972 pilot set the stage. Muppet-faced John Denver, the night’s MC, opened with his enduring classic, “Take Me Home Country Roads.” It was an easy segue to Linda Ronstadt’s lovelorn “Long, Long Time.” The mood shifted to rock when Denver introduced Argent for “Hold Your Head Up” and returned to rueful sentiment for Harry Chapin’s “Taxi.” The evening concluded with Denver singing “Leaving on a Jet Plane” in duet with Cass Elliot.
After the pilot, “Midnight Special” featured fewer acts per episode, which usually allowed two numbers for each guest. While Denver looked spontaneous in his remarks, hosts in later years often appeared to be reading their lines from a teleprompter.
While it’s unlikely that many viewers enjoyed all the music on any given episode, “The Midnight Special” was a hit as people tuned in to watch their favorite stars. By the early ‘80s the writing was on the wall. MTV was about to seize the spotlight and “The Midnight Special” faded.
