The Midnight Special is an American musical variety series that aired during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by Burt Sugarman and airing on NBC. The Midnight Special was noted for featuring musical acts performing live, which was unique since most television appearances during the era showed performers lip-synching to prerecorded music. The series also occasionally aired vintage footage of older acts (such as Bill Haley & His Comets).

First Show line-up
Host: Helen Reddy
--Helen Reddy (host) - "I Am Woman," "Peaceful" & "Come On John"
--Ed McMahon (walk-on cameo) - wishes the show sucess
--Ike and Tina Turner Revue- "I Can't Turn You Loose" & "With a Little Help from My Friends"
--George Carlin (comedian) - stand-up comedy monologue
--Curtis Mayfield - "Superfly"
--Don McLean - "Dreidel" & "If We Try"
--Rare Earth - "We're Gonna Have a Good Time" & "I Just Want to Celebrate"
--Kenny Rankin - "Comin' Down"
--The Byrds - "Mr. Tambourine Man" & "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star"
--The Impressions - "Preacher Man"
--Helen Reddy, Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions - "Amen"

List of guests appearing on The Midnight Special

1972 (pilot)

First aired: 8/19/1972

Andy Kaufman
Argent- "Hold Your Head Up" & "Tragedy"
John Denver (guest host) - "Take Me Home Country Roads" & "Goodbye Again"
Cass Elliot - "Leaving on a Jet Plane" duet w/John Denver
Harry Chapin - "Taxi"
David Clayton-Thomas (singer from Blood, Sweat & Tears) - "Yesterday's Music" & "Nobody Calls Me Prophet"
The Everly Brothers - "All I Have to Do Is Dream" & "Stories We Could Tell"
The Isley Brothers - "Pop That Thang"
Helen Reddy - "I Don't Know How to Love Him"
Linda Ronstadt - "Long, Long Time" & "The Fast One"
War - "Slippin' into Darkness"

1973

Al Green (guest host)
Albert Hammond
Albert King
Alvin Lee & Mylon LeFevre
Anne Murray (guest host) - "Danny's Song"
Aretha Franklin
The Association
Barbara Fairchild
Badfinger
The Bee Gees (guest hosts)
Ben E. King
Bill Cosby (guest host)
Billy Paul
Billy Preston - "Will It Go Round in Circles"
Black Oak Arkansas
Blood, Sweat & Tears
Bloodstone
Bo Diddley
Bobby Day
Bobby Darin
Bobby Womack
Bonnie Bramlett
Brewer & Shipley
Bud Brisbois
Buddy Miles
The Byrds
Canned Heat
Carol Burnett
Charlie Rich
Chi Coltrane
Chubby Checker (guest host)
The Coasters
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
The Committee
Conway Twitty
Country Joe McDonald
The Crusaders
Curtis Mayfield (guest host)
Danny & the Juniors
David Bowie - "Space Oddity"
David Brenner
Del Shannon
The Del-Vikings
Dionne Warwick (guest host)
Dobie Gray
Doc Severinsen (guest host)
The Doobie Brothers
Don Gibson
Don McLean
The Doobie Brothers - "Listen to the Music"
Doug Kershaw
Dr. John
Earl Scruggs
Edgar Winter Group - "Frankenstein"
Edward Bear
Edwin Hawkins Singers
Electric Light Orchestra
Eric Weissberg
Fanny^{[disambiguation needed]}
Foghat
Freddy Cannon
Gary Mule Deer
Genesis - "Watcher of the Skies", & "The Musical Box"
George Burns
George Carlin
George Jones
Gladys Knight & the Pips (guest hosts) - "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)"
The Grass Roots
Gunhill Road
Harry Chapin (guest host)
Helen Reddy (guest host) - "Delta Dawn"
Henry Mancini
The Hollies
Honey Cone
Hoyt Axton
The Incredible String Band
Ike & Tina Turner
The Impressions
Jack Burns and Avery Schreiber (guest hosts)
Jerry Butler
Jerry Lee Lewis (guest host)
Jim Croce (guest host) - "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown"
Jim Weatherly
Jimmie Spheeris
Jimmy Clanton
Joan Baez (guest host)
Joan Rivers
Joe Walsh
John Kay
John Stewart
Johnny Rivers (guest host)
Johnny Mathis
Johnny Nash (guest host) - "I Can See Clearly Now"
Johnny Paycheck
Johnny Rodriguez
Johnny Winter
Jonathan Winters
Jose Feliciano (guest host)
Kenny Rankin
Kenny Rogers and The First Edition
King Crimson - "Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part 2" & "Easy Money"
King Harvest
Kris Kristofferson
Lakshmi Shankar
Leo Kottke
Leroy Hutson
Little Anthony & The Imperials
Linda Ronstadt - "Long, Long Time"
Livingston Taylor
Lloyd Price
Loggins & Messina - "Your Mama Don't Dance"
Lou Rawls (guest host)
Loretta Lynn (guest host)
Mac Davis (guest host)
Marty Robbins (guest host)
Malo
Melissa Manchester
Merrilee Rush
Mimi Fariña
The Miracles
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
The O'Jays
Paul Anka (guest host)
Paul Williams^[1] (guest host)
Rare Earth
The Penguins
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
The Raspberries
Ravi Shankar
Ray Charles (guest host)
Richard Pryor (guest host)
Rita Coolidge
Robert Klein
Ronnie Dyson
Savoy Brown
Seals & Crofts - "Summer Breeze"
The Searchers
Sha Na Na
Shawn Phillips
The Shirelles
Skeeter Davis
Skylark
The Skyliners
Slade
Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee
The Spinners
Smokey Robinson (guest host)
The Staple Singers
The Statler Brothers
Steely Dan - "Reelin' In The Years"
Steve Goodman
Steve Martin
Steve Miller Band
Stories
The Stylistics
Tanya Tucker
Taj Mahal
Tammy Wynette
Timmy Thomas
Todd Rundgren - "Think of Me"
Tom T. Hall
Tower of Power
T.Rex - "Get It On"
War - "The Cisco Kid"
Waylon Jennings
Wilson Pickett
Wishbone Ash
Vicki Lawrence

1974

Aerosmith - "Train Kept A-Rollin'"
Ann Peebles
Barry White - "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe"
Bill Withers - "Ain't No Sunshine"
Brownsville Station
David Essex - "Rock On"
Eddie Kendricks
Edwin Starr
El Chicano
Genesis
Gladys Knight & B.B. King - "The Thrill is Gone"
Golden Earring - "Radar Love"
Gordon Lightfoot - "Sundown"
Humble Pie - "Oh La-De-Da" and "30 Days in the Hole"
Ike & Tina Turner - "Proud Mary"
James Brown - "The Payback"
Jo Jo Gunne
Jobriath
Leo Sayer
Lynn Anderson
Maria Muldaur - "Midnight at the Oasis"
Marvin Gaye - "Let's Get It On"
Montrose - "Rock the Nation" and "Space Station #5"
Neil Sedaka - "Laughter in the Rain"
The New York Dolls
The O'Jays - "Love Train"
Phil Ochs and Jim Glover - "The Power and the Glory" and "Changes"
Redbone - "Come and Get Your Love"
Sly & the Family Stone - "Everybody is a Star"
Todd Rundgren - "Couldn't I Just Tell You?" & "A Dream Goes On Forever"

1975

ABBA - "SOS" and "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do"
PFM - "Celebration" and "Alta Loma Nine Till Five"'
The Bee Gees - "Nights on Broadway"
Fleetwood Mac - "Rhiannon"
Earth Wind and Fire - "Shining Star"
KISS - "Black Diamond"
KC and the Sunshine Band - "That's the Way (I Like It)"
Labelle - "Lady Marmalade"
Rod Stewart - "You Wear It Well"
Peter Frampton - "Show Me the Way"
Helen Reddy - "I Am Woman"
Olivia Newton John - "Have You Ever Been Mellow"
Ohio Players - "Love Rollercoaster"
Barry Manilow - "Could It Be Magic?"
Minnie Riperton - "Lovin' You"
Orleans - "Dance with Me"
Natalie Cole - "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)"
Glen Campbell - "Rhinestone Cowboy"
Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles - "It Takes Two to Tango"
Electric Light Orchestra (guest hosts) - "In the Hall of the Mountain King", "Great Balls of Fire", "Can't Get It Out of My Head", "Orange Blossom Special", "Laredo Tornado", "Flight of the Bumble Bee" & "Roll Over Beethoven"
Todd Rundgren - "Real Man", "Freedom Fighters" & "Seven Rays"
Roxy Music - "Out Of The Blue", "The Thrill Of It All", "A Really Good Time" (aired 05/09/1975, synched to the studio tracks from the Country Life album with live vocals from Bryan Ferry and John Wetton)

1976

Aretha Franklin - "Respect
Electric Light Orchestra - "Evil Woman", "Nightrider" & "Strange Magic"
Elton John - "Your Song"
Gary Wright - "Dream Weaver", "Love Is Alive"
Fleetwood Mac - "Over My Head", "Rhiannon", "World Turning"
Spinners - "The Rubberband Man"
Heart - "Magic Man" "Crazy On You", "Dreamboat Annie"
Hot Chocolate - "You Sexy Thing
Wild Cherry - "Play That Funky Music"
Starbuck - "Moonlight Feels Right"
George Benson - "This Masquerade"
Michael Murphey - "Wildfire"
Diana Ross - "Love Hangover
Eric Carmen - "All By Myself"
Tom Jones - "Delilah
Donna Summer - "Love to Love You Baby"
England Dan and John Ford Coley - "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight"
Janis Ian - "At Seventeen"
Ray Charles - "Georgia on My Mind"
Walter Murphy and The Big Apple Band - "A Fifth of Beethoven"

1977

Andy Gibb - "I Just Want To Be Your Everything"
Andy Kaufman - "I Trusted You"
Bonnie Raitt - "Runaway"
Electric Light Orchestra - "Do Ya"
Little Feat - "Dixie Chicken"
Weather Report - "Birdland"
Bread - "Make It With You"
Dave Mason - "We Just Disagree"
Electric Light Orchestra (hosts) - "Rockaria!", "Livin' Thing", "Do Ya", "Telephone Line" & "Livin' Thing (reprise)"
The Emotions - "Best Of My Love"
James Brown - "Get Up Offa That Thing"
Johnny Rivers - "Slow Dancin'"
Leo Sayer - "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing"
Lou Rawls - "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine"
Manfred Mann's Earth Band - "Blinded by the Light"
Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr. - "You Don't Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show)"
Marvin Gaye - "What's Going On"
Player
Sanford-Townsend Band - "Smoke from a Distant Fire"
Thelma Houston - "Don't Leave Me This Way"
Van Morrison - "Domino"

1978

AC/DC - "Sin City"
Aerosmith - "Come Together"
Ambrosia - "How Much I Feel"
The Cars - "Just What I Needed"
Cheap Trick - "Surrender"
Chic - "Le Freak"
Chuck Mangione - "Feels So Good"
Dan Hill - "Sometimes When We Touch"
Eddie Money - "Baby Hold On," "Two Tickets to Paradise"
Exile - "Kiss You All Over"
Four Tops - "Ain't No Woman (Like The One I've Got)"
Hall & Oates - "Rich Girl"
Nick Lowe- "So It Goes"
Player
REO Speedwagon - "Roll With The Changes"
Rick James - "You and I" & "Mary Jane"
Robert Palmer - "Every Kinda People"
Ronnie Montrose - Town Without Pity & "My Little Mystery
Starland Vocal Band - "Afternoon Delight"
Ted Nugent - "Cat Scratch Fever", "Need You Bad", "Free For All" (Hosted this Show)
Todd Rundgren - "Can We Still Be Friends" & "Bread" (with the Hello People)
Todd Rundgren's Utopia - (guest host) "Real Man", "You Cried Wolf", "Love in Action", "Sometimes I Don't Know What to Feel" & "Just One Victory"
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - "American Girl," "I Need to Know"
The Trammps - "Disco Inferno"
Yvonne Elliman - "If I Can't Have You"

1979

Alice Cooper - "Billion Dollar Babies"
Amii Stewart - "Knock on Wood"
The Babys - "Everytime I Think of You"
The Beach Boys - "Good Vibrations"
Blondie - "One Way or Another," "Dreaming," "Heart of Glass"
The Cars - "Let's Go," "Just What I Needed," "Dangerous Type"
The Charlie Daniels Band - "The Devil Went Down to Georgia"
Commodores - "Three Times a Lady"
Crystal Gayle - "Cry Me a River"
Dolly Parton - "I Will Always Love You"
Gloria Gaynor - "I Will Survive," "Never Can Say Good-bye"
Grace Jones - "Below the Belt"
Journey - "Lovin', Touchin'. Squeezin'," "Wheel in the Sky," "City of Angels"
Minnie Riperton - "Lovin' You" (memorial replay of her 1975 appearance)
Nick Gilder - "Hot Child in the City"
Peaches & Herb - "Reunited"
The Pointer Sisters - "Fire"
Rick James - "You and I"
Rupert Holmes - "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)"
The Three Degrees - "Giving Up Giving In & The Runner"
The Jacksons - "Shake Your Body Down To The Ground"

1980

Eddie Rabbit - "Drivin' My Life Away"
Frankie Valli & The Commodores - "Grease"
Olivia Newton-John - "Magic"
REO Speedwagon - "Keep On Loving You"
Roy Orbison - (Host, Season 8, Episode 25) "Oh Pretty Woman", "Only the Lonely", "Crying", "Running Scared", "Hound Dog Man", "Blue Bayou" & "The Eyes of Texas"
Hall & Oates - "Kiss on My List"
America - "Sister Golden Hair"

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ON THIS DATE (February 2, 1973) The Midnight Special makes it series debut.