Show Info

Status: Returning Series
First Aired: August 19, 1972
Seasons: 8
Episodes: 195
Networks: NBC

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The Midnight Special(1972)

TMDB Rating: 7.8 (6 votes)

Overview

The Midnight Special is an American late-night musical variety series that aired on NBC during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by Burt Sugarman. It premiered as a special on August 19, 1972, then began its run as a regular series on February 2, 1973; its last episode was on May 1, 1981. The ninety-minute program followed the Friday night edition of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The show typically featured guest hosts, except for a period from July 1975 through March 1976 when singer Helen Reddy served as the regular host. Wolfman Jack served as the announcer and frequent guest host. The series also occasionally aired vintage footage of older acts. As the program neared the end of its run in the early 1980s, it began to frequently use lip-synched performances rather than live. The program also featured occasional comedic performances such as Richard Pryor and Andy Kaufman.

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Season 1

40 episodes • 1972

#	Episode	Air Date
1	Pilot	Aug 19, 1972
2	Host: Helen Reddy	Feb 2, 1973
3	Host: Johnny Rivers	Feb 8, 1973
4	Host: Mac Davis	Feb 16, 1973
5	Host: Harry Chapin	Feb 23, 1973
6	Host: Anne Murray	Mar 2, 1973
7	Host: Paul Williams	Mar 9, 1973
8	Host: Paul Anka	Mar 16, 1973
9	Host: Lou Rawls	Mar 23, 1973
10	Host: Ray Charles	Mar 30, 1973
11	Hosts: The Bee Gees	Apr 6, 1973
12	Bill Cosby	Apr 13, 1973
13	Host: Doc Severinsen	Apr 20, 1973
14	Host: Jerry Lee Lewis	Apr 27, 1973
15	Host: Johnny Nash	May 4, 1973
16	Hosts: Burns and Schreiber	May 11, 1973
17	Host: Chubby Checker	May 18, 1973
18	Hosts: Gladys Knight & the Pips	May 25, 1973
19	Host: Paul Williams	Jun 1, 1973
20	Host: Curtis Mayfield	Jun 8, 1973
21	Host: Jim Croce	Jun 15, 1973
22	Host:The Bee Gees	Jun 22, 1973
23	Host: Paul Williams	Jun 29, 1973
24	Host: Jose Feliciano	Jul 6, 1973
25	Host: Smokey Robinson	Jul 13, 1973
26	Host: Joan Baez	Jul 20, 1973
27	Host: Dionne Warwick	Jul 27, 1973
28	Host: Al Green	Aug 3, 1973
29	Hosts: The Bee Gees	Aug 10, 1973
30	Host: Richard Pryor	Sep 17, 1973
31	Co-hosts: Loretta Lynn & Marty Robbins	Aug 24, 1973
32	Host: Billy Preston	Aug 31, 1973
33	Host: Mac Davis	Sep 7, 1973
34	Host: Curtis Mayfield	Sep 14, 1973
35	Host: Wilson Pickett	Sep 21, 1973
36	Host: Seals & Crofts	Sep 28, 1973
37	Host: Gladys Knight & The Pips	Oct 5, 1973
38	Host: The Bee Gees	Oct 12, 1973
39	Host: War	Oct 19, 1973
40	Host: Chuck Berry	Nov 2, 1973

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Season 2

50 episodes • 1973

#	Episode	Air Date
1	Host: Curtis Mayfield	Sep 14, 1973
2	Host: Wilson Pickett	Sep 21, 1973
3	Hosts: Seals & Crofts	Sep 28, 1973
4	Hosts: Gladys Knight & the Pips	Oct 5, 1973
5	Host:The Bee Gees	Oct 12, 1973
6	Hosts: War	Oct 19, 1973
7	Hosts: Sly and the Family Stone	Oct 26, 1973
8	Chuck Berry	Nov 2, 1973
9	Host: Jerry Lee Lewis	Nov 9, 1973
10	The 1980 Floor Show starring David Bowie	Nov 16, 1973
11	Host: Peter Noone	Nov 23, 1973
12	Hosts: Procol Harum	Nov 30, 1973
13	Hosts: The Four Tops	Dec 7, 1973
14	Hosts: Loggins & Messina	Dec 14, 1973
15	Host: Jose Feliciano Guests: Clarence Carter, Roger McGuinn, Linda Ronstadt, Sha Na Na	Dec 21, 1974
16	Host: Marty Robbins	Dec 28, 1973
17	Million Sellers hosted by Wolfman Jack	Jan 4, 1974
18	Hosts: Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show	Jan 11, 1974
19	Host: Smokey Robinson	Jan 18, 1974
20	Host: Steve Miller Guests: Brownsville Station, Tim Buckley, The James Cotton Blues Band, Genesis, The James Gang	Jan 25, 1974
21	Host: Helen Reddy	Feb 1, 1974
22	Hosts: Ike and Tina Turner	Feb 8, 1974
23	Host: Roy Orbison	Feb 15, 1974
24	Host: Gordon Lightfoot	Feb 22, 1974
25	Hosts: Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show	Mar 1, 1974
26	Hosts: Gladys Knight and the Pips	Mar 8, 1974
27	Hosts: The Pointer Sisters	Mar 15, 1974
28	Host: Bill Withers	Mar 22, 1974
29	Hosts: The Guess Who	Mar 29, 1974
30	Hosts: The Righteous Brothers	Apr 5, 1974
31	Host: Roy Clark	Apr 12, 1974
32	Host: Curtis Mayfield	Apr 19, 1974
33	Host: Charlie Rich	Apr 26, 1974
34	Hosts: The Spinners	May 3, 1974
35	Host: George Carlin	May 10, 1974
36	Host: Frankie Avalon	May 17, 1974
37	Host: Richard Pryor	May 24, 1974
38	Host: Marty Robbins	May 31, 1974
39	Hosts: The Kinks	Jun 7, 1974
40	Host: David Steinberg (All-Comedy show)	Jun 28, 1974
41	Host: Anne Murray	Jul 5, 1974
42	Host: Bobby Womack	Jul 12, 1974
43	Host: Helen Reddy	Jul 19, 1974
44	Host: Leon Russell	Jul 26, 1974
45	Host: Leon Russell	Aug 2, 1974
46	Hosts: Sly and the Family Stone	Aug 9, 1974
47	Host: Little Richard	Aug 16, 1974
48	Host: B.B. King	Aug 30, 1974
49	Marvin Gaye	Sep 6, 1974
50	Hosts: The O'Jays	Sep 13, 1974

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Season 3

48 episodes • 1974

#	Episode	Air Date
1	Host: Randy Newman	Sep 27, 1974
2	Host: Al Green	Oct 4, 1974
3	Host: Jose Feliciano	Oct 11, 1974
4	Host: Paul Anka	Oct 18, 1974
5	Host: David Steinberg :Comedy show	Oct 25, 1974
6	Host: Fats Domino	Nov 1, 1974
7	Host: Redd Foxx	Nov 8, 1974
8	Host: Barry White	Nov 15, 1974
9	Host: George Carlin	Nov 15, 1974
10	Host: Bobby Vinton	Nov 29, 1974
11	Tom Jones	Dec 6, 1974
12	Million Sellers (Part 1) - Host: Wolfman Jack	Dec 13, 1974
13	Million Sellers (Part 2) - Host: Wolfman Jack	Dec 20, 1974
14	Host: Charley Pride	Dec 27, 1974
15	Hosts: The Guess Who	Jan 3, 1975
16	Hosts: The Righteous Brothers	Jan 10, 1975
17	Hosts: Electric Light Orchestra	Jan 17, 1975
18	Hosts: The Marshall Tucker Band	Jan 24, 1975
19	Host: Helen Reddy (2nd Anniversary Show)	Jan 31, 1975
20	Host: Dave Mason	Feb 7, 1975
21	Host: Neil Sedaka	Feb 14, 1975
22	Host: Steppenwolf	Feb 21, 1975
23	Hosts: B.T. Express	Feb 28, 1975
24	Host: Olivia Newton-John	Mar 7, 1975
25	Host: Clive Davis	Mar 14, 1975
26	Hosts: Black Oak Arkansas	Mar 21, 1975
27	International Acts hosted by Wolfman Jack	Mar 28, 1975
28	Hosts: The Ohio Players	Apr 4, 1975
29	Co-hosts: Wet Willie and Charlie Daniels	Apr 11, 1975
30	Hosts: Earth, Wind & Fire	Apr 18, 1975
31	Hosts: Rod Stewart & The Faces	Apr 25, 1975
32	Host: Billy Preston	May 2, 1975
33	Host: Wolfman Jack	May 9, 1975
34	Host: Chubby Checker	May 16, 1975
35	Host: Don Cornelius	May 23, 1975
36	Host: Joan Baez	May 30, 1975
37	Hosts: Seals & Crofts	Jun 13, 1975
38	Host: Herb Alpert	Jun 20, 1975
39	Host: The Temptations	Jun 27, 1975
40	Host: Frankie Valli	Jul 4, 1975
41	Host: Flip Wilson	Jul 11, 1975
42	Helen Reddy / Mac Davis / Minnie Riperton	Jul 18, 1975
43	Helen Reddy / Jessi Colter / Janis Ian	Jul 25, 1975
44	Helen Reddy / Glen Campbell / Uriah Heep	Aug 15, 1975
45	Helen Reddy / Roger Daltrey	Aug 22, 1975
46	Helen Reddy / Johnny Rivers	Aug 29, 1975
47	Helen Reddy / Frankie Valli	Sep 5, 1975
48	Helen Reddy / The Bee Gees / Janis Ian	Sep 12, 1975

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Season 4

30 episodes • 1975

#	Episode	Air Date
1	Helen Reddy / Nitty Gritty Dirt Band / Phoebe Snow	Sep 19, 1975
4	Host: Helen Reddy / Bee Gees / Ike & Tina Turner	Oct 10, 1975
6	Helen Reddy / J. Geils Band / Hudson Brothers	Oct 31, 1975
8	Host: Helen Reddy	Nov 14, 1975
9	Helen Reddy / David Essex / Brenda Lee / Jimmie Walker	Nov 21, 1975
10	Helen Reddy / Frankie Valli / KISS / Barry Manilow	Nov 28, 1976
11	Helen Reddy / Natalie Cole / Bee Gees / Olivia Newton-John	Dec 5, 1975
14	Host: Helen Reddy / Dolly Parton / Charlie Rich	Dec 26, 1975
15	Host: Helen Reddy	Jan 9, 1976
17	Helen Reddy / Natalie Cole / Petula Clark	Jan 23, 1976
19	Host: Wolfman Jack (3rd Anniversary Show, Part 1)	Feb 13, 1976
21	Host: David Brenner	Feb 27, 1976
22	Helen Reddy / Miracles / Tanya Tucker / ELO	Mar 5, 1976
23	Helen Reddy / Peter Frampton / Rufus feat. Chaka Khan	Mar 19, 1976
24	Helen Reddy / Gordon Lightfoot / Little Richard	Mar 26, 1976
25	Host: Natalie Cole	Apr 2, 1976
26	Host: Helen Reddy	Apr 9, 1976
27	Janis Ian	Apr 23, 1976
29	Host: Paul Anka	May 21, 1976
30	Host: Neil Sedaka	Jun 4, 1976
31	Host: Helen Reddy	Jun 11, 1976
33	Host: Natalie Cole	Jun 25, 1976
34	Host: Glen Campbell	Jul 2, 1976
37	Hosts: The Spinners	Jul 23, 1976
38	Host: David Brenner	Jul 30, 1976
39	Host: James Brown	Aug 6, 1976
40	Host: Paul Williams	Jun 11, 1976
42	Host: Jimmie Walker	Aug 27, 1976
43	Host: Aretha Franklin	Sep 10, 1976
44	Host: Neil Sedaka	Jun 4, 1976

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Season 5

16 episodes • 1977

#	Episode	Air Date
5	Co-hosts: Jackie DeShannon & Johnny Rivers	Oct 15, 1976
6	Host: David Soul	Oct 28, 1977
7	Hosts: KC & the Sunshine Band	Oct 29, 1976
14	Host: Tom Jones	Dec 17, 1976
18	Host: Glen Campbell	Feb 4, 1977
19	Hosts: The Electric Light Orchestra	Feb 18, 1977
21	Hosts: KC & the Sunshine Band	Mar 4, 1977
22	Hosts: Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr.	Mar 18, 1977
23	Host: Aretha Franklin	Mar 25, 1977
25	Host: Gabe Kaplan	Apr 8, 1977
26	Host: George Benson	Apr 22, 1977
27	British Rock hosted by Wolfman Jack	Apr 29, 1977
28	Host: Helen Reddy	May 6, 1977
30	Host: Lou Rawls	May 20, 1977
31	Host: Neil Sedaka	May 27, 1977
32	Hosts: Bread	Jun 3, 1977

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Season 6

9 episodes • TBA

#	Episode	Air Date
1	Episode 1	TBA
2	Host: David Brenner	Sep 16, 1977
6	Hosts: The Bay City Rollers	Jan 6, 1978
7	Host: David Soul	Oct 28, 1977
9	Host: Glen Campbell	Nov 11, 1977
10	Hosts: The Spinners	Nov 18, 1977
23	Host: Rick Nelson	Mar 3, 1978
35	Host: Crystal Gayle	Jun 2, 1978
36	Hosts: The O'Jays	Jan 13, 1978

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Season 7

3 episodes • 1979

#	Episode	Air Date
1	Host: Blondie	Jan 19, 1979
24	Hosts: The Beach Boys	Apr 27, 1979
25	Episode 25	May 4, 1979

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Season 8

4 episodes • TBA

#	Episode	Air Date
1	Episode 1	TBA
2	The Cars	Sep 28, 1979
13	Episode 13	Jan 11, 1980
25	Roy Orbison	May 16, 1980

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