Between August 1972 and May 1981, late night television was a little more rockin'. Producer Burt Sugarman's The Midnight Special followed Johnny Carson's Tonight Show on Friday evenings, welcoming viewers with Johnny Rivers' rousing rendition of the traditional tune (a Top 20 hit for Rivers in 1965). Over the course of 450 episodes, The Midnight Special presented a staggering array of music's top talent on network television with most songs performed live for the majority of its run. The program, featuring announcer Wolfman Jack and a variety of guest hosts, premiered as a one-off special in August 1972 but was promoted to full-time status in February 1973. It first arrived on DVD in 2006 with episodes available as mail order exclusives, heavily promoted via infomercials. On September 9, however, StarVista/Time Life will make The Midnight Special more widely available for the first time with 11-DVD, 6-DVD and 1-DVD releases. With the resurgence in many of the '70s' greatest pop hits thanks to the hit Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack the time couldn't be better! (Indeed, many of the Star Lord's favorite songs were performed on The Midnight Special and will be included on these DVDs.)
The 11-disc Midnight Special Collectors' Edition is now available to order exclusively online at MIDNIGHTSPECIALDVDS.COM for just under $100.00; while it's expected that this set may eventually arrive to general retail (in the tradition of other StarVista sets for The Carol Burnett Show, Mama's Family and The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts), it will remain a website exclusive for the foreseeable future. This edition features roughly 10 hours of musical performances plus 5 hours of newly-produced bonus material and a 32-page booklet. The single-disc and 6-disc versions will be released on September 9 to stores everywhere. The Midnight Special played host to artists from the many genres that occupied the Top 40 slots on the Billboard Hot 100 during the 1970s, including Fleetwood Mac, The Bee Gees, Linda Ronstadt, The O'Jays, Dolly Parton, David Bowie (who broadcast his final television appearance as Ziggy Stardust on the program), Alice Cooper, Electric Light Orchestra, Neil Sedaka, Barry Manilow, Alice Cooper, frequent host Helen Reddy, and countless others who are featured on StarVista's new sets. The Midnight Special also gave the spotlight over to the era's top comedians like Richard Pryor, Billy Crystal, George Carlin, Andy Kaufman, Steve Martin and Freddie Prinze.
After the jump: a look at what you can expect to find on these collections!
The Collectors' Edition features eight discs of 130 live performances (selected from 423 complete shows), one disc of comedy performances and two discs of exclusive bonus features, including interviews with Peter Frampton, Alice Cooper, Frankie Valli, Loggins & Messina, Eddie Money, George Benson, Charlie Daniels, Todd Rundgren, Helen Reddy, Neil Sedaka, Harry Wayne Casey (the KC of KC and the Sunshine Band), creator Burt Sugarman and others. Twelve additional featurettes are also present, including "The History of The Midnight Special," "Wolfman at Midnight," "Star-Studded Stage Fashion," "No Safety Net: Live on TV," "I Am Woman: Helen Reddy as Host," "Benson & Frampton Talk Shop," "The Making of The Midnight Special" "The Legacy of The Midnight Special," a Burt Sugarman featurette, and more.
StarVista's press release has supplied a list of some of the performances contained in the 11-disc box:
- Aerosmith / "Dream On"
- Alice Cooper / Medley: "Eighteen/Only Women/Billion Dollar Babies"
- Bee Gees / "Nights on Broadway"
- Earth, Wind & Fire / "Shining Star"
- Electric Light Orchestra / "Evil Woman"
- Fleetwood Mac / "Over My Head"
- Gordon Lightfoot / "Sundown"
- Heart / "Crazy on You"
- Helen Reddy / "I Am Woman"
- Jim Croce / "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown"
- John Denver / "Take Me Home, Country Roads"
- KC and the Sunshine Band / "That's the Way (I Like It)"
- LaBelle / "Lady Marmalade"
- Linda Ronstadt / "When Will I Be Loved"
- Marvin Gaye / "Let's Get It On"
- Peter Frampton / "Show Me the Way"
- REO Speedwagon / "Keep on Loving You"
- The Doobie Brothers / "Listen to the Music"
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers / "American Girl"
The Collectors' Edition also includes many of the show's famous musical collaborations:
- Aretha Franklin & Ray Charles / "Takes Two to Tango"
- Carlos Santana & George Benson / "Breezin' "
- Etta James & Dr. John / "I'd Rather Go Blind"
- Gladys Knight & B.B. King / "The Thrill Is Gone"
- Helen Reddy & The Bee Gees / "To Love Somebody"
- John Denver & Cass Elliot / "Leaving on a Jet Plane"
- Neil Sedaka/Captain & Tennille / "Love Will Keep Us Together"
- Bee Gees with Helen Reddy / "To Love Somebody"
- George Benson, Van Morrison, Carlos Santana, Etta James, Dr. John / "Moondance"
The full list of the 130 performances in the box set can be found at the show's website, but other highlights include:
- Hall and Oates, "She's Gone/Sara Smile/Rich Girl"
- Harry Chapin, "Taxi"
- Billy Paul, "Me and Mrs. Jones"
- Rupert Holmes, "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)"
- America, "Sister Golden Hair"
- Redbone, "Come and Get Your Love"
- Frankie Valli, "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" and "Grease"
- Bread, "Make It with You"
- Barry Manilow, "Mandy" and "It's a Miracle"
- Glen Campbell, "Southern Nights"
- Dolly Parton, "I Will Always Love You" and "Jolene"
- Andrew Gold, "Lonely Boy"
- Todd Rundgren, "Hello, It's Me"
- Spinners, "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" and "I'll Be Around"
The 6-DVD set includes 96 performances, and the single-DVD version has sixteen. Both include some of the bonus material on the box set. Currently, track listings do not appear to be available for the 1-DVD and 6-DVD editions. We will update pre-order links as soon as they become available! The box set is available for pre-order now and will ship by September 8; the other titles arrive on September 9 in stores.
Deluxe 11-DVD Box Set: StarVista
6-DVD Set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
1-DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
The Weekend Stream: May 3, 2025
Release Round-Up: Week of May 2
The Second Disc's Guide to Record Store Day 2025: Our Favorite Picks
That's the Way (I Like It): Edsel Collects "More Sin," "More Deep '70s"
I have all of the mail order DVDs. I assume there's a lot of overlap. Hopefully there's someone out there with a lot of time on their hands who could put together a list of the new material and what's been left off. Given how long the program ran, there must be enough material out there to fill 50 DVDs, so it's a little disappointing that the deluxe set tops out at only 11 DVDs - 9 if you exclude the bonus features. Also, while all the comedy material has been consolidated on a disc DVDs, the musical performances on the other discs seem to be thrown together pretty haphazardly. It would have made far more sense to have disc devoted to specific artists or genres (classic rock, punk/new wave, pop, country, R&B, disco, etc.).
Here's my quick summary. No guarantee this is completely accurate just based on a quick comparison:
Performances not on the previous 18 DVD Set:
Tom Petty – Listen to Her Heart
Mac Davis – Don’t Get Hooked on me
Billy Paul – Mrs Jones
Sly & the Family Stone - Everybody Is a Star
Jim Croce - I Got a Name
Jim Croce - Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels)
The Bee Gees - Lonely Days
The Bee Gees - How Can You Mend a Broken Heart
Helen Reddy - Angie Baby
The Miracles - Love Machine
Mandy Barry Manilow
Electric Light Orchestra - Evil Woman
Electric Light Orchestra - Strange Magic
Electric Light Orchestra - Can’t Get It Out of My Head
Gary Wright - Love Is Alive
Alice Cooper - Inmates (We’re All Crazy)
Aerosmith - Dream On
The Stylistics - You Make Me Feel Brand New
Barry White - Never Gonna Give You Up
Village People - Y.M.C.A.
Chic - Good Times
Peaches & Herb - Shake Your Groove Thing
Charlie Rich - Behind Closed Doors
Dobie Gray - Drift Away
Robert Palmer - Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)
Bonnie Tyler - It’s a Heartache
Aretha Franklin - Something He Can Feel
Frankie Valli - Can’t Take My Eyes Off You
Neil Sedaka - Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
Earth, Wind and Fire - Devotion
Eddie Rabbitt - Rocky Mountain Music
Sammy Hagar - You Make Me Crazy
Elvin Bishop - Fooled Around and Fell in Love
Dolly Parton - Jolene
George Benson, Van Morrison, Carlos Santana, Etta James, Dr. John - Moondance
Etta James and Dr. John - I’d Rather Go Blind
Seals & Crofts - Get Closer
Albert Hammond - It Never Rains in Southern California
Natalie Cole - I’ve Got Love on My Mind
The Cars - My Best Friend’s Girl
This following may be on the old set under a shortened title but can;t tell for certain:
Alice Cooper - Medley: Eighteen/Only Women/Billion Dollar Babies
Hall & Oates- Medley: She’s Gone/Sara Smile/Rich Girl
However, there are many more titles on the previous 18 disc set that are not included in this new collectors edition. This new set appears to be heavily weighted toward the 73-77 period - most of the performances from 78 through 80 that are on the previous sets are not on this set. I'll try and compile my list of these and post.
MartyB
Merrilee Rush - Start Again / Comfort and Please You, Friday, February 9th, 1973
Here is my list of the Performaces on 18 Disc old set not on the new 11 disc set:
DVD 1.) 1973
Gladys Knight & the Pips: Neither One of Us
T-Rex-Bang-A-Gong: Get It On
Johnny Nash: I Can See Clearly Now
Seals & Crofts: Summer Breeze
Anne Murray: Danny's Song
DVD 2.) More 1973
Seals & Crofts: Diamond Girl
Jerry Lee Lewis: Chantilly Lace
Rare Earth: I Just Want To Celebrate
The Hollies: He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother
New York Dolls: Personality Crisis
Eric Weissberg & Deliverance: Dueling Banjos
DVD 3.) 1974
Ike & Tina Turner: Proud Mary
Sly & The Family Stone: Thank You
David Essex: Rock On
The O’Jays: Love Train
Bill Withers: Ain’t No Sunshine
James Brown: The Payback-Part 1
Neil Sedaka: Laughter in the Rain
DVD 4.) More 1974
Brownsville Station: Smokin' In The Boys Room
Bill Withers: Lean On Me
Steve Miller Band: Fly Like An Eagle
Kool & The Gang: Jungle Boogie
The Main Ingredient: Everybody Plays The Fool
Melissa Manchester: Midnight Blue
Gladys Knight & The Pips: The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me
Al Green: Tired Of Being Alone
Paul Anka: (You're) Having My Baby
Billy Swan: I Can Help
Ace: How Long
DVD 5.) 1975
Rod Stewart: You Wear It Well
Natalie Cole: This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)
Barry Manilow: Could It Be Magic
Ohio Players: Love Rollercoaster
Olivia Newton John: Have You Never Been Mellow
Glen Campbell: Rhinestone Cowboy
Kiss: Black Diamond
DVD 6.) More 1975
Spinners & Joni Sledge: Then came you
Peter Frampton: Do you feel like we do
Billy Joel: Ballad of Billy the Kid
B.J. Thomas: Another somebody done somebody...
Black Oak Arkansas: Jim Dandy
Ohio Players: Fire
Phoebe Snow: Poetry man
Roxy Music: Out of the blue
DVD 7.) 1976
Elton John: Your Song
Spinners: The Rubberband Man
Heart: Magic Man
Hot Chocolate: You Sexy Thing
George Benson: The Masquerade
Diana Ross: Love Hangover
Eric Carmen: All by Myself
Tom Jones: Delilah
England Dan & JFord Coley: I’d Really Love to See You Tonight
Janis Ian: At Seventeen
Ray Charles: Georgia On My Mind
DVD 8.) More 1976
KC & the Sunshine Band: Shake your Booty
Vicki Sue Robinson: Turn the Beat Around
Captain & Tennille: Shop Around
Starbuck:Moonlight Feels Right
Keith Carradine: I'm Easy
Eric Cramen: Never Gonna Fall in Love Again
Barry Manilow: Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again
The Sylvers: Boogie Fever
The Brothers Johnson: I'll Be Good to You
Brick: Dazz
Steppenwolf: (Born to be Wild
DVD 9.) 1977
Manfred Mann's Earth Band: Blinded By The Light
Dave Mason: We Just Disagree
Sanford & Townsend: Smoke From A Distant Fire
Thelma Houston: Don't Leave Me This Way
Andy Gibb: I Just Want To Be Your Everything
The Emotions: Best Of My Love
Johnny Rivers: Slow Dancin'
Bonnie Raitt: Runaway
Leo Sayer: You Make Me Feel Like Dancing
Van Morrison: Domino
Lou Rawls: You'll Never Find Another Man Like Me
Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr.: You Don't Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show)
DVD 10.) More 1977
James Brown: Get Up Offa That Thing
Frankie Valli: Swearin to God
Jennifer Warnes: Right Time of the Night
Weather Report: Birdland
KC & the Sunshine Band: I’m Your Boogie Man
Bonnie Raitt: Sugar Mama
Kenny Roger: Lucille
Reo Speedwagon: Ridin the Storm Out
Little Feat: Dixie Chicken
DVD 11.) 1978
Hall & Oates: Rich Girl? (Medley including Rich Girl in new package - SAME PERFORMANCE?)
Robert Palmer: Every Kinda People
The Cars: Just What I Needed
Exile: Kiss You All Over
Chic: Le Freak
Four Tops: Ain't No Woman (Like The One I've Got)
Reo Speedwagon: Roll With The Changes
Ambrosia: How Much I Feel
The Trammps: Disco Inferno
DVD 12.) More 1978 (ENTIRE DVD NOT INCLUDED IN NEW PACKAGE)
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: I Need to Know
Shaun Cassidy: Thats Rock & Roll
Dan Hill: Sometimes When We Touch
Starland Vocal Band: Afternoon Delight
Eddie Money: Two Tickets to Paradise
Donna Summer: I Feel Love
Teddy Pendergrass: Close the Door
Todd Rundgren: Can We Still Be Friends?
Nick Lowe: So It Goes
Peter Allen: I Go to Rio
A Taste of Honey: Boogie Oogie Oogie
Al Jarreau: So Long Girl
Johnny Paycheck & Mac Davis: Take This Job & Shove It
Journey: Feeling That Way
Cheap Trick: Surrender
DVD 13.) 1979
Journey: Lovin', Touchin'. Squeezin'
Commodores: Three Times a Lady
The Cars: Let's Go
The Babys: Everytime I Think of You
The Beach Boys: Good Vibrations
Nick Gilder: Hot Child in the City
Rick James: You and I
Amii Stewart: Knock on Wood
The Pointer Sisters: Fire
DVD 14.) More 1979 (ENTIRE DVD NOT INCLUDED IN NEW PACKAGE excpet perhaps the Alice Cooper BDB)
Journey:Wheel in the Sky
Evelyn Champagne King: Shame
Blondie: Hanging On the Telephone
George Thorogood: Move It On Over
Commodores: Still
Ian Hunter: Just Another Night
Gloria Gaynor: Never Can Say Goodbye
Atlanta Rhythm Section: Imaginary Lover
Little River Band: Reminiscing
The Cars: Dangerous Type
Rita Coolidge (Youre Love Has Lifted Me Higher & Higher
The Byrds: So You Want to Be a Rock N Roll Star
Captain & Tennille: Do That to Me One More Time
Crystal Gayle: Cry Me a River
Alice Cooper; Billion Dollar Babies? (Medley including BDB on new package - SAME PERFORMANCE?)
DVD 15.) 1980
Hall & Oates: Kiss on My List
Olivia Newton-John: Magic
Willie Nelson: Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show: When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman
Ambrosia: Biggest Part of Me
Syreeta & Billy Preston: With You I'm Born Again
Robbie Dupree: Steal Away
Eddie Rabbitt: Drivin' My Life Away
The Brothers Johnson: Stomp!
Leo Sayer: When I Need You
Joan Armatrading: Me Myself I
DVD 16.) More 1980
Commodores: Brick House
Christopher Cross: Ride Like the Wind
Reo Speedwagon: Time for Me to Fly
Donna Summer & Brooklyn Dreams: Heaven Knows
Bonnie Pointer: Heaven Must Have Sent You
Pointer Sisters: Hes So Shy
Juice Newton: Angel of the Morning
Roy Orbison: Crying
Dolly Parton: Here You Come Again
Brothers Johnson: Strawberry Letter 23
Brenda Russell: So Good, So Right
Billy Preston: Thats the Way God Planned It
Olivia Newton-John: Dont Cry for Me Argentina
Ted Nugent: Wango Tango
DVD 17.)
Roy Orbison : Oh, Pretty Woman
Fleetwood Mac: Rhiannon
Peter Frampton: Baby I Love Your Way
John Denver & Cass Elliot: Leaving On A Jet Plane1
The Bee Gees: Jive Talkin6'
The Guess Who: American Woman
Al Green: Let's Stay Together
Aretha Franklin: Respect
David Bowie: Space Oddity
The Steve Miller Band: The Joker
Billy Joel: Travelin' Prayer
Donna Summer: Last Dance
DVD 18.) The Comedy Special Bonus DVD:
DID NOT DO COMPARISON
It's too bad these aren't on blu-ray. Hopefully that will happen in the future.
No Neil Young's "Like A Hurricane" No sale.
I've seen a lot of this on Youtube already, although i haven't sat through everything listed above. Some fantastic performances too. The Bee Gee's doing Nights On Broadway is excellent, as is Andrew Gold's Lonely Boy.
I'd be very interested in seeing Neil Young's appearance, and the version of Moondance mentioned too.
What I have watched is good quality too.
Probably not much point of releasing these on Blu-Ray, at least not as far as video quality is concerned. I suppose audio could be improved, depending on the sources.
I once tried to get access to these shows years ago for a book. The Burt Sugarman office said there was no chance. Someone finally wrote a book with all the performances (The Midnight Special, 1972-1981: Late Night's Original Rock & Roll Show) but I doubt we'll see the majority of them on DVD in our lifetime. Sugarman blew it all those years ago before licensing rights were so expensive.