The Midnight Special

The only episode I've seen of this is the Andy Kaufman episode which aired January 23, 1981, and which is out on DVD (Sony Music). This review thus reflects that episode and not the series as a whole.

There are two aspects to this special: a stage show with the usual Andy Kaufman antics (including the use of Tony Clifton) and behind the scenes material.

It's hard to know how seriously to take the behind the scenes material, as Kaufman is pretty poker-faced when he's playing a prank, and as it refers to Kaufman's wrestling career which (in terms of his feud with Jerry Lawyer) has been confirmed to be an elaborate hoax. Of course that makes the material more edgy because you don't know to what extent you're getting into the mind of one of the most fascinating entertainers ever and to what extent he's pulling your leg.

The stage material is pretty typical for Kaufman, which still means it's a lot of fun and offbeat.

The episode is a worthwhile addition to the collection of any fan of the performer.

One of the better music programs of the 1970s, when showcasing music on television was still a thing. Truly remarkable footage of contemporary performers of the era. Fantastic audio recordings, good camera production and a great diversity of legendary talent. For me, it's awesome to see live performance from artists I had only heard until then. And to see these people when they were younger and in their prime, perhaps before they had realized any meaningful fame and fortune is priceless. Thank you Burt Sugarman for bringing this fantastic TV archive to YouTube, I intend to watch every episode at least twice.

With the recent retirement of Casey Kasem from his countdown shows, I've been listening to reruns of his '70s radio shows which has led me to watch many live performances of many of the Top 40 hits during that time as performed on "The Midnight Special" which has clips all over YouTube. Of the many acts I saw there that I loved: The Four Tops-"Ain't No Woman Like the One I Got", Minnie Riperton-"Loving You", Wild Cherry-"Play That Funky Music", Dolly Parton-"I Will Always Love You", Todd Rundgren-"Hello, It's Me" (Dig those eyebrows he wears there!), Golden Earrings-"Radar Love", Jim Croce-"Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown" (R.I.P), America-"Sister Golden Hair", Christopher Cross-"Sailing", Dave Mason-"We Just Disagree", Badfinger-"No Matter What", and Olivia Newton-John-"Magic" (I actually saw this performance when she hosted the show in 1980 and, boy, did I truly discover puberty at age 12 watching that!). Like I said, those were mainly live performances though I suspect that of Newton-John's and another of ABBA's "Dancing Queen" were actually lip-synced since their performances sounded exactly like the recordings. No matter since all the ones I cited were great and brought back such memories of listening to AM radio as a kid and enjoying just about everything that came out then. So on that note, I thank YouTube for providing such a site where I can relive the '70s once more!

It's not really fair just reviewing the Andy Kaufman episode just because it's the only one ever released on video. The show was much more than an Andy Kaufman episode. It showcased the best that the music world had to offer in the 1970s and it's archives house some of the best performances of all time. It's really a shame that the owner, Paul Brownstein, does nothing with the tapes but just sell "clips" to corporations that sell disco albums on TV at hundreds of bucks a clip. Too bad the real fans won't ever be able to see the show again like it was presented. The same thing has happened to Don Kirshner's Rock Concert. It's only offered as "clips". I'm glad I have my own library of original tapings of the shows to watch over and over.

In September 1973 I had just returned from two years in Indonesia as a missionary for the LDS Church. The first week end I was back in the US I went out to a movie, and when I came home I flipped on the TV. It was the Midnight Special, a program that had started in my absence. I was familiar with the host Wolfman Jack from his days on radio station XERB. Not so with the first act of the evening. Out comes David Bowie, whom I had never seen, and while attired in a dress he started singing the song with the lyrics "something tells me she the devil's daughter". All the while he started shedding the dress. After two years of an intense "non-worldly" existence as a missionary, it was startling. "My, things must have changed in my absence!"