Ep 55 - The Midnight Special | February 15, 1974 - “Golden Oldies” episode

Hosted by Roy Orbison with special guest appearance by The Drifters, Duane Eddy, Lloyd Price, Tommy Roe, Del Shannon, Bobby Ver, Jackie Wilson, and Wolfman Jack.
00:00:00 Intro
00:01:04 Roy Orbison - Oh, Pretty Woman
00:04:25 The Drifters - Up on the Roof
00:07:00 Del Shannon - Runaway
00:10:05 Jackie Wilson - Higher and Higher
00:14:00 Bobby Vee - Take Good Care of My Baby
00:17:37 Lloyd Price - Personality
00:21:08 Duane Eddy - Rebel Rouser
00:24:06 Roy Orbison - Dream Baby
00:27:16 The Drifters - Save the Last Dance for Me
00:31:11 Del Shannon - Hats Off to Larry
00:33:39 Tommy Roe - Sheila
00:35:56 Bobby Vee - The Night Has a Thousand Eyes
00:38:20 Jackie Wilson - Lonely Teardrops
00:43:10 Lloyd Price - Stagger Lee
00:45:22 Roy Orbison - Running Scared
00:50:40 Tommy Roe - Everybody
00:52:46 Duane Eddy - Ramrod
00:54:30 Jackie Wilson - That's Why
00:56:38 Del Shannon - Keep Searching
00:58:57 Roy Orbison - Only the Lonely
01:01:24 Tommy Roe - Jam Up Jelly Tight
01:03:36 Bobby Vee - Devil or Angel
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[@maxthepupp]

RIP the great Duane Eddy and all them that ain't here🙏❤

[@Diogenes1360]

Style, Talent & Soul, All in One Show . . . I thank God to have grown-up with all of these Legends.

[@madlyoddnews]

Sooo MANY on ONE stage. 🫨 Roy Orbison, The Drifters, Duane Eddy, Lloyd Price, Tommy Roe, Del Shannon, Bobby Ver, Jackie Wilson, and Wolfman Jack.

[@TheRealPynkPanther]

Mr, Burt, Howard told us that sometimes you read the comments. Please consider going live and greeting us, if it's not too much of an inconvenience. WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!

[@StephanieJeanne]

A lot of these are from my early childhood, but it's cool. Music history! Roy is an icon! 🎶☺️💜

[@neilnola3520]

RIP Roy Orbison, The Voice

[@davidf3883]

Great great show!! The first time I have seen Del Shannon and I was impressed.

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

Rest in peace Duane Eddy. You rocked!

[@artg5726]

When this show aired I was 14. Watching 1 show a week gives me hope I’ll be here till every episode airs. Enjoy everything

[@vincentdavis3453]

Roy Orbison, what a dynamic host and entertainer! The line-up is pure gold. Good Stuff. Thank you Midnight Special Solid Gold Show.

[@paulj0557tonehead]

This world could use a dozen more Del Shannons!

[@AldousHuxleysCat]

They did a couple of these throwback shows as I recall. I was about 15 years old and couldn't get enough of it as I had missed all of these acts that they featured from the '60s and the 50s

[@dorklyasmr6017]

What's crazy is Orbison wasn't even 40 during this taping... yet he was a legendary "oldie" at the time. God what an amazing singer.

[@dorklyasmr6017]

What's crazy is Orbison wasn't even 40 during this taping... yet he was a legendary "oldie" at the time. God what an amazing singer.

[@AldousHuxleysCat]

@@dorklyasmr6017 his first hit was in 59. Considering the changes ín the time between it's not surprising how he was seen

[@dorklyasmr6017]

@@AldousHuxleysCat it's just crazy for me to realize that, at 56, I could literally be Orbison's dad when he was on the midnight special! And I don't really feel old 😋

[@AldousHuxleysCat]

@@dorklyasmr6017 I could be your dad and I don't feel old in my head, my knees, not so much

[@carrieferguson1493]

I love this! In the '70's as a teen in High School I stay up for Saturday Night Live then force myself to stay up longer for 'The Midnight Special'! Sunday morning I wake up & watch "Soul Train"! Another great show! Who else remembers those day's in the '70's!

[@tss3648]

The 70's were the best yrs. We had the best music .

[@cjphillips1430]

Oh yeah I remember those days, and American Bandstand.

[@brendlewoodard8098]

All these singers were the best can never replace.Them never have music like that again

[@asmahselamat-rg5xs]

Totally agree ! ❤❤❤❤

[@user-hy3ps6uo1x]

Roy Orbison sweet dreams

[@drummerbraves]

RIP Duane Eddy.

[@alexandria8255]

Awesome show. I love these episodes. I was in high school in the early 70's Great memories. I always watched this. 🙏🙏🌺🌺🎶🎶

[@ddlee202257]

From the "Jackie Wilson Fan Club" . . . Seeing Mr. Excitement perform LIVE on stage was a real treat.

[@jackal59]

I never realized before that "Mr. Excitement" referred to his pants. His very, very disturbing pants.

[@KittyGrizGriz]

@@jackal59 It looks like Jackie’s wearing hot pink long Johns top-bottom to me, an unfortunate outfit choice. He’s a great performer though .

[@steveker5084]

I used to work second shift. Soon as i punched out , I took off running to catch the Midnight Special. They had some of the best groups and singers ever performing one right after the other. And then there was Wolfman Jack. Great times, great music.

[@matthewclark9652]

Duane Eddy RIP

[@jeanroy8283]

Live band, no auto tune, no pitch correction Just: TALENT! Will music like this ever come back?

[@brucesmith1754]

no

[@rochellenavarro4155]

Roy Orbison 😍🤩 had a perfect voice. Crystal clear. Dell Shannon sounded great too! ❤

[@SuperBeachbum74]

Jackie Wilson highlight of show. A true showman !

[@cameronduff884]

...the Jackson's thought so too...❤😊

[@KittyGrizGriz]

He can sure shake a leg! 🎉

[@ddlee202257]

They didn't call him "Mr. Excitement!" for nothing!!!

[@rgs4x]

I was working at a gas station during the energy crisis. Odd and even plates to get gas.

[@bene.divinocordeiro6196]

❤ Roy Orbison é um dos meus favoritos , tenho Cds e Dvds , show inédito pra mim , imperdível !

[@crusherbmx]

These were Golden Oldies...50 years ago!

[@TheSquirrel72]

Loving these oldies,what a solid show!😃

[@roxiebeagle]

This was an excellent episode!

[@maurimartinez8720]

Roy Orbison y Del Shannon con esos TEMAZOS!!!...

[@mariabobakova2181]

Those were golden times. Thanks for the wonderful music. ❤️👍👍👍👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👋

[@kirahastings9900]

Lovely to see all these performers still in their prime. Thank you!

[@margaretbeard6564]

The late great Roy Orbison❤❤

[@merlinsclaw]

The immortal Jackie Wilson. 😍😍😍😍

[@12345682900]

Mr. Excitement!

[@rikvee]

at 40 years old that year, not long before an on stage heart attack would put him in a coma for 8 years before passing away from pneumonia at 49.... :(

[@KittyGrizGriz]

@@rikveeOh my, that’s very sad. He looked in great physical shape here, one never knows.

[@pejaguilar30]

Big, big big. Thanks Midnight Special.

[@Lisarata]

I would catch Midnight Special at this certain babysitting job I had where the mom was a partier. Unfortunately I would ignore the stuff I didn't find interesting. NOW I love this music.

[@dyskover]

really nice keyboard work in Runaway.

[@mlaursen]

Runaway was the first hit song to feature a synthesizer, which his keyboard player at the time built as a do-it-yourself project. Not sure if this is the same keyboard player.

[@joymcdonald8240]

Wow what a show with an amazing array of talent

[@neilnola3520]

Amazing. Simply Amazing.

[@lauriebarnes2999]

Can't wait, The Midnight Special!

[@66KIMBLE]

Never watch Jackie perform before Thank you.

[@Sincopare]

Outstanding show! Loved them all.

[@Jamesdylandean]

I loved Duane Eddy's music right from the first. His combining twangy guitar with wailing sax was magic on wax. His best song in my mind was KOMMOTION.

[@hwfranjr]

This Show had all THE GREATS ONMIT ALWAYSMGIVINGMUS WHATNWEMWANTED SO BAD THE GOOD ALWAYS GO DIRST

[@KittyGrizGriz]

I’m gonna love Roy! Until the end of the line…💖 🎶 “Well it's all right, even when push comes to shove Well it's all right, if you got someone to love Well it's all right, everything'll work out fine Well it's all right, we're going to the end of the line” 🎶💗 R.I.P. Duane Eddy 🎸🤍🤍

[@richardbetz5531]

Roy Orbison, Del Shannon and Duane Eddy. Not a bad selection at all.

[@OllsKershaw]

superb video quality...i'm amazed. Great singers

[@SuperBeachbum74]

Favorite Orbison song “ Mean Woman Blues “.

[@jellison7]

Duane Eddy!

[@susanb2015]

Lloyd Price Personality my favorite!

[@LouieLouie3]

Bobby Vee sounded great. Take Good Care Of My Baby” ❤❤

[@mlaursen]

He and Bob Dylan are from the same area and are the same age, and were fans of each others music.

[@SuperBeachbum74]

What makes this show so great is that all these artists can actually sing, no echo, no reverb, no auto tune, no lip syncing ! Today’s artists can learn something and also real instruments, no synthesizers. No computer or drum machine !

[@JamieAndersonMusic]

One of the things I so appreciate about this show. There have been other episodes, however, where there was lip syncing, like the one from London.

[@UK_Lemons]

There are synthesisers being played. Runaway featured a Clavioline which is an analogue synthesiser. There is obviously nothing digital going on but synths are used. Not sure why people have an issue with synthesisers. They still require human input and expand the sounds available to artists.

[@UK_Lemons]

​@@JamieAndersonMusicOne of the London shows (David Essex, ELO etc.)had a lot of mimed, outdoor performances but the episode featuring Humble Pie and Procol Harum was true live. That show is one of my favourites mainly due to Steve Marriot's amazing, raw performance.😊

[@EdKazO-Vision]

Obviously you are not paying attention to all of today’s music.

[@SuperBeachbum74]

@@EdKazO-Vision depends on the music, most is replaceable crap

[@darrenrunning5415]

Had Del Shannon not died, there was talk of making him a member of The Traveling Wilburys. The Wilburys recorded Runaway as a B-Side.

[@thevoid99]

that is true. in fact, jeff lynne was producing a comeback album for him.

[@davidstill4321]

I had heard Del and Tom Petty were close.

[@pembridgehouse]

Great show. Great line up. Thanks for posting.

[@drummerbraves]

Should have done a preview of Duane doing "Rebel Rouser" from the show as a tribute to him.

[@pamelawooten3251]

Great show! Good to see a hometown boy, Duane Eddy (may he rest in peace). I was fortunate enough to go to church with Roy Orbison's first cousin and some of the rest of the family, many of them gone now. Wow, and could they sing.

[@JamieAndersonMusic]

Jackie Wilson had some moves!

[@joymcdonald8240]

Thank you for uploading this amazing episode of the one and only midnight special

[@grouchosays]

Bobby Vee and I were friends. Met him around 1986. Great guy.

[@lionheartroar3104]

Amazing episode

[@TheRealPynkPanther]

i'm so ready!😍😍😍😍

[@peggysmyth6110]

My first LP was Tommy Roe.❤

[@jenryang.6132]

Hats off to Larry oh man this is amazing

[@ravynskye1310]

LET'S GO!!! 🥃🍺🍷🍸🍕🌮🌭🍿❤️✌️❤️✌️

[@brunowolfffilhow6036]

Absolutamente sensacional!!!

[@karlbillinger9945]

Good line up. Cheers.

[@eric_in_florida]

Wow Tommy Roe. My mom used to love him.

[@luciovids9208]

Been looking forward to this one. Thank you

[@robmatlock7675]

More mandatory fun, I miss you all, maybe next week😎

[@That_AMC_Guy]

I'm in tears seeing Jackie Wilson perform. A little more than a year after this at the Dick Clark Rock and Roll Revue, Jackie would suffer a massive heart attack and be in and out of a coma for the rest of his life. Apparently, Elvis personally paid all of Jackie's medical bills because Jackie was essentially destitute and after passing, would be buried in an unmarked grave. What a horrible outcome for one of the founding father's of Rock & Roll.

[@leokimvideo]

Roy was quite the shredder

[@fangslaughter1198]

I wonder if The show had a band to back solo acts? When this show came out I was 12. Our town had one channel. Off air at midnight. 😢 This show is awesome ❤️🇨🇦🤠👍

[@JQ127-c4e]

I think we had 6 channels after UHF signals started up. They'd all go off the air at 1am and play The Star Spangled Banner. Different times.

[@fangslaughter1198]

@@JQ127-c4e 6 channels🤤!! Our one channell was the CBC we got CTV around 72 . Around 77 we finally got cable..IOW American stations. We loved it.

[@DallasPix]

Sad to think they're all gone... *Tommy Roe is still with us tho, thankfully... What an ALL STAR LINE UP!!! Randy A Carlisle // DJ // The Real Oldies Show // KSGV

[@clintonearlwalker]

Thank you so much for uploading these episodes!! When the show was on originally, I couldn't stay up late enough to watch the entire show, I'd watch maybe half an hour and go to bed, (it came on at midnight). I missed a lot of music back then.

[@frantisek419]

Díky za vzpomínku, boží, tak že čus Fany Tábor jižní Čechy CZ 👻🤟

[@michaelrochester48]

Interesting that Tommy Roe actually performed a song that was not truly an oldie, “jam up and jelly tight” was a hit three years earlier in 1971, his last very big hit, and one of my favorites of his

[@John60s70s]

I remember when he performed that song on American Bandstand. My favorite Tommy Roe song was Dizzy. I was 10 yrs old. I also liked Tommy James.

[@stevefaure415]

Imagine being 10 years from some of your biggest hits and being cast as a "Golden Oldie".

[@travisthornton1792]

Thought that too

[@dwjones910]

Things changed quite a bit from the late 50s/early 60s to 1974

[@deweygill1973]

Really well produced and presented. The most recent tunes here are Higher and Higher (fall 1967) and Jam Up Jelly Tight ( December 1969) Everyone still on top of their game. Amazing how much music changed between 1960 and 1970. I’m guessing that was Duane’s regular band at the time. Tight! I think Jackie left something in his front pocket…

[@larshimler2063]

Roy still rules!❤😊

[@BackToTheBlues]

I think it's fab that they went to the trouble of using a clavioline in Del Shannon's songs, just as it was on the records!

[@theloyalorderofclassictv5435]

One of the best episodes of the 1973-1974 Season...

[@ianman15]

Duane Eddy was once married to Jessi Colter, who eventually married Waylon Jennings and had a hit a year later with “I’m Not Lisa”.

[@KittyGrizGriz]

I loved that song sung/written by Jessi Colter in 1975 it was her most successful hit, what a beautiful voice and lady! “I'm Not Lisa" was written by Colter and describes the pain that comes with dating someone who has not gotten over a previous lover.”

[@Spacebeagle]

I reckon that now this is my fave video on KZbin. Rock on! 🎵🎶

[@stevemurray2737]

Fantastic!

[@johnkoval1898]

Energy Crisis! Jimmy Carter days of despair, but also of good music!

[@udostaggemeyer2018]

Duane Eddy, the great Gretsch Sound......

[@sg-yq8pm]

Bizarrely, The Drifters were massively successful and popular in the UK at that time on the back of an amazing run of UK top 40 hits starting in 72 and ending in 76, and were based in England making a fortune, but I'm not sure that any of the 4 in this 'version' of The Drifters were involved.

[@DOOWOPTRB]

This lineup of Drifters is Charlie Thomas (1958-1967 recording member), Elsbeary Hobbs (1958-1961 member), Dock Green (1958-1962 member) and Al Banks, original lead of the Turbans singing lead. Out of camera range on guitar is their longtime musical director Abdul Samad. Charlie and Elsbeary remained performing Drifters until their deaths. The UK group was led by Johnny Moore, who first joined in 1955 (Adorable, Ruby Baby) and returned in 1963 (Under The Boardwalk, Saturday Night At The Movies).

[@DannyHaralson-ol1io]

Thanks!

[@themidnightspecialtvshow]

Thanks so much again for your support, it is greatly appreciated.

[@EdKazO-Vision]

Jackie Wilson has a package delivery.

[@travisthornton1792]

Roy Orbison is only 38 years old here.

[@CoCotheTurtle]

And when he walked out at the start I thought he was gonna check my oil.

[@c.m.krauss372]

Jam up and Jelly tight!!

[@wnewfmer]

A year and a half later Jackie Wilson had a massive heart attack....

[@BackToTheBlues]

He had a habit of taking salt tablets and drinking a lot of water before going on stage so he'd sweat during his performance, telling Elvis Presley 'the chicks love it,' and it's likely that caused his heart attack.

[@JamieAndersonMusic]

@@BackToTheBlues Wow.

[@Jackie-ji2sj]

​@BackToTheBlues Jackie was also due to testify against his corrupt mafia led label a month later. Strange coincidence, don't you think?

[@user-lg8pn5hl6c]

Tamos aí!

[@crlaw75]

Roy's career was in a slump in the '70's.

[@clinttaylor3779]

He made a comeback with the Traveling Wilburys

[@thevoid99]

@@clinttaylor3779 yeah but he still had his fans and it was david lynch in "blue velvet" that helped introduce roy to a new audience.

[@matthewbaduria]

What's great about this television show, is that is all singing, no lip syncing no auto-tune no overdubs none of those, there are also no synthesizers, no drum machines, none of those, just real singers and bands, that's what today's singers and bands can learn these.

[@JamieAndersonMusic]

Not true for every episode but certainly for this one.

[@odnamraortsac]

If THE RAMONES ever played “Up on the Roof”, it would be played at the speed of this version performed by THE DRIFTERS.

[@mr1000Cent]

Cool, I'm not the only one who felt like these tunes were sped up. I wonder if it's to avoid KZbin copyright shenanigans. Or, they tried to cram so many songs in a 60 minute format, either way, it does make these songs sound...different.

[@AdrianDeVore]

Songs were much shorter back then because radio stations wouldn't play songs that were more than three minutes long.

[@DannyHaralson-ol1io]

The way back machine, Take me back in time. MIDNIGHT SPECIAL Thank you for the memories. All my favorite songs in one show. There are some of my favorite songs left out. Maby next time. MIDNIGHT SPECIAL STAFF enjoyed Mondays show on the member's page. With STEPPENWOLF as host, its one I've been waiting for, THANK YOU! What is Mondays show?

[@Royale_with_Cheeze]

Wasn't the Alice Cooper episode supposed to come up for insiders?

[@markvonwisco7369]

RIP Duane Eddy!

[@Robert0rczykowski-in8fm]

Zgadza się...dzisiejsze [ gwiazdki ] z odsłuchem w uchu to mogą buty czyścić tamtym artystom...I mamy odpowiedź jakich dzisiaj mamy śpiewaków...

[@maxthepupp]

Runaway is SUCH a banger! I believe Del was targeted to take Roys place in the Travelin' Wilburys as Tom Petty had just produced his last album. Nbut, sadly, no.

[@warrenmoulton4460]

I remember watching this episode as a kid...and haven't seen it in the 50 years since. Thank you SO MUCH for posting this. I am a Roy Orbison fanatic...LOVE his music. However, he seems so uncomfortable hosting the show. In hindsight, I am really surprised that he agreed to do it, since he was usually loath to speak to the audience when he was on stage. Still, great to see Orbison and the rest of the line up.

[@bluebear1985]

The next episode for February 22, 1974 looks like it had some great guests. It was hosted by Gordon Lightfoot, and also features appearances from The Guess Who, The James Gang, Byron MacGregor, Maria Muldaur, Redbone, and Ravi Shankar.

[@John60s70s]

I always liked Tommy Roe. When I was a kid I best remember the song Dizzy sung by him. It had a good beat. Another good song is Sheila. Another singer I liked back then is Tommy James.