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The Worst Episodes of The Midnight Special

Every episode of The Midnight Special ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of The Midnight Special!

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...
Network:NBC

Worst Episodes Summary

"Host: Johnny Rivers" is the worst rated episode of "The Midnight Special". It scored N/A/10 based on 0 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 2/8/1973. This episode scored NaN points lower than the second lowest rated, "Host: Harry Chapin".

  • Host: Johnny Rivers
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    #1 - Host: Johnny Rivers

    Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 2/8/1973

    Johnny Rivers (host) - ""Blue Suede Shoes,"" ""Rockin' Pneumonia, Boogie Woogie Flu"" & ""Got My Mojo Workin'"" --The Ace Trucking Company (comedy troupe) - routines about an airplane flight; 2 old friends and a prayer meeting. --Albert Hammond - ""It Never Rains in Southern California"" and ""If You Gotta Break Another Heart"" --Merilee Rush - ""Start Again"" & ""Comfort and Please You"" --The Spinners - ""Could It Be I'm Falling in Love"" and ""I'll Be Around"" --Steely Dan - ""Do It Again"" and ""Reeling in the Years"" --Paul Williams (singer / songwriter) - ""Out in the Country"" and ""I Won't Last a Day Without You"" --Wolfman Jack - sings ""I Ain't Never Seen a White Man

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Host: Harry Chapin
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    #2 - Host: Harry Chapin

    Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 2/23/1973

    Harry Chapin (Host) - "Sunday Morning Sunshine" "Sniper" and "Taxi." Kerrie Biddell - "Spirit in the Dark." Blood, Sweat and Tears - "Rosemary" "Hip Pickles" and "Snow Queen." The Committee (comedy segment). The Hollies - "Magic Woman Touch" and "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother." Curtis Mayfield - "Freddie's Dead" and "Superfly." Timmy Thomas - "Why Can't We Live Together?"

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Host: Paul Williams
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    #3 - Host: Paul Williams

    Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 3/9/1973

    Paul Williams (host) - ""Old Fashioned Love Song,"" ""Drift Away"" & ""That's Enough for Me"" --Edward Bear - ""Last Song"" & ""Close Your Eyes"" --Loretta Lynn - ""One's On the Way"" & ""Coal Miner's Daughter"" --Seals & Crofts - ""Hummingbird"" & ""Summer Breeze"" --Sha Na Na - ""Hound Dog,"" ""Yakety Yak"" & ""I Wonder Why"" --Lakshmi Shankar (Ravi's sister) - sings ""Nata Nagara"" in praise of Krishna. --Ravi Shankar - ""Tilak Shyam"" --Jonathan Winters (cameo appearance, following Paul Williams' first song) --On film: the ""Dueling banjos"" segment from ""Deliverance""

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Host: Lou Rawls
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    #4 - Host: Lou Rawls

    Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 3/23/1973

    Lou Rawls (guest host) - ""A Natural Man"" & ""Dead End Street"" --Lou Rawls - medley: ""Memory Lane,"" ""It Was a Very Good Year"" & ""Old Folks"" --Brewer & Shipley - ""One Toke Over the Line"" --George Burns - ""Mr. Bojangles"" and ""You Made Me Love You"" (2nd song with the Honey Cone) --George Burns & Honey Cone - ""You Made Me Love You"" --The Committee (comedy segment) - routines about a surprise party; movies; an argument; a police station --The Grass Roots - ""Midnight Confession"" & ""Love Is What You Make It"" --Honey Cone - ""Want Ads"" --The O'Jays - ""Backstabbers"" & ""Love Train"" (2nd song with Lou Rawls) --Eric Weissberg and Deliverance - ""Dueling Banjos"" and ""I'm My Own Grandpa""

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Host: Ray Charles
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    #5 - Host: Ray Charles

    Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 3/30/1973

    -Ray Charles (guest host) - ""Eleanor Rigby,"" ""Georgia on My Mind"" & ""What'd I Say"" --Ray Charles with the Raelets (a.k.a. Raylettes) - ""I Can Make It Through the Days (But Oh Those Lonely Nights)"" --Bill Cosby talks with Ray Charles and dances while Charles sings ""Every Saturday Night"" --Carol Burnett talks with Ray Charles --Aretha Franklin - ""A Brand New Me"" --Aretha Franklin & Ray Charles - ""Takes Two to Tango"" --The Raelets - sing ""Shake"" (while Charles plays the piano) --The Earl Scruggs Revue - ""T for Texas"" & ""Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven"" --Freeman and Murray (comedy team of Freeman King and Murray Langston) - team reenacts the boxing scene from ""Great White Hope"" in slow motion

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Hosts: The Bee Gees
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    #6 - Hosts: The Bee Gees

    Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 4/6/1973

    The Bee Gees; guests: Jerry Lee Lewis; Gladys Knight; Johnny Nash; Skeeter Davis --The Bee Gees (guest hosts) - ""To Love Somebody,"" ""Lonely Days,"" ""I Saw a New Morning"" and a medley of hits (""New York Mining Disaster 1941,"" ""I Started a Joke,"" ""Massachusetts"" and ""How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"") --The Bee Gees and Jerry Lee Lewis - medley: ""Money,"" ""Good Golly Miss Molly,"" ""Long Tall Sally,"" ""Jenny Jenny,"" ""Tutti Frutti"" and ""Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On"" --Skeeter Davis - ""One Tin Soldier"" & ""End of the World"" --Gladys Knight & the Pips - ""Neither One of Us"" & ""I Heard It Through the Grapevine"" --Jerry Lee Lewis - ""Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On"" --Johnny Nash - ""Stir it Up"" & ""I Can See Clearly Now"" --Jim Weatherly - ""You Are a Song"" --Frank Welker (comedian) - does imitations of animals; Marlon Brando (""Godfather"" character); and other imitations.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Bill Cosby
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    #7 - Bill Cosby

    Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 4/13/1973

    Bill Cosby (guest host, appearing with a band) - "Ursulena (With Your Washing Machina)," "I've Got to Be Strong" (sung by member of his group) & "I Lost My Baby At the Dance Last Night" --David Brenner (stand-up comedian) - jokes about airplanes; the moon shot; dating in New York City and King Kong --Ray Charles - "Early in the Morning" --Fanny - "All Mine" & "Last Night I Had a Dream" --Waylon Jennings - "Lovin' Her Was Easier," "Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues" & "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line" --Billy Preston - "Will It Go Round in Circles" & "Outa-Space" --Steely Dan - "Reelin' in the Years" --Taj Mahal - talks about "Sounder," plays "Cheraw" on banjo & sings "Texas Woman Blues"

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Host: Doc Severinsen
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    #8 - Host: Doc Severinsen

    Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 4/20/1973

    Doc Severinsen (guest host) - ""I Just Want to Celebrate,"" ""Last Tango in Paris,"" ""Does Anybody Know What Time It Is,"" ""Introduction,"" ""Twenty-Five or Six to Four"" & ""Beginnings"" --Doc Severinsen - ""Celebrate"" (with the Now Generation and Today's Children) --Doc Severinsen (on fluegelhorn) and Henry Mancini - ""Brothers Go to Mothers"" duet. Mancini introduces his group including his son Chris. --Hoyt Axton - ""Jambalaya"" & ""Less Than the Song"" --Jerry Butler - ""Western Union Man"" ""Only the Strong Survive"" & ""Ain't Understanding Mellow"" --Dobie Gray - ""Drift Away"" & ""The 'In' Crowd"" --Carol Burnett - introduces Vicki Lawrence --Vicki Lawrence - ""The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia"" --Country Joe McDonald and his All-Star Band - ""Couleene Anne"" & ""Hold On It's Coming"" --Not Cut of Friends - ""Indian Warrior"" (another source listed the band as ""Hot Cup of Friends"

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Host: Jerry Lee Lewis
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    #9 - Host: Jerry Lee Lewis

    Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 4/27/1973

    Jerry Lee Lewis (guest host) - ""Great Balls of Fire,"" ""High School Confidential,"" ""Drinking Wine Spo Dee O'Dee"" & ""Cold Cold Heart"" --Jerry Lee Lewis and Linda Gail Lewis - ""Roll Over Beethoven"" --Freddie Cannon - ""Tallahassee Lassie"" & ""Way Down Yonder in New Orleans"" --Chubby Checker - ""The Twist"" & ""Huckle Buck"" --Bobby Day - ""Rockin' Robin"" --The Del Vikings - ""Come Go with Me"" --The Penguins - ""Earth Angel"" --Lloyd Price - ""Stagger Lee"" & ""Where Were You on My Wedding Day"" --Little Anthony - ""I'm Alright"" & ""Tears on My Pillow"" --The Ronettes - ""Be My Baby"" & ""Walkin' in the Rain"" --Del Shannon - ""Runaway"" & ""Keep Searchin'"" --The Shirelles - ""Soldier Boy"" & ""Tonight's the Night"

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Host: Johnny Nash
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    #10 - Host: Johnny Nash

    Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 5/4/1973

    Johnny Nash (guest host) - ""Stir It Up,"" ""Groovy Feeling,"" ""I Can See Clearly Now"" & ""Merry-Go-Round"" --Chi Coltrane - ""Thunder and Lightning"" & ""You Were My Friend"" --Freemen and Murray (comedy team) --Tom T. Hall - ""The Year That Clayton Delaney Died"" & ""Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon"" --Andrew Johnson (comedian) --Gladys Knight and the Pips - ""If I Were Your Woman"" & ""Neither One of Us"" --Kenny Rankin - ""You Are the Sunshine of My Life"" & ""In the Name of Love"" --The Raspberries - ""I Wanna Be with You"" & ""Let's Pretend"

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Hosts: Burns and Schreiber
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    #11 - Hosts: Burns and Schreiber

    Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 5/11/1973

    -Jack Burns and Avery Schreiber (comedy team, guest hosts) --Mark Almond - ""What Am I Loving For,"" ""Just Another Road Song"" & ""The City"" --Kenny Colman - ""Last Tango in Paris"" --The Crusaders - ""Put It Where You Want It"" & ""Don't Let It Get You Down"" --Ronnie Dyson - ""One Man Band"" --The Hollies - ""Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress"" --The Incredible String Band - ""Black Jack Davy"" & ""Old Buccaneer"" --Steve Martin (comedian, stand-up comedy segment) --The O'Jays - ""Love Train"

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Host: Paul Williams
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    #12 - Host: Paul Williams

    Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 6/29/1973

    Paul Williams (guest host) - ""Someday Man,"" ""That's What Friends Are For"" & ""Look What I Found"" --Paul Williams, Kris Kristofferson and Rita Collidge - ""Me and Bobby McGee"" --Kris Kristofferson - ""Loving Her Was Easier"" & ""Out of Mind, Sout of Sight"" --Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge - ""I Never Had it So Good"" --Rita Coolidge - ""I'll Be Your Baby"" & ""My Crew"" --Brewer and Shipley - ""Black Sky"" & ""Yankee Lady"" --Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen - ""Smoke, Smoke, Smoke (That Cigarette)"" & ""Jailhouse Rock"" --Electric Light Orchestra - ""Roll Over Beethoven"" & ""Kuiama"" --King Harvest - ""Dancing in the Moonlight"" & ""A Little Bit Like Magic""

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Host: Jose Feliciano
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    #13 - Host: Jose Feliciano

    Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 7/6/1973

    Jose Feliciano (guest host) - ""California Dreamin',"" ""Compartments"" & ""Papa Was a Rolling Stone"" --Savoy Brown - ""Shot in the Head"" & ""Jack the Toad"" --The Staple Singers - ""Oh La De Da"" & ""Be What You Are"" --Stories - ""Brother Louie"" & ""Top of the City"" --Tower of Power - ""So Very Hard to Go"" & ""What Is Hip?"" --Johnny Winter - ""Jumpin' Jack Flash,"" ""Johnny B. Goode"" & ""Rock and Roll"

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Host: Smokey Robinson
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    #14 - Host: Smokey Robinson

    Season 1 Episode 25 - Aired 7/13/1973

    Smokey Robinson (guest host) - ""Want to Know My Mind,"" ""Sweet Harmony"" & ""You Are the Sunshine of My Life"" --The Miracles - ""What Is Heart Good For,"" ""Tears of a Clown"" & ""Don't Let It End (Till You Let It Begin)"" --Bonnie Bramlett - ""Good Vibrations"" & ""Celebrate Life"" --Martin and Finley - ""It's Another Sunder"" --Rare Earth - ""Hey Big Brother,"" ""Big John Is My Name"" & ""Hum Along and Dance"" --The Stylistics - ""You'll Never Get to Heaven"" & ""You Are Everything"

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Host: Joan Baez
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    #15 - Host: Joan Baez

    Season 1 Episode 26 - Aired 7/20/1973

    -Joan Baez (host) - ""The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,"" ""Joe Hill,"" ""Love Song to a Stranger,"" ""Prison Trilogy"" & ""Rider Pass By"" --Joan Baez and Mimi Farina - ""Best of Friends"" --Black Oak Arkansas - ""Fever in My Mind,"" ""Dance to the Music Tonight"" & ""Hot and Nasty"" --Bloodstone - ""Natural High"" & ""Never Let You Go"" --Steve Goodman - ""Someone Else's Troubles"" & ""Would You Like to Learn to Dance?"" --Mimi Farina - ""In the Quiet Morning"" --Wilson Pickett - ""Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You"" & ""International Playboy"" --The Pointer Sisters - ""Cloudburst"

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Host: Dionne Warwick
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    #16 - Host: Dionne Warwick

    Season 1 Episode 27 - Aired 7/27/1973

    Dionne Warwick (host) - ""I Say a Little Prayer"" and a medley of Burt Bachrach hits. --Dionne Warwick and Johnny Mathis - ""My Love"" --Johnny Mathis - ""Killing Me Softly with Her Song"" & ""To the Ends of the Earth"" --Bud Brisbois - ""Baby Hand Your Love on Me"" & ""Miss Ma-Tazz"" --Alan Bursky (comedian) - comedy segment --Leo Kottke - ""Vaseline Machine Gun #2"" --Malo - ""Momotombo"" & ""Hala"" --Kenny Rogers and the First Edition - ""Coming Through the Rye,"" ""Something's Burning"" & ""Lena Lookey"

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Hosts: The Bee Gees
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    #17 - Hosts: The Bee Gees

    Season 1 Episode 29 - Aired 8/10/1973

    Guest Hosts: The Bee Gees; guests: The Hollies, Herman's Hermits, Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders, The Searchers, Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas, Gerry & the Pacemakers --The Bee Gees (guest hosts) - ""New York Mining Disaster 1941,"" ""Turn of the Century"" & ""I Can't See Nobody"" --The Hollies - ""Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress"" & ""He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"" --Herman's Hermits - ""I'm Henry the VIII I Am,"" ""Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter"" & ""There's a Kind of Hush"" --Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders - ""Game of Love"" & ""A Groovy Kind of Love"" --The Searchers - ""Needles and Pins,"" ""Sweets for My Sweet"" & ""Love Potion #9"" --Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas - ""Little Children"" --Gerry and the Pacemakers - ""How Do You Do It,"" ""I Like It,"" ""Ferry Cross the Mersey"" & ""Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying.""

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Host: Richard Pryor
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    #18 - Host: Richard Pryor

    Season 1 Episode 30 - Aired 9/17/1973

    Richard Pryor (guest host) --Electric Light Orchestra - ""Roll Over Beethoven"" --Joe Hicks - ""Train of Thought"" --Doug Kershaw - ""Fisherman's Luck,"" ""Diggy Diggy Lo"" & ""Louisiana Man"" --Albert King - ""Don't Burn Down the Bridge"" & ""I'll Play the Blues for You"" --Melissa Manchester - ""If It Feels Good"" & ""Easy"" --Joe Walsh - ""Tend My Garden"" & ""Rocky Mountain Way""

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Co-hosts: Loretta Lynn & Marty Robbins
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    #19 - Co-hosts: Loretta Lynn & Marty Robbins

    Season 1 Episode 31 - Aired 8/24/1973

    Loretta Lynn and Marty Robbins (Co-hosts) - ""The Midnight Special"" & ""Singin' the Blues"" --Loretta Lynn (Co-host) - ""One's on the Way"" & ""Love is the Foundation"" --Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty - ""Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man"" --Marty Robbins (Co-host) - ""Don't Worry 'Bout Me,"" ""A White Sport Coat,"" ""Devil Woman,"" ""El Paso"""" --Don Gibson - ""Oh Lonesome Me"" --Tom T Hall - ""Spokane Motel Blues"" --George Jones - ""The Race Is On"" --George Jones and Tammy Wynette - ""We're Gonna Hold On"" --Johnny Paycheck - ""She's All I Got"" --Charlie Rich - ""Behind Closed Doors"" --Johnny Rodriguez - ""Bosier City Backyard Blues"" --The Earl Scruggs Revue - ""Caroline Boogie"" --Tanya Tucker - ""Blood Red and Goin' Down"" & ""Delta Dawn"" --Conway Twitty - ""You've Never Been So Far"" --Tammy Wynette - ""Stand by Your Man"

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Host: Mac Davis
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    #20 - Host: Mac Davis

    Season 1 Episode 33 - Aired 9/7/1973

    Mac Davis (guest host) - ""Something's Burning,"" ""I'll Paint You a Song,"" ""Naughty Girl,"" ""Lonesomest Lonesome"" & ""I Believe in Music"" --Mark Almond - ""Neighborhood Man"" & ""Get Yourself Together"" --Chuck Berry - ""Roll Over Beethoven,"" ""Bio"" & ""Carol"" --Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes - ""The Love I Lost"" --Ravi Shankar - ""Sindhi Bhairavi"" --Edgar Winter Group - ""Keep Playing That Rock and Roll,"" ""Frankenstein"" ""Rock 'n' Roll Boogie Woogie Blues"" & ""Hanging Around""

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Host: Curtis Mayfield
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    #21 - Host: Curtis Mayfield

    Season 1 Episode 34 - Aired 9/14/1973

    Curtis Mayfield (guest host) - "Future Shock," "Back to the World," Right On for the Darkness." Sly & The Family Stone - "Everybody is a Star." Helen Reddy - "Delta Dawn." Jim Croce - "I've Got A Name," "Bad Bad Leroy Brown." War - "Gypsy Man." Gladys Night & the Pips - When Peaceful Water Flows." Wilson Pickett - "Get Me Back on Time Engine 9," "Don't Knock My Love." The Bee Gees - "Lonely Days," "Run to Me." Natural Four - "Can This Be Real."

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Host: Wilson Pickett
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    #22 - Host: Wilson Pickett

    Season 1 Episode 35 - Aired 9/21/1973

    No description available

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Host: Seals & Crofts
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    #23 - Host: Seals & Crofts

    Season 1 Episode 36 - Aired 9/28/1973

    Seals & Crofts (guest hosts) - "Diamond Girl," "Dust On My Saddle," " We Never Pass This Way Again," "Ruby Jean and Billie Lee" & "Pop Goes the Weasel." T. Rex - "Hot Love" & "Bang a Gong (Get It On)." Arlo Guthrie - "Gypsy Davy" & "Bling Blang." Uriah Heep - "Stealin'" & "Sweet Freedom." Paul Butterfield's Better Days - "New Walkin' Blues" & "Broke My Baby's Heart." Leo Kottke - "Bean Time."

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Host: Gladys Knight & The Pips
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    #24 - Host: Gladys Knight & The Pips

    Season 1 Episode 37 - Aired 10/5/1973

    No description available

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Host: The Bee Gees
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    #25 - Host: The Bee Gees

    Season 1 Episode 38 - Aired 10/12/1973

    No description available

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A