Tempted to say The Statler Brothers - Flowers on the Wall is one of the greatest country songs ever written and performed. The tenors were just brilliant. Thank you Paul Williams & Wolfman Jack for another memorable episode of The Midnight Special.
Truly shows the variety of music that audiences were exposed to, and very much accepted. AM radio could and did play Alice Cooper next to Charlie Rich...narrowcasting took all of that away...
I want to preface this by saying that I think Slade are one of the more underrated bands of the early 70s, particularly in providing an edge to the glam rock movement so effectively spearheaded by David Bowie. With that being said, I can see how their doing a run-of-the-mill, TOTP, lip sync strut on a program that is ostensibly founded upon live performance didn't fly then. If they actually did "Goodbuy T'Jane" and "Cum On Feel the Noize" live, it might have been a bit more impressive, but ultimately they were just ahead of their time for stateside success. Just a royal shame that it took a hair metal cover for their music to get recognition it deserved.
I remember seeing an interview with Noddy and he said he wasn't a big fan of Quiet Riot's cover,until he started seeing the royalty checks,then he started to appreciate it.
@@sidoniejordan5993 If this is you Sydney I would love to know what happened to you. I googled you expecting to see something and found nothing. Such a great song and your delivery and band nailed it I literally watched it ten times and tried to learn it on guitar. Were you part of a Paul Williams show? Paul is another one I wish was perfroming now and then. He could easily do a show telling stories and singing songs from his acting and performing days. Please tell us about your life from then until now.
@@floydthebarber9956 Thank you so very much! I really appreciate it. Because I changed my name so much I flew under the radar for my entire career. Which suited me as I was not equipped for the kind of success my contemporaries had. You can find me by searching Sidonie Jordan or Sydney Fox. I never performed with Paul W except on this show. We were both songwriters signed to A&M Records in the early 70's and good friends. Not long after this show which I did as a showcase for a record deal with A&M, I met Peter Banks and we worked in a band together we called EMPIRE from 74-80. We recorded three albums and were signed to three deals through the years. Those are available on Cherry Red Records and thankfully have been remastered. I fell in love with Music Production and spent many years producing and writing for artists with a talented producer/engineer named Jez Larder from Skyline Studios in the UK. I retired just last year. I love that you played my song on the guitar!! It was covered by Francis Gilvrey and another artist named Alison MacCallum and its name was changed to 'Hear My Voice on the Radio'. We also covered it in Empire ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MWjilaLELPQ.html&ab_channel=EMPIRE-Topic. Please friend me on FB! Cheers, Sid :) Thank you again :)
Priceless video! Classic Slade! (5:40 and 43:54) Sharp crisp quality like a whip! Been so few quality videos of Slade! Memories from 50 years ago! Incredible rock from the monumental rock voice of the 20th century Noddy Holder! Thank You Midnight Special!
@@TiedoGroeneveld yeah I was wondering about that. Everybody on the midnight special usually is live. I know Slade is a good enough group to where they didn't need them I'm over some reason they did. They are still one of the greatest bands ever 🙏
@@chriskroll4166 Yes, they were a good live band, I’ve seen some footage. But they were also a commercial pop group depending very much on sounds achieved in the studio. A studio sound that couldn’t be reproduced during concerts back then.
Thank you Midnight Special for reminding me of how good it can be. Yours - from 50 years later, Paul Williams was exceptional. He truly was an all rounder. Proof a small person can be a BIG talent. And then some. David
The Stylistics and band are killing it in this episode. Showing how dynamic talented vocal group can be truly live! Wish Slade and Argent would have given it a shot tp lug in and do their thing.
Love the Stylistics! That wasn't just a few songs, it was a show. Love the dancing. Sharp looking suits, too. Meanwhile, a member of one of the other bands was wearing ... a sweater vest. And while I think Paul Williams was a great songwriter, I could've done without the corny jokes.
Agreed on both counts. I really respect Paul Williams but his banter in this episode was pretty lame. He was still in his drinking phase of his life here-he sobered up and has done so much to help musicians sober up. I really respect the guy. He's still out there helping people. On another note it doesn't get much better than the Stylistics. Class act all the way around. God were they talented.
Despite his size, Paul Williams will always be a giant in music. I think this also clearly proves that Argent shouldn't be labelled a one-hit wonder like some have done. (The did have a second top 20 hit you know.)
Did the record companies or management have a say in whether the artist lip synced or sang to a backing track or played entirely live? The lack of energy is glaring with Argent and Slade and anyone who has to play to a backing track. The Stylistics and Gunhill Road were great on this show. And Paul is a great host.
My favorite show so far. Mainly due to Gunhill Road because "Back When My Hair Was Short" was a huge #1 record in my region in 1973. Never imagined ever getting to see them perform it. I am just in total heaven right now.
Mine too. I lived in Kansas at the time, and loved that song. Got the 45 in 1973 for .77 at T G and Y, and still have it to this day. Such a rare video to see the band performing live.
@@jiggler2004 - Not sure, but I read somewhere that it was in the top 10 in more markets at different times in 1973 than any other song that year. Might explain why it only reached #40 in Billboard but all of us bought the single (probably at different times) throughout 73.
Indeed! Same with Three Dog Night. Paul Williams is a song writing genius. I put him right up there with Paul Simon, Burt Bacharach (w/ Hal David), Lennon & McCartney, and Frey & Henley, etc...
What an incredible episode! The Stylistics are terrific and I luv Paul Williams' songs and performances ❤🧡💜 plus he is a wonderful host. I don’t think I was familiar with Gunhill Road until watching this and I really enjoyed them and their songs.
Gunhill Road "Back When My Hair Was Short" went to # 40 (1 week) on June 2, 1973. Also went to # 37 on Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart. That was their only charted song!! Their self-titled 2nd album as well as their 1st did not charted on Billboard Albums. They just released 3 more on Apple iTunes including their comeback "40 Years On" in 2014. They also have a song called "Back When We Used To Hug" from 2021!!
@@matthewclark9652 yeah that sounds cool... Yeah the guy I mentioned Barry Scott he used to have a Live Show on Sunday nights it was called the Lost 45's he started around 1984 on WZLX- BOSTON ..He was there a few years then went to another radio station but actually he ended up playing a few others radio stations through the years..😂 he'd also play old commercials and he'd also do short interviews with the Singers from the bands . eventually his show went syndicated through the U.S. Idk if he still does Live shows?? ✌🏼
Sydonie Jordan went on to marry founding Yes Guitarist Peter Banks and they had a band called Empire which almost got signed 3 times.. amazing singer.. they even did a progged up version of the country song she does here "Hear My Voice On The Radio"
The next episode after this from June 8, 1973 sounds good as well. The host for it was Curtis Mayfield, with appearances by Canned Heat, Jose Feliciano, Leroy Hutson, Ravi Shankar, Lakshmi Shankar, The Spinners, and Tufano-Giammarese.
Noddy Holder! Russell Tompkins Jr, what a voice. I remember seeing Paul Williams everywhere on TV in the 70s, I was just a toddler and always thought who is that short guy? Whatever happened to Russ Ballard of Argent, he penned alot of hits.
Paul Williams is an OG. Still going strong. Deserves more public recognition for his musical contributions. Particularly some of those songs are poetry and innovative musically
@@2_thumbs_up_baby Someone who is an expert at something. Someone who's incredibly exceptional, authentic, or "old school". Someone or something that is an original or originater.
A lot of one hit wonders on this particular show. Argent didn't last very long but they had memorable songs that were hits. But GunHill Road was completely unknown by me and doesn't look like there's much information on them. Sydney Jordan cannot be tracked down. A quick search brings up nothing on her. The host Paul Williams I found out through watching this series. He became well known for other people recording his music. Slade is well known as are the Stylistics and the Statler Brothers.
Good comments esp. on Argent but just look at the alumni from the group: Rod Argent was originally in The Zombies and the guy with the glasses, Russ Ballard has written half a dozen classics at least for other people: So You Win Again for Hot Chocolate and Rainbow’s Since You’ve Been Gone are just two of them.
When The Zombies broke during the British Invasion, Rod Argent was at the forefront of the new wave of keyboard greats. Flying in the face of the eras guitar prominence, his jazz inspired work foreshadowed the prog jazz-rock to come. An overlooked giant of the genre.
@@stephengriffin9992 And the tiny bassist in the middle is Rod's cousin, Jim Rodford, who went over to The Kinks after Argent split and stayed with them for 20+ years until they split. That's him on "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman","Destroyer", "Come Dancing" and all the later Kinks songs.
Paul Williams is such a prolific songwriter. I'm looking forward to him singing his tunes. The Stylistics are top of my early seventies favorites as well. This should be a good show!
@@gregoryduncan3067 It is! He's written lots of stuff, not just for The Carpenters. He wrote Old Fashioned Love Song recorded by Three Dog Night, Evergreen by Barbra Streisand, and some others. I don't know all of them. Somebody mentioned the Muppets song earlier.
I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen The Stylistics in their prime, a real treat. Seeing the outfits on Slayde and Argent gives context to what inspired Bernie Taupin to write the lyrics to Bennie snd the Jets about this time.
I didn't know that Quiet Riot's "Cum on Feel the Noize" was a cover of Slade. You learn something new everyday. BTW, there's a typo in the timestamp. Should be 43:56 not 53:56. Many thanks to Mr. Sugarman for resurrecting these gems. Hope you and Mary are doing well!
Wasn't Jim Croce supposed to host this show? It was a few months before he died. A good show, but disappointed that both Slade and Argent performed to recorded backing tracks
I met Paul Williams, used to see him all the time at Sunset and Crescent Heights around 2002. Musta had an office nearby. Diminutive, but very kind and willing to say hello.
I remember watching this episode the night it aired haven't seen since , up late at my Aunt's house playing cards Friday Night , TV past 12 midnight back then was big deal in 1973 in small town America .. I remember the FM simulcast that was available later on. thanks for sharing these videos.
they were so successful in the UK in the early 70's - they moved to the U.S. in mid 70's - but trends were changing by then - so they didn't really make it big here - but by early 80's they did much better - thanks mostly to MTV ..
I am totally amazed by all the episodes so far! pretty sure though, Slade was miming to a playback, though ... the double tracked Sound of the Leadvoice, the added "slam" Drumsounds in the Chorus ... As well as Argent with "God gave..."
And if they stare, let them burn their eyes on your movie And if they shout, don't let it change a thing that you're doing Hold Your Head Up Hold Your Head Up Hold Your Head Up Hold Your Head Up HIGH
Pretty cool to see that 2 songs in this episode were covered by other bands.Kiss and Quiet Riot did excellent covers but it is amazing to see the originals performed live.Loved watching this episode for the first time.
I'm from Philly and was growing during the Philly Sound days. I always preferred very early Philly soul stuff. Preferred Thom Bell's sweet soul productions (Delfonics, Stylisitcs, etc) over Gamble & Huff. D&H's earlier stuff was fine, but the later tunes paved the way toward the dreaded disco IMO.
Three of my all time favorite songs in a row starting at 51:11. As a 12 year old I never caught this Midnight Special in June of 73 so much appreciated.
As always, a wonderful show. I especially loved how Gunhill Road threw in the original drug reference lyrics at the end of their song. Wonder what the producers of the show thought of it, or if they cared. Still play that album occasionally.
So you can see what it was like in the UK, the day this was broadcast, in the UK the number 1 song was "See My Baby Jive" by Wizzard, for the third consecutive week, in the top 5 were Suzi Quatro and Sweet, in the albums, the number 1 was "Aladdin Sane" by David Bowie, for the fifth consecutive week. Just 3 weeks after the broadcast of this program, Slade debuted number 1 with the single "Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me".
Just to see Paul Williams back in the day like this is a treat! The days when ALL kinds of music styles would come together, everything balanced and non judgemental.
Gentlemen of life’s sounds these The Stylistics. Forever oh yes the crossover of Country sounds great with the classy Statlers still to this day top notch memories all in one evening of life’s moments 70s the class of mmmmmm
What an awesome episode! The Stylistics were incredible, those heavenly voices. They transport me to glory. I so enjoyed Argent too, I think the background vocals were recorded but they were fantastic. Thanks for putting in the chapters so I could play out of order.
IMO anyway not one of the better Midnight Special shows. The 70s was a special time for music- in other words there was so many great bands and so many great songs that if you were just mediocure - you got left in the dust. I do have fond memeory's of hearing the song " Hold your head up" on the radio when I was young-though.....
I look forward to the Midnight Special (hosted by the Righteous Brothers) were Paul Williams sings his "new song" You and Me Against the World" with a full orchestra for the very first time. It's coming up !!! Special thanks to Burt Sugarman !!!
10:46 "Toucha my body war?" 11:55 "Spencer my bolly war?" I don't know what they're actually singing but it's not "Betcha By Golly Wow." Even reading his lips it's clear he's not saying anything close to "wow." It's especially odd because on the studio recording, you can actually make out the correct lyrics.
I can't be the only one while watching the Statler Brothers sing Flowers on the Wall. Imaging Bruce Willis sing along to it...well till he saw Ving Rhames.
Gunhill Road should have done the song "Sailing" instead of "Mr. Keyboards"!! They were produced by Kenny Kerner & Ritchie Wise & also the late Kenny Rogers.
I am aware that Paul Williams will be known for Old Fashioned Love Song. But I thought it was written by The Three Dog Night. The song clearly Paul Williams’
Her name is spelled "Sidonie Jordan". She was not Marie Osmond's older sister as suggested in the chat. Sidonie was married to Peter Banks from 'Yes' from 73 to 77. She was in the band 'Empire' with Banks.
