Ep 38 - The Midnight Special Episode | October 19, 1973 

Most people forget that War had the number one album of 1973. Quite an accomplishment back then.

World is a Ghetto was a gddam masterpiece! I was a 13 year old girl and i totally got it. Greatest song ever. Thank you War and Midnight special!

I recorded the two songs by Mott the Hoople and the N.Y. Dolls off the TV broadcast on 10-19-73 to my reel-to-reel recorder, and have listened to them for years. Great to be able to see the actual performances again. This was taped more than a month earlier on 9-11-73 and I believe was the first concert appearance by new guitarist "Ariel Bender", after Mick Ralphs left just three weeks earlier. I was at their last concert with Ralphs in D.C. on August 19, 1973. What impressed me about watching this now is Bender's strong performance, and I also noticed Buffin's drumming and appreciated it more than I did long ago. And it was great to see Buffin smiling and doing backup vocals. R.I.P. Buffin/Dale Griffin and Overend/Pete Watts.

The way I’ve prayed for footage of War in their prime doing The World is a Ghetto LIVE?! My prayers have been ANSWERED 🥹🙌🏾 That’s my favorite song by them

World Is A Ghetto is one of the most underrated albums ever and it went to #1 !!

MOTT 4 EVA!! 🤘😎🤘 Ian Hunter JUST released a new album last year! He's going be...84? Still writing excellent songs! Recommend! Thank you Burt! Rock on y'all

WAR - so good. Great band and performance.

Dolls and Mott The Hoople!! Two huge inspriations for punk rock. Awesome!

Just a great Classic Rock show that we "All" watched every week growing up !!!! 🎶 God I miss those old days of youth, friends and good health !!!! ✌😌

Climax Blues Band would eventually have a worldwide hit with “Couldn’t Get It Right” in 1976.

this is the first time seeing this footage of Mott the Hoople, Amazingly great

Ian Hunter, and Mott The Hoople... Cool!

THE BEST EPISODE OF "MIDNIGHT SPECIAL" EVER?? HIGHLY LIKELY!!!!! What a line-up for this fall '73 show: Mott The Hoople, introducing themselves to America on TV (after touring here for years!) with "All The Way From Memphis" and "Rose." What a treat to hear & watch Mott play LIVE, as their UK TV appearances were mimed & lip-synched because of union rules: The New York Dolls, seizing their opportunity on national television and pulling out all the stops performing "Trash" and "Personality Crisis" (love the small contingent of Dolls fans at the stage's edge, with one fan mouthing the lyrics!); pre-hits Bachman Turner Overdrive, just workin' it; a revelatory performance from Climax Blues Band, showing they used to be a chugging rock band before morphing into MOR later in the 70's; because it's the early 70's, this week's singer/songwriter/guitarist is Danny O'Keefe, and he's wonderful; even the head-scratching appearance by Scotland's Piper brings a smile of appreciation for the variety Burt & The Midnight Special were providing (note: this is NOT the same Piper band fronted a few years later by Billy Squire); and, all of this splendor bookended by War, coming into their own as a major force in funk & soul. Watch War inspire the audience to get off their butts and dance! THANK YOU, BURT SUGARMAN!

B.T.O. Hold back the water. Amazing song.

I almost forgot what real music on tv could be. War in particular is really good. Timeless.

The World Is A Ghetto…just as hauntingly beautiful today as it was 50 years ago

Danny O'Keefe singing pitch perfect version of his great hit song Good Time Charlie.

I turned 8yo Oct 13, 1973. How could a little kid from Hilliard, Ohio be so hip to the groove? THE MUSIC! THIS SHOW IS TIMELESS!!

I wish this whole Midnight Special was all WAR! This group is so friggin GREAT!

WAR "World Is A Ghetto" is Masterful!

Live music at it's best. Not a better decade of music.

Seeing War playing "The Cisco Kid" in 1080p is something I've been looking forward to for years!!

Ah, the mighty Mott The Hoople !!! Thank you for this 💚

Wonderful BTO footage. This is definitely early Bachman-Turner Overdrive with Tim Bachman in the group. The very talented second lead guitarist Blair Thornton was still a few months away from joining. Randy and Blair created such a fantastic guitar sound together.

Sign of the times that WAR was the headlining act on a network TV show. Man... And this was before Low Rider! Back then I don't remember even batting a eye. Now, it's just amazing to me.

Another episode with a historic first as I believe this is first time we will see Danny O'Keefe performing his huge top 10 single, "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues", in the early 70s. Another one of those moments I have waited all of my life to see because I am a huge fan of the song.

Cisco Kid " Eats the salted peanuts out the can" is my all time favorite song lyric.

Walkin' down the street, smoggy-eyed Looking at the sky, starry-eyed Searchin' for the place, weary-eyed Crying in the night, teary-eyed

War is one my favourite groups, The level of musical talent in that band is elite

I haven't seen a ton of concerts in my life. However, I was fortunate enough to see the original WAR lineup twice in the early 1990s. They were amazing; positive crowd interactions, great talent, lots of charisma. Thanks for the great performances!

Man did we have some great music back in the day...

War was one of the most amazing groups of the 70’s. Huge great memories of living in St. Louis MO when they were popular.

New York Dolls oh yeah

Brilliant performance by The Dolls. Truly ahead of their time. Watch the shots of the audience. You have 5-6 young women in the front who are totally into the band and the rest of the audience is just staring in stunned disbelief at what they are watching 😂 5 years later half the new bands would be sounding like them.

Thanks for posting. Really enjoyed seeing Mott The Hoople.

War were on fire!🔥

6:58. Wow. Punk Rock in 1973. Learned something new today.

Seeing the New York Dolls actually appearing on network television in 1973 must have been an incredible experience. For a very brief (too brief) time, they were hands down the greatest American rock and roll band...period. What a shame they didn't have any commercial success....sadly, that's often the price trailblazers like the Dolls had to pay for being ahead of their time.

War tune is one of my fave live performances ever! Cisco Kid and Low Rider...oh my. Gonna watch this one...CBB and BTO too...YES please!!

Wow, War, BTO, Climax Blues?!? I will definitely show up to the livestream on time tonight.

Darn it, if I didn't wake up this morning still thinking about Climax Blues Band. Wow, I loved seeing that!

Got turned on to this group in 1973 in England. Happened to venture into a boutique and they had the record playing. That was it. I had to have their record and have bought several cents. Definitely a War fan!!❤

Mott is astonishing

WAR "All Day Music", "The World Is A Ghetto" & "Deliver The Word" are great albums!!

Great to hear Bachman-Turner. This was the year before they released "Takin' Care of Business." Great to see Canada represented. (As a Canadian I'm a bit biased.)

WAR one of the best bands ever

FINALLY.....on October 19, 1973 I recorded on cassette off my t.v. both of Danny O'keefe's performances seen here. For 50 years I've been waiting to see the video again and hear his great performances again, especially Angel Spread Your Wings with Mike Finnigan's great organ work in the background, one of my favorite songs off Breezy Stories. The wait ended tonight. Still got my cassette (it still plays!!) however now I can put it away and SEE and HEAR his great performances again. Good things DO come to those who wait !!!

Climax Blues Band doing Shake Your Love Tonight. I remember this song getting a lot of AirPlay and being extremely popular and now it's almost impossible to find it on any radio station or even on RU-vid. Nice to see this great live version of it That double faults stop ending used to give disc jockeys fits

Its the first episode with the neon letters in it. Something to look forward to. 😁

War was so damn funky. Ive always loved these guys so awesome to see and hear this performance.

One of the best episodes ever. A huge Mott The Hoople, Climax Blues Band and NY Dolls fan here. 1973 was a pinnacle year in music.

The New York Dolls were the inspiration for Aerosmith as well as KISS, and new wave groups like Blondie, Talking Heads, and The Ramones. First time watching David in the group long before he was Buster Poindexter.

Most of the audience couldn't process the NYD or catch their significance. After hearing the Dolls and later The Clash, there was no going back to the super groups of the 70s. RIP Johnny T. - there are few that can play as gutsy as you did.

Just about ready to settle in. Sounds like a great line up (as always). I always loved BTO and Danny O'Keefe, but really looking forward to War and some of the glam like New York Dolls.

BB Dickerson had an incredible voice.. Rest in Peace Brother

Mott the Hoople!!!! New York Dolls!!!!!

War is a fabulous band!! Was glad to catch them a few years back when Grand Funk opened. I danced the whole concert, thank you for another great show! 🥰

War was a really fine band. Great songs and could really perform.

The Danny O’keefe performance is insane!

The New York Dolls + Mott the Hopple = 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Thank you for posting this. What a gem of a show. What a great program!

Awesome. Thanks for sharing!

BTO is just on fire🔥. Real men music.

What a show!

From Freshy to Diploma War, EWF, Ohio Players, Kool and the Gang, Isley Brothers, Santana,Led Zeppelin, The Bar Kays, LaBelle, The O'jays, Etc,etc,etc, truly helped High School years and beyond to be some of the best years in my life. Real music will change the way you look at life and appreciate it. Thank you Lord.

What an incredible line-up. Excellent Progressive Rock show.

Coolest show yet!! Loved it all! Thanks so much, Midnight Special! I always have fun!✌️💜

EVERYBODY playing live...so cool!!! Sounding great too!!!

I can now DIE. New York Dolls TRASH Long Lost Video. Whoever you are Thank YOU and KEEP POSTING MIDNIGHT SPECIAL (Maybe even Don Kirshner and ABC In Concert NEXT)

Waiting for The Climax Blues Band.

Great show! Really enjoyed seeing War play The World is a Ghetto, and Mott the Hoople.

I’m almost crying

I've REALLY been looking forward to Seeing these Mott the Hoople and New York Dolls performances in crystal clear quality. THANKS Midnight Special!

OMG, Danny O'Keefe did the whistle part live spot on, amazing.......

Wow, what a lineup! I can't wait for this one! We got War, BTO, Climax Blues Band, Mott the Hoople and New York Dolls?!! Exciting!🤯🎉

Danny O'Keefe- fabulous. I bought Breezy Stories in 1975- what an album!

Wow!War really brought it,far better than typical radio played versions,Lee Oskar,whew!!

Omg, Climax Blues Band. I still have this album. Such a great band. Haven’t heard them in years!

The next episode after this from October 26, 1973, was hosted by Sly and the Family Stone, and it also features appearances from Mark Almond, Little Sister, Melissa Manchester, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, Freddy Weller, and Atlee Yeager. Sounds like another good one.

Never realized what fantastic musicians WAR were😊😊😊

Climax Blues Band sounded great. That "Shake Your Love" song had some heavy Bo Diddley influence.

This is a great indicator of what was happening in music in the early '70s. Real variety of acts here, not just faux variety with three or four genres of music that really aren't much different from one another, but REAL variety! East L.A. Latin-tinged funk, hard rock, glam/proto-punk, lite rock singer-songwriter, and prog-rock with a bagpiper, all on one TV show. And at least two of these acts belong in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The New York Dolls were like an 80s band that time travelled to the 70s.

Can't wait, The Midnight Special!

Climax Blues Band was incredible! I’ve been listening to Savoy Brown and Foghat, so CBB is right up my alley.

The WAR song "Baby Brother" that they did is on "All Day Music" (recorded live & which is the last song on side 2). They did the studio version from 1973 "Deliver The Word"!!

BTO's "Gimme Your Money Please" would be an interesting listen.

Great to see Danny O'Keefe and Bachman Turner Overdrive on this episode.it's a great show.

What a great time in music! Glad I was around for it!

dannnng "the world is a ghetto" got to my core/ soul. music unites. i love this sooooooo much. war is part of my spirit/ bear totem :) on same level as the Chambers Bros haha badasssss

Incredible lineup. Rockin show.

50 years ago we had great music & shitty cameras. Now we got great cameras.

World is a ghetto ! Elite!! So appropriate at a time like this…..

NY Dolls with a very early try at punk rock well before it became a thing. Ian Hunter belting out my favourite Mott the Hoople song was a treat, as was BTO rocking on.

I find all 1970s music to have a haunting quality: pleasant and enjoyable, yet sentimental. My toddler years, haha

Used to watch Midnight Special every Saturday night from like 72-76. Loved this show and it's never lost it's luster. I would buy the albums from the artists featured. Nothing like being the first 13 year old with a War album. Same with BTO. Thanks Burt. Cheers from Tennessee

Danny O‘Keefe mastermind

Só na expectativa ......

I really wish The Dolls would have got more recognition

1970's, the High Renaissance of modern music.