Video: 'Midnight Special #1 (Pilot) August 19th, 1972' (7 clips)

(Saturday, August 19, 1972, 1:00 a.m. EDT) — The Midnight Special, an American late-night musical variety program that would develop into a regular series starting Feb. 2, 1973, premiered early this morning as a special on NBC.

Created and produced by Burt Sugarman, the 90-minute program featured live musical acts, which was unusual since most television appearances during the era showed performers lip-synching to prerecorded music.

The program also featured occasional performances by comedians such as Richard Pryor, Andy Kaufman, and George Carlin.

The pilot for the series that aired this morning was presented as a 90-minute special encouraging young people to vote in the upcoming presidential election. It featured John Denver as guest host with guests Mama Cass Elliot, The Everly Brothers, The Isley Brothers, Harry Chapin, Linda Ronstadt, Argent, and Helen Reddy.

Among the musical highlights were Harry Chapin performing his hit “Taxi,” and Linda Ronstadt singing her popular ballad “Long Long Time.” Helen Reddy sang “I Am Woman” and the British group Argent performed their 1972 hit “Hold Your Head High.”