The Midnight Special, January 4, 2026

By Marilyn Rea Beyer |

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Playlist

  1. Lead Belly: The Midnight Special THEME (excerpt 1); Lead Belly; Midnight Special; RCA Victor LPV-505
  2. Bob Dylan: Ring Them Bells; Bob Dylan; Oh Mercy; Columbia CK 45281 CD
  3. Billy Bragg: “January Song”; Billy Bragg; Tooth & Nail; Cooking Vinyl COOKCD580
  4. Louise Coombe: Paris; Louise Coombe; Paris; Zoe Cat 3.2025
  5. Cliff Eberhardt: Mona Lisa Waits; Cliff Eberhardt; Mona Lisa Cafe; Shanachie 8017
  6. Dick Gaughan: “Song of Choice”; Dick Gaughan; Different Kind of Love Song; Different Kind of Love Song/Appleseed 1018
  7. Rays Of Romance: “In the Month of January”; Rays of Romance; Silver Dagger & Other Vehement Valentines; Frequency Glide FGE 003 CD
  8. William Pint & Felicia Dale: “January Man”; Pint & Dale; When I See Winter Return; Waterbug WBG CD 0039
  9. Tish Hinojosa: Anos, Meses y Dias (Years, Months, Days); Tish Hinojosa; Aquella Noche; Watermelon CD 1005
  10. Mary Hopkin: Those Were the Days (Fomin, Raskin); Mary Hopkin; Single; Apple Records 1801
  11. Michael Smith: Coffeehouse Days; Michael Smith; Michael, Margaret, Pat & Kate; MPS 1 CD
  12. Jeff Black: Slip; Jeff Black; B-Sides and Confessions; Dualtone LNM 80302-01135-2
  13. Dar Williams: Way I Go; Dar Williams; Hummingbird Highway; Righteous Babe Records RBR [9.12.25]
  14. Bob Gibson: Nothin’s Real Anymore (Silverstein); Bob Gibson; Makin’ A Mess: Bob Gibson Sings Silverstein; Asylum ASCD61697-2
  15. Malcolm Holcombe: Words of December; Malcolm Holcombe; Pitiful Blues; Gypsy Eyes 2014
  16. Andrew Beyer: “The Midnight Special – organ”; Andrew Beyer; Midnight Special Collection; Midnight Special Collection AABeyer/MS 008
  17. Robert Burns: Auld Lang Syne (Burns); Neal Phillips & Sam Rossitto; Folk NOW: Songs for These Times (December 2025); single
  18. James Lee Stanley: “New Year’s Song”; James Lee Stanley; Midnight Special New Year’s Eve Show – 2014; Midnight Special New Year’s Eve Show – 2014 digital download 12.20.2020
  19. Halley Neal & Sam Robbins: New Year; Halley Neal & Sam Robbins; You & Me on Christmas Eve; 11242023
  20. Steve Goodman, Larry Rand, Wally Friedrich, et al.: It’s New Year’s Eve (improv); Steve Goodman, Larry Rand, Wally Friedrich, et al.; New Year’s Eve on WFMT’s The Midnight Special – 1975; WFMT 12.31.1975
  21. Aaron Kelly: Weep Now, America; Aaron Kelly; Songs Still Sing; bandcamp 9.23.2022
  22. Aaron Kelly: Walkin’ Down the Walls of Jericho; Aaron Kelly; Alive at the Farm; Make Empathy Great Again MEGA 10022020
  23. Kray Van Kirk: The Walls of Jerusalem; Kray Van Kirk; The Midnight Commander; krayvankirk.com 4012020
  24. Joan Baez: “The Great Correction” (Gilkyson); Joan Baez; Whistle Down The Wind; Razor & Tie JB00028
  25. Lou & Peter Berryman: “Resolution #9”; Lou & Peter Berryman; We Don’t Talk About That!; We Don’t Talk About That! Cornbelt/CR800CD
  26. Ken Nordine: Orange; Ken Nordine; Colors; Philips PHM 200-224
  27. Peter Mulvey: “Everybody Knows” (Leonard Cohen); Peter Mulvey; The Good Stuff; The Good Stuff | Signature Sounds SIG 2045
  28. Anne Lister: Song of the Knife; Anne Lister; Flame in Avalon; Hearthfire HF003CD
  29. The Sharar Sisters: Lessons Learned; The Sharar Sisters; single; theshararsisters.com 7.3.2025
  30. Traditional Scottish: “Auld Lang Syne”; Rachel Van Voorhees, h; Christmas Favorites; Centaur CRC-2209
  31. Owen Walsh: The Midnight Special (Trad.); Owen Walsh; The Midnight Special “exclusive”; single 1.31.2024
  32. Neal & Leandra: “Turn the Page”; Neal & Leandra; Hearts & Hammers; Red House Records RHR CD 62
  33. Daniel Boling w/Tom Paxton: Turn the Corner; Daniel Boling w/Tom Paxton; New Old Friends; Berkalin BRK-10057
  34. Special Consensus ft. band alumni: I Wish We Had Our Time Again (Hartford); Special Consensus ft. band alumni; Been All Around This World; Compass Records TBA
  35. Sally Barker: Another Train (Morton); Sally Barker; This Rhythm is Mine; Hannibal HNCD 1356
  36. Emily Hurd: Backbone; Emily Hurd; Backbone; emilyhurd.com bandcamp 12.17.24
  37. Tracy Chapman: New Beginning; Tracy Chapman; New Beginning; Elektra 7559-61850-2
  38. Dan+Claudia Zanes: New Beginnings; Dan+Claudia Zanes; Let Love Be Your Guide; Smithsonian Folkways SFW45086
  39. Paul Simon w/Phoebe Snow & Jessy Dixon Singers: Gone At Last; Paul Simon w/Phoebe Snow & The Jessy Dixon Singers; Still Crazy After All These Years; Warner Bros. R2 78901
  40. Jake Blount: Goodbye, Honey, You Call That Gone; Jake Blount; Spider Tales; Free Dirt Records DIRT-CD-0097
  41. I’m With Her: Year After Year; I’m With Her; Wild and Clear and Blue; Rounder 1166102586
  42. Tekla Waterfield: I Am Alive; Tekla Waterfield; Mother Mind; Oliver Blue Studios OBS5414
  43. Judy Collins: Turn! Turn! Turn! (Seeger/Eccliastes 3:1-8); Judy Collins; Judy Collins #3 (Judy Collins 3 & 4, Disc 1); Wildflower Records WFL 1301-2
  44. Bill Staines: “Down the Road”; Bill Staines; First Million Miles; Rounder CD-11560
  45. Jimmy LaFave: “Forever Young” (Bob Dylan); Jimmy LaFave; Trail disc 1; Trail disc 1 | Bohemia Beat 0009
  46. Laura Love: I Still Believe (Unplugged); Laura Love; She Loved Red; Laura Love 88295 68276
  47. Andrew Beyer: “The Midnight Special – cigar box slide”; Andrew Beyer; Midnight Special Collection; Midnight Special Collection AABeyer/MS 004