B.B. King & Various Artists - The Midnight Special, NBC Studios, Burbank, CA, 8-30-1974

Here's another album from the "Midnight Special" TV show. It's a special one, because it's another musical themed episode. I believe this is the only show that exclusively focused on blues music, at least in the 1973 to 1975 time frame that I've investigated so far. The main host was blues legend B.B. King. However, there were a number of others blues figures too: Paul Butterfield, Jimmy Witherspoon, John Lee Hooker, Big Mama Thornton, Joe Williams, and Papa John Creach.

Normally, I edit these episodes down to just the music performed by the host, plus maybe one more musical act. But because this episode had a coherent theme, I included all the music. I did cut out some things, as I usually do, such as the theme song at the beginning, and announcements of commercial breaks, as well as announcements of who would be on the show in the next episode. The first track has "[Edit]" in the title, because I removed the usual theme song and replaced it with cheering in the background instead, using the MVSEP program to do so.

The sound quality is excellent throughout. The only problem was that the last song faded out before it really got going. So I don't even know what that song is. I just called it "Outro," since it had B.B. King giving some final words before the fade out started. I considered adding in some extra crowd cheering, but I decided to just keep it as it was, fading out into silence.

The music is excellent as well. I doubt there were many instances of the blues getting this kind of exposure on a national TV show, though admittedly one that was broadcast late at night. One special highlight is "Gettin' It Together," in which blues legends B.B. King and John Lee Hooker joined forces, assisted by violinist Papa John Creach. King and Hooker were actually long-time friends, with both of them starting their musical careers not far from each other, in the late 1940s. 

This album is an hour and four minutes long. 

01 talk [Edit] (B.B. King)
02 Why I Sing the Blues (B.B. King)
03 talk (B.B. King)
04 Meet in the Bottom (Paul Butterfield's Better Days)
05 talk (B.B. King)
06 Nothing's Changed (Jimmy Witherspoon)
07 talk (B.B. King)
08 Boogie with the Hook [Edit] (John Lee Hooker)
09 talk (B.B. King)
10 Ball and Chain (Big Mama Thornton)
11 talk (B.B. King)
12 Who She Do (Joe Williams)
13 I Like to Live the Love (B.B. King)
14 talk (B.B. King)
15 Goin' Down Slow (Bobby 'Blue' Bland)
16 talk (B.B. King)
17 John's Other [Instrumental] (Papa John Creach)
18 talk (B.B. King)
19 Gettin' It Together (B.B. King, John Lee Hooker & Papa John Creach)
20 talk (Wolfman Jack & B.B. King)
21 The Thrill Is Gone (B.B. King)
22 Love Is a Five Letter Word (Jimmy Witherspoon)
23 Tell Me Where to Scratch (Joe Williams)
24 talk (Wolfman Jack & B.B. King)
25 I Got Some Help I Don't Need (B.B. King)
26 Outro (B.B. King)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/gLzcWuLc

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/en/jkeglxL80nYZq0T/file

The cover photo is a screenshot taken from a video of this exact concert. From right to left: John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, & Papa John Creach.