Joan Baez with Mimi Farina and Steve Goodman - The Midnight Special, NBC Studios, Burbank, CA, 7-20-1973

Here we go again, with another episode of the "Midnight Special" TV show. This one stars folk singer Joan Baez. It also has two guests, Mimi Farina and Steve Goodman.

Baez had been one of the most famous folk singers since the mid-1960s. But she didn't have a big hit until 1971. That year, her version of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" went all the way to Number Three in the U.S. singles chart. So that's probably what gave her enough commercial appeal to be given the host slot for this show.

Baez had two sisters, and one of them was Mimi Farina. So it's not too surprising that their music careers have often intersected. That including Baez asking her to be part of this episode, and then singing a duet with her on the song "Best of Friends." Farina is probably best known as part of the mid-1960s duo of Richard and Mimi Farina, which sadly ended when Richard Farina died in 1966. Here's a Wikipedia entry if you want to know more about her:

Mimi Fariña - Wikipedia

Steve Goodman was an excellent singer-songwriter. He was near the start of his musical career at the time of this concert, as his first album was released in 1971. The best known song he wrote, by far, was "The City of New Orleans." Arlo Guthrie had a big hit with it in 1972, and it has gone on to become a classic, covered by many. So I'm a bit surprised Goodman didn't perform his own version in this episode.

Baez and Goodman didn't perform a duet here, like Baez and Farina did. But Baez mentioned in her banter between songs that she was the one that got Goodman on the show because she was such a big fan of his songs. So I included him here, especially because his musical style fits in well with the songs by Baez and/or Farina. Also, it turns out this was the only appearance Goodman ever made on the show, so I didn't have nearly enough songs to give him his own album. (This also was Farina's only appearance, but Baez would be a host again in 1975, and she would make other appearances too.)

Here's his Wikipedia entry:

Steve Goodman - Wikipedia  

In case you're curious, the other musical acts on the show were Wilson Pickett, Black Oak Arkansas, Bloodstone, and the Pointer Sisters. I've already put the Pickett and Pointer Sisters songs on other albums I've made.

Two songs have "[Edit]" in their titles. For the first track, I got rid of the show's theme song playing in the background, and replaced that with audience applause. For the third track, I stitched together two chunks of banter that were separated by one or more songs.

This album is 33 minutes long. 

01 talk [Edit] (Wolfman Jack)
02 The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (Joan Baez)
03 talk [Edit] (Joan Baez)
04 Someone Else's Troubles (Steve Goodman)
05 talk (Wolfman Jack)
06 talk (Joan Baez)
07 Joe Hill (Joan Baez)
08 talk (Joan Baez)
09 In the Quiet Morning (Mimi Farina)
10 talk (Joan Baez & Mimi Farina)
11 Best of Friends (Joan Baez & Mimi Farina)
12 Love Song to a Stranger (Joan Baez)
13 Prison Trilogy (Joan Baez)
14 Would You Like to Learn to Dance (Steve Goodman)
15 talk (Joan Baez)
16 Rider Pass By (Joan Baez)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/n1N9WdEs

alternate: 

https://bestfile.io/en/kz1AXtVnbvi6IHH/file

The cover image is a screenshot I took from a video of this exact concert. Mimi Farina is the one closer and higher up in the image.

Arlo Guthrie with Steve Goodman & Hoyt Axton - PBS Soundstage, WTTW Studios, Chicago, IL, 11-11-1974

Today, a commenter noted that there are very few live recordings of folk singer Arlo Guthrie in his 1960s and 1970s prime. I thought, yes, that's true, but maybe I can find some more. To my very pleasant surprise, I found this concert on YouTube. It seems nobody has ever converted it from video to audio, so it hasn't gotten much attention as a musical bootleg. Hopefully that can change now, because it's a delightful concert, featuring not only Arlo Guthrie, but also the talented singer-songwriters Steve Goodman and Hoyt Axton.

This concert is an episode of the "PBS Soundstage" TV show. It ran, intermittently, and occasionally using other names, from 1972 to 2018. I've previously posted two episode from the show, a 1982 concert starring Etta James, Dr. John, and Allen Toussaint, and a 2007 concert starring John Fogerty. But I've realized this show is a treasure trove that is often overlooked, so I plan on posting a lot more from it. Occasionally, the show encouraged collaboration, like this episode and 1982 one I've posted. In my opinion, those are the most interesting ones of all.

Note that I just redid the covers of the other two Soundstage concerts I've posted, so the text can have a consistent look. I plan to post a lot more of these, so I've just created a Soundstage side label too. Here are the links to the other two, if you want the updated artwork and mp3 tags. Etta James, Dr. John, and Allen Toussaint:

https://albumsthatshouldexist.blogspot.com/2023/03/etta-james-dr-john-allen-toussaint.html

And John Fogerty:

https://albumsthatshouldexist.blogspot.com/2022/10/john-fogerty-pbs-soundstage-chicago-il.html

Arlo Guthrie only ever had one big hit, "City of New Orleans," in 1972. It was written by Steve Goodman. His music career was just starting, and Guthrie's cover helped establish his career, as well as giving him enough royalties to go into music full time. Unfortunately, despite being in his early 20s, he already had been diagnosed with leukemia. He managed to have a successful music career for many years, but succumbed to the disease in 1984, at the age of 36. Here's the Wikipedia page for Goodman, if you want to know more:

Steve Goodman - Wikipedia 

Hoyt Axton began as a folksinger in the early 1960s, releasing his first album in 1962. He didn't find much success in his own name until the mid-1970s, when he started to have a string of minor country hits. But he had a lot more success as a songwriter for others. His biggest success, by far, was the song "Joy to the World." The band Three Dog Night had a Number One hit with it in 1971. In fact, it was the biggest selling song of that year. He also had a reasonably successful career as an actor. Here's his Wikipedia entry:

Hoyt Axton - Wikipedia

At first, this album might have seemed a random collection of three folky singer-songwriters. But after Guthrie had a hit with Goodman's "City of New Orleans," their paths crossed often and they became good friends. Furthermore, it turns out Axton was a cousin to Guthrie, so they were linked as well. I was surprised to discover that while writing these notes. I was also surprised to learn that Axton's mother, Mae Boren Axton, was a songwriter too, and co-wrote "Heartbreak Hotel," the Elvis Presley classic.

Anyway, in this concert, Guthrie started out playing a few songs. Then Goodman played a few, then Axton. All three came together to sing the last three, but Guthrie generally took the lead on those. Since this was professionally recorded for TV, the sound quality is excellent.

This album is 58 minutes long.

01 talk (Arlo Guthrie)
02 Take Me Back (Arlo Guthrie)
03 talk (Arlo Guthrie)
04 Son of Week on the Rag [Instrumental] (Arlo Guthrie)
05 talk (Arlo Guthrie)
06 Presidential Rag (Arlo Guthrie)
07 City of New Orleans (Arlo Guthrie)
08 talk (Arlo Guthrie)
09 Boomer's Story (Steve Goodman & Arlo Guthrie)
10 talk (Steve Goodman)
11 It's a Sin to Tell a Lie (Steve Goodman)
12 talk (Steve Goodman)
13 Door Number Three (Steve Goodman)
14 Do You Want to Learn to Dance (Steve Goodman)
15 talk (Steve Goodman)
16 Bone Fingers (Hoyt Axton, Arlo Guthrie & Steve Goodman)
17 talk (Hoyt Axton)
18 Sweet Misery (Hoyt Axton)
19 talk (Hoyt Axton)
20 Less than a Song (Hoyt Axton)
21 talk (Arlo Guthrie, Steve Goodman & Hoyt Axton)
22 Walkin' Down the Line (Arlo Guthrie, Steve Goodman & Hoyt Axton)
23 talk (Arlo Guthrie, Steve Goodman & Hoyt Axton)
24 The Story of Reuben Clamzo and His Strange Daughter in the Key of A (Arlo Guthrie, Steve Goodman & Hoyt Axton)
25 talk (Arlo Guthrie, Steve Goodman & Hoyt Axton)
26 Goodnight Irene (Arlo Guthrie, Steve Goodman & Hoyt Axton)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/mB3aeTwc

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/hpcbe6lUoJd4PQ7/file

The cover photo is a screenshot I took from the YouTube video of this concert. It was rather low-res, but I improved it somewhat with the Krea AI program.