The Midnight Special
Studio album by
Released1962
GenreVocal
LabelRCA Victor LSP2449
ProducerHugo Montenegro
Harry Belafonte chronology
Jump Up Calypso
(1961)
The Midnight Special
(1962)
The Many Moods of Belafonte
(1962)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]
New Record Mirror[2]

The Midnight Special is a 1962 album by Jamaican-American singer, Harry Belafonte. The album notably contains the first officially-released recording by Bob Dylan, who plays harmonica on the title track. For many years the Belafonte session was thought to have been Bob Dylan’s first professional recording, simply because this RCA Victor album was released first. However, documentation found in 2001 in the RCA vaults along with the tapes dates the session definitively as having been recorded at Webster Hall, New York City, in February 1962. This places it later than Bob's recording session with folksinger Carolyn Hester, which dates from September 1961, also in New York City, although her album was not released until later in 1962.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Midnight Special"Traditional4:02
2."Crawdad Song"Traditional3:39
3."Memphis, Tennessee"Harry Belafonte5:00
4."Gotta Travel On"Paul Clayton / Dave Lazar4:26
5."Did You Hear About Jerry"Harry Belafonte / Irving Burgie2:57
6."On Top of Old Smokey"Traditional6:01
7."Muleskinner"Traditional3:34
8."Makes a Long Time Man Feel Bad"Traditional5:47
9."Michael, Row the Boat Ashore"Traditional3:55

Critical reception

Pig River Records praised "The Midnight Special" on its 50th anniversary giving it 8.1/10.

Personnel

Production notes:

  • Hugo Montenegro – producer
  • Conducted and arranged by Jimmy Jones
  • Bob Simpson – engineer, mastering
  • Peter Perri – cover photo
  • Bob Bollard – liner notes

References

  1. Allmusic review
  2. Watson, Jimmy (14 July 1962). "Belafonte: The Midnight Special" (PDF). New Record Mirror. No. 70. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
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