For the last year and a half I’ve had the pleasure of working with Gary Schoolcraft doing online collaborations. A couple of weeks ago my wife and I made a trip out to California and the stars aligned and allowed us to visit with Gary and his wife in San Jose, where we had the opportunity to finally sit down together in the same room. We did a couple of play-throughs of this song and rolled the camera. Here’s the result. (Note: If you hear a strange cracking sound at the beginning, that’s Gary’s dog enjoying a treat intended to keep her from wandering onto our set. That’s live dinner theater, folks.)

“The Midnight Special” referred to in this song was believed to be a train that ran past a prison in the south, shining its light into the cells of prisoners longing to be free. The song has been recorded by many artists over the years including Sam Collins in 1927 and Lead Belly in 1934. Harry Belafonte’s version in 1962 includes a young harmonica player by the name of Bob Dylan. Harry Dean Stanton sings the song in the movie “Cool Hand Luke” in 1967. And of course, Creedence’s Clearwater Revival’s 1969 version was used in the opening sequence of “Twilight Zone: The Movie” featuring Albert Brooks and Dan Aykroyd.

Thank you, Gary for being a fantastic host and for this fun in-person collaboration!