Watch Steely Dan tear up The Midnight Special with a killer version of My Old School taped in the summer of 1973

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Broadcast 50 years ago, this US TV performance from Steely Dan is as thrilling as if it was recorded yesterday

Steely Dan
(Image credit: The Midnight Special YouTube)

The Midnight Special's official YouTube channel might just be the most exciting corner of the internet for classic rock fans. 

Since launching in March this year the channel, dedicated to showcasing some of the very best performances from the iconic US TV show, which ran from February 2, 1973 through to May 1, 1981, has served up incredible footage capturing Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Genesis, Journey, Tina Turner, Blondie, Donna Summer, Fleetwood Mac and more in their prime, and it's the gift that just keeps on giving.

In recent weeks, Steely Dan have been thrilled to see some electrifying 1970s performances from the band uploaded to the channel, and there's more: anyone who enjoyed watching clips from the group's August 31, 1973 appearance on the show will be delighted to see another gem from that show added to the channel, namely a glorious take on My Old School from the group's second album Countdown to Ecstasy. The song is based upon a true story, Donald Fagen's arrest in 1969 for "the sale of a dangerous drug" while a student at Bard College in New York state. 

Watch the performance below:

Other recent additions to the channel include a stunning three-song medley from Smokey Robinson broadcast on January 19, 1974, The Cars playing My Best Friend's Girl (September 15, 1978), Cheap Trick performing Surrender ( November 24, 1978), and Godfather of Soul James Brown performing Sex Machine on August 6, 1976. But really, click on almost any clip on the channel and you've a more than decent chance of striking gold. 

Paul Brannigan
Paul Brannigan
Contributing Editor, Louder

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.