Midnight at the Oasis

"Midnight at the Oasis"
Single by Maria Muldaur
B-side	"Any Old Time"
Released	1974
Format	7" 45rpm
Genre	Pop rock
Label	Reprise
Writer(s)	David Nichtern
Producer	Joe Boyd

"Midnight at the Oasis" is a 1974 song written by David Nichtern. It was recorded by the singer Maria Muldaur and was her best-known recording, peaking at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Description

The song is a saucy, teasing offer of a desert love affair, in a fantasy setting that owes more to Rudolph Valentino sheik movies than to real Middle Eastern deserts. Allmusic reviewer Matthew Greenwald describes the song as "so sensual and evocative that it was probably one of the most replayed records of the era and also may be responsible for the most pregnancies from a record during the mid-'70s".^[1] Some of the lyrics are doubtlessly suggestive (e.g., "let's slip off to a sand dune ... and kick up a little dust"; "you won't need no camel . . . when I take you for a ride"). But the tone is playful throughout. "Midnight" features a 1970s-defining instrumental bridge, particularly memorable for the guitar work of Amos Garrett.^[2]

The lyric "Cactus is our friend..." is used several times in the song. Cacti are New World plants native to North America, South America, and the West Indies; they are not found on the Arabian Peninsula naturally.

Brand New Heavies version

"Midnight at the Oasis"
Single by The Brand New Heavies
from the album Brother Sister
Released	1994
Format	CD 7 inch vinyl
Recorded	March 1994
Genre	Acid jazz–Funk
Label	FFRR, Delicious Vinyl
Writer(s)	David Nichtern
The Brand New Heavies singles chronology
"Back To Love" (1994) "Midnight at the Oasis" (1994) "Spend Some Time" (1994)

A version of this song was recorded by the group Brand New Heavies, attributed to "Brand New Heavies featuring N'Dea Davenport".^[3] This version reached #13 in the UK in 1994 and was their biggest hit up until the departure of Davenport, when Sometimes made #11.

Track listing

UK CD Single

1. "Midnight at the Oasis" (Radio Version) - (3:48)
2. "Midnight at the Oasis" (Rogers Brand New Radio Anthem) - (4:35)

UK CD Single BNHCD 05

1. "Midnight at the Oasis" (Radio Version) - (3:48)
2. "Midnight at the Oasis" (Extended Version)
3. "Midnight at the Oasis" (Opaz 7" Version)
4. "Midnight at the Oasis" (Roger's Brand New Radio Anthem) - (4:35)

Personnel

• Simon Bartholomew
• N'Dea Davenport - Vocals
• Jan Kincaid
• Andrew Levy

Covers

• Jazz versions of this song have been recorded by Hubert Laws and Freddie Hubbard.
• Percy Faith recorded a lush easy listening version in 1974 on one of his last albums, Chinatown Feat. the Entertainer, which featured the guitar work of Larry Carlton. This recording became a mainstay of Beautiful Music radio playlists for the duration of that format's existence.
• In 1975, a cover version of "Midnight at the Oasis" appeared on the album Dust Yourself Off by the funk band Pleasure.
• In 1978, Betty Wright released Betty Wright Live, which included a live recording of her #6 hit "Clean Up Woman". The version on the album is a medley that includes bits from "Clean Up Woman", "Pillow Talk", "You Got the Love", "Mr. Medley", "Midnight at the Oasis", "Me and Mrs. Jones", "You Are My Sunshine", and "Let's Get Married Today".
• in 1986, the Sun City Girls released a version of the song on their album Midnight Cowboys from Ipanema
• In 1995, that dog. released a version of the song on the Spirit of '73: Rock for Choice
• Actress and Broadway singer Valarie Pettiford of UPN's Half & Half remade the song on her album Hear My Soul, released on August 31, 2004.
• In 1977, Rebbie Jackson performed this song on an episode of the Jacksons Variety TV Show.
• The song is sampled by SWV on their song "When This Feeling" from their 1996 album New Beginning.
• Renee Olstead sings "Midnight at the Oasis" on her 2004 self-titled album; this version omits the stanza containing the song's most explicit sexual reference ("You won't need no camel when I take you for a ride") in deference to Oldstead's youth (she was fourteen at the time).
• In 2010, Mike Gordon performed the song at his March 11 concert with the Mike Gordon Band.

In popular culture

• It was performed in American Pie at the prom.
• In the short lived Jenny McCarthy Show on MTV an entire skit revolved around people buried up to their necks like a garden of human lettuce heads being forced to sing this song on command by their deranged captor.
• The song is sung by the lounge act at the hotel in Sofia Coppola's film Lost in Translation.
• In Christopher Guest's 1997 film Waiting For Guffman, the characters Ron (Fred Willard) and Sheila (Catherine O'Hara) audition for the play Red, White and Blaine with a comically inept performance of the song.
• On the November 18, 2000 episode of Saturday Night Live (season 26, episode 6), during the "Rap Street" segment, Tom Green (as MC Kevin Gustafson) performs a rap on top of this song. ^[4]
• In 2007's Whisper, when character Roxanne (Sarah Wayne Callies) lull the kidnapped boy, David Sandborn (Blake Woodruff) to sleep.
• In Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko, Gex parodies the song playing in the level Tut TV.
• The song is used as the closing theme to KNR Overtime after Cleveland Cavaliers games and The 10th Inning after Cleveland Indians games (both hosted by Greg Brinda) on WKNR ESPN 850 in Cleveland.
• In 2005, Howling Pig Smelly Soaps & Other Stuff of Seattle, WA began selling soap and other products with a scent called "Midnight at the Oasis," inspired by the song.
• In the Gilmore Girls Episode "Eight O'Clock at the Oasis", a cuckoo-type clock (in Dwight's house) is featured that plays "Midnight at the Oasis" on the hour.

References

1. ^ Greenwald, Matthew. ""Song Review: Midnight at the Oasis, Maria Muldaur"". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/song/t4239463. Retrieved 2007-03-18. 
2. ^ ""Amos Garrett"". Homespun Video. http://www.homespuntapes.com/artists/artistpage.asp?artID=349. Retrieved 2007-03-18. 
3. ^ http://www.everyhit.com
4. ^ http://snltranscripts.jt.org/00/00frapstreet.phtml

External links

• All Music Guide