Last night, the iconic Paul Shaffer made his one-night-only return to late-night television with an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. During the segment, Shaffer sat in for the Roots and helped host Jimmy Fallon share a unique genre-defying rendition of Harry Styles’ “As It Was.”
Before the musical segment, Shaffer spoke to Fallon and mused on the meaning of the evening. “It’s such a coincidence we’re here tonight because 41 years ago this very week was when David Letterman came on the air right across the hall here at NBC,” Shaffer told Fallon, “So this is like our 41st anniversary,”
The former bandleader of The Late Show was joined by his band, the World’s Most Dangerous Band so that Questlove and the Roots could attend the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles tomorrow evening. He thanked the Roots for their success, adding, “thanks to you, I have reunited the entire band from the Letterman show, and we’re all here.”
After Shaffer discussed his history with Letterman and 30 Rock and he and the World’s Most Dangerous Band showcased the musical talent that was honed over the years on television by providing the music for Fallon to sing “As It Was” in an array of cadences from David Bowie, to Bruce Springsteen, to Harry Styles himself.
Enjoy the discussion and live performance below.
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