Tag: Late Show with David Letterman

Wanda Jackson, The Queen of Rockabilly and Rock

Queen of Rock

On October 20, 1937, Wanda Jackson was born in Maud, Oklahoma. In the 1950s and 1960s, she was a pioneering female rockabilly singer, earning herself the nicknames “The Queen of Rockabilly” and “The Queen of Rock.”

Jackson is still around and touring. Most recently, Jackson released her thirty-first studio album Unfinished Business in 2012.

Below, a young Wanda Jackson performs “Sparklin’ Brown Eyes.” Check it out.

And for something more recent, here is the video for “Tore Down,” which is from 2012’s Unfinished Business.

Finally, here is Wanda Jackson on The Late Show with David Letterman in 2011 singing “Shakin’ All Over.” She is backed by Jack White on guitar.

[Update Oct. 2017]  Finally, Jackson is releasing a new memoir about her amazing career entitled, Every Night Is Saturday Night: A Country Girl’s Journey To The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Happy birthday Ms. Jackson.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • The First Song Loretta Lynn Ever Wrote
  • Bob Dylan Sends Off Letterman With “The Night We Called It a Day”
  • Norm Macdonald’s Touching (and Funny) Tribute to Letterman
  • John Fogerty Rocks One More Time for Letterman
  • Darlene Love’s Final Letterman Performance of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
  • Bob Seger on Letterman: “All the Roads”

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Bob Dylan Sends Off Letterman With “The Night We Called It a Day”

    Dylan Night Called It a Day

    Last night, on David Letterman’s next-to-last Late Show With David Letterman, Bob Dylan appeared as the final regular musical guest for the show. Dylan performed the appropriately named “The Night We Called It a Day” from his latest album of jazz standards, Shadows In The Night.

    Some reviewers have claimed Dylan’s performance was “bizarre,” noting the way Dylan stands distant when the retiring host greets him. Other reviewers have labeled the performance “beautiful” and “haunting.” Probably only Bob Dylan, who first appeared with Letterman in 1984, could provoke such a diverse reaction, but in my mind, it was a nice musical sendoff to one of the all-time greats of late night.

    Interesting, after Letterman introduced Dylan as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan sang a cover song, as “The Night We Called It a Day” was written by Matt Dennis and Tom Adair in 1941. In 1942, Frank Sinatra released the song as his first solo recording.

    What did you think of Dylan’s performance of “The Night We Called It a Day”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Bob Dylan Croons “I Could Have Told You”
  • Norm Macdonald’s Touching (and Funny) Tribute to Letterman
  • John Fogerty Rocks One More Time for Letterman
  • Darlene Love’s Final Letterman Performance of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
  • Bob Seger on Letterman: “All the Roads”
  • Stephen Colbert Announces Final Date for “The Colbert Report”

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Norm Macdonald’s Touching (and Funny) Tribute to Letterman

    macdonald letterman
    As David Letterman prepares to sign off from the Late Show With David Letterman, his final shows have allowed some favorite guests the chance to say goodbye. Friday night’s show featured Oprah Winfrey and Norm Macdonald (and a few minutes of George Clooney finishing up his joke from the night before when he handcuffed himself to Letterman). At the end of the night, Macdonald closed the show with a surprising standup routine.

    I have been a fan of Macdonald for a long time, and I will miss his exchanges with Letterman. But Friday night, instead of sitting down for a conversation, he did a straight-up standup routine in a tribute to Letterman’s own standup work. And while we are used to seeing Macdonald with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek, his affection for Letterman came through as he could barely finish his routine without breaking down. Check out the touching tribute and his very funny jokes.

    David Letterman ends his run on Wednesday, May 20. It was announced today that his final musical guest will be Bob Dylan on May 19. But nobody seems to know what Dave has planned for the final show. Knowing how Letterman acts like he hates sentiment, I am guessing that he might pull a Good Will Hunting and not be there when we turn on our televisions for the final show.

    What did you think of Macdonald’s routine? Leave your two cents in the comments.

    Buy from Amazon

  • Bob Dylan Sends Off Letterman With “The Night We Called It a Day”
  • John Fogerty Rocks One More Time for Letterman
  • Darlene Love’s Final Letterman Performance of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
  • Bob Seger on Letterman: “All the Roads”
  • Stephen Colbert Announces Final Date for “The Colbert Report”
  • Warren Zevon: The Wind

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    John Fogerty Rocks One More Time for Letterman

    Fogerty Letterman

    This week, John Fogerty pulled out several of his classic Creedence Clearwater Revival tunes in a medley on The Late Show with David Letterman. At a thunderous pace, Fogerty played excerpts from “Travelin’ Band,” “Proud Mary” and “Fortunate Son.”

    Having seen Fogerty live during the era where he did not play CCR songs because of legal battles, I am always happy to see him bust out these great songs even though I also love his post-CCR songs. Note where Fogerty points when he gets to the “Proud Mary” lines about leaving a good job in the city. Check it out.

    If you wish to catch Fogerty live singing some of his CCR songs, check out his tour this summer. As for Letterman, watch for this final show on May 20, 2015.

    What CCR song would you like to hear Fogerty perform? Leave your two cents in the comments.

    Buy from Amazon

  • John Fogerty and Family Gift Us “Green River” from the Campfire
  • Troubled Waters Plays “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard”
  • Bob Dylan Sends Off Letterman With “The Night We Called It a Day”
  • Norm Macdonald’s Touching (and Funny) Tribute to Letterman
  • Darlene Love’s Final Letterman Performance of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
  • Bob Seger on Letterman: “All the Roads”

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Darlene Love’s Final Letterman Performance of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”

    Darlene Love Baby Please Come Home
    Chimesfreedom has previously noted that Darlene Love‘s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” is among our favorite Christmas songs and favorite pop songs of all time. So, with David Letterman retiring, we will miss Love’s annual appearance on CBS’s Late Show with David Letterman to sing the song written by Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich, and Jeff Barry.

    Unfortunately, Love has stated that out of respect for Letterman, she will not take the annual tradition to another talk show. Fortunately for us, Friday night we got one more massive performance of the song, which started out as a tradition on Letterman’s NBC Late Night show back in 1986 when she was only accompanied by Paul Shaffer and a four-piece rock band. Check out the final Late Show performance of the song that originally appeared on the 1963 album A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector.

    Why did Love stay on top of the piano after the song? Love explained to the New York Times that she knew she would start crying if Letterman hugged her, so she remained on top of the piano knowing “Dave ain’t coming up here.” Even so, you see her holding back the tears after Letterman shakes her hand. Thanks to both Love and Letterman for a wonderful tradition.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

    Buy from Amazon

  • New Track from Darlene Love: “Forbidden Nights”
  • Bob Dylan Sends Off Letterman With “The Night We Called It a Day”
  • Norm Macdonald’s Touching (and Funny) Tribute to Letterman
  • John Fogerty Rocks One More Time for Letterman
  • Bob Seger on Letterman: “All the Roads”
  • Stephen Colbert Announces Final Date for “The Colbert Report”

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)