On Aug. 30, 1993, Billy Joel became the first-ever musical guest on The Late Show, then hosted by David Letterman, performing “No Man’s Land” live inside the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City.
On Wednesday, Bruce Springsteen will likely become the last. The Boss is scheduled to appear a day before the long-running CBS late-night show, now hosted by Stephen Colbert, comes to an end. Guests for the finale, musical or otherwise, have not been announced.
Over the last 30-plus years, The Late Show has provided thousands of artists — including established legends like Joel and Springsteen, as well as countless indie acts — a chance to reach millions of late-night viewers.
If The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was a launch pad for stand-up comedians, The Late Show became a proving ground for up-and-coming bands, many of which made their first major U.S. television debuts on the show.
Among them: Foo Fighters, Oasis, Chappell Roan, Chris Stapleton, Noah Kahan, the National, the Strokes, Mumford & Sons, Leon Bridges, Future Islands and Phish.
On the eve of the final episode, here are some of the most memorable Late Show performances in its storied history.
Beastie Boys, “Sabotage”
This wasn’t their late-night debut — that came a couple of years earlier on NBC’s Late Night With David Letterman, before which Letterman told the audience he was scared of them (“Keep them away from the other guests because I don’t want no trouble“”). In 1994, while they were on tour with Lollapalooza, which was a traveling festival back then, the Beasties lit up The Late Show with “Sabotage” in one of the greatest late-night performances of all time. No, seriously, watch it.
Foo Fighters, “This is a Call” and “Everlong”
Formed by Dave Grohl after the death of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, Foo Fighters, like many bands, made their television debut on The Late Show, performing “This iIs a Call” in 1995. But of all the Late Show musical guests through the years, Grohl and the Foos developed the most intimate connection to the show.
In early 2000, after Letterman took a hiatus for heart surgery, he asked them to perform “Everlong” — a song that he said he listened to during his recovery — on his first show back. The band, which was on tour in South America, dropped everything to do it. That night, Letterman introduced Foo Fighters as “my favorite band, playing my favorite song.”
Last week, during its final Late Show appearance, the band played a medley of both.
Alanis Morrisette, “You Oughta Know”
In the summer of 1995, Morissette made her American television debut on The Late Show, delivering a nervy and intense “You Oughta Know,” from her breakthrough album Jagged Little Pill, which was much more raw than the studio version. (Her band at the time featured Taylor Hawkins, the future Foo Fighters drummer.) The riveting performance helped propel the song to the top of the Billboard charts and cemented Morissette as one of the emerging stars of alternative rock.
Phish, “Chalkdust Torture”
On Dec. 30, 1994, Phish was on the verge of rock stardom. They made their first major national television appearance on The Late Show, performing a blistering version of “Chalkdust Torture” hours before playing their first-ever show at Madison Square Garden. While introducing the band, Letterman asked, “Where are you guys from in Vermont?” After they responded “Burlington,” the host asked if any of them needed a ride home.
Future Islands, “Seasons (Waiting on You)”
Like Carson did for comedians, Letterman’s stamp of approval could propel a relatively unknown band to overnight success, and that’s exactly what happened to Future Islands. In 2014, the Baltimore synth-pop band made their television debut on The Late Show, where frontman Samuel T. Herring’s mesmerizing performance blew Letterman away. “I’ll take all of that you got,” a downright giddy Letterman said afterward. Suddenly, festivals that had turned the band down came calling, Herring said in an interview last year. “People still bring that performance up,” he said. “So many people discovered our music that way.”
Chappell Roan, “Red Wine Supernova”
In 2024, months before wowing crowds at Coachella, Chappell Roan introduced herself to late-night viewers on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, delivering an over-the-top theatrical rendition of “Red Wine Supernova” from her debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, collapsing on the floor at the end of her performance. “Stay there,” Colbert told the future Grammy winner. “You’ve done enough.”
Kendrick Lamar, “Wesley’s Theory,” “Momma,” “King Kunta” and “u”
In 2014, Kendrick Lamar appeared as Colbert’s final musical guest on The Colbert Report, performing an unreleased, untitled song that he had apparently written the day before. The following year, Lamar was Colbert’s first musical guest on The Late Show, performing a show-stopping medley of songs — “Wesley’s Theory,” “Momma,” “King Kunta” and “u” — from his soon-to-be Grammy-winning album To Pimp a Butterfly. “That was beautiful,” Colbert told Lamar at the end of the show.
David Byrne and Colbert, “Burning Down The House”
Throughout his tenure as Late Show host, Colbert has been known to crash musical performances. And he got a chance to do so in his final week, joining David Byrne’s blue-suited band and backup dancers for “Burning Down the House.” Colbert introduced the former Talking Heads frontman in his traditional host attire before making a quick costume change, joining the line in a matching blue jumpsuit and doing his own, um, let’s say unique dance.
Paul McCartney, “Get Back”
No Late Show musical performance would ever top the Beatles’ legendary appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, when they made their American live television debut. But in 2009, when Paul McCartney returned to the Ed Sullivan Theater, he and his band set up atop the marquee and, in a nod to the Beatles‘’ last public performance in 1969 on the rooftop of Apple Records, put on a free mini-concert for Late Show viewers — and thousands of people on the streets below.
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