<\/p>\n
On Aug. 30, 1993, Billy Joel became the first-ever musical guest on The Late Show<\/em>, then hosted by David Letterman, performing \u201cNo Man\u2019s Land\u201d live inside the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>. Guests for the finale, musical or otherwise, have not been announced.<\/p>\n Over the last 30-plus years, The Late Show <\/em>has provided thousands of artists \u2014 including established legends like Joel and Springsteen, as well as countless indie acts \u2014 a chance to reach millions of late-night viewers.<\/p>\n If The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson<\/em> was a launch pad for stand-up comedians, The Late Show <\/em>became a proving ground for up-and-coming bands, many of which made their first major U.S. television debuts on the show.<\/p>\n Among them: Foo Fighters, Oasis, Chappell Roan, Chris Stapleton, Noah Kahan, the National, the Strokes, Mumford & Sons, Leon Bridges, Future Islands and Phish.<\/p>\n On the eve of the final episode, here are some of the most memorable Late Show<\/em> performances in its storied history.<\/p>\n This wasn\u2019t their late-night debut \u2014 that came a couple of years earlier on NBC\u2019s Late Night With David Letterman<\/em><\/a>, before which Letterman told the audience he was scared of them (\u201cKeep them away from the other guests because I don’t want no trouble Formed by Dave Grohl after the death of Nirvana\u2019s Kurt Cobain, Foo Fighters, like many bands, made their television debut on The Late Show<\/em>, performing \u201cThis In early 2000, after Letterman took a hiatus for heart surgery, he asked them to perform \u201cEverlong\u201d \u2014 a song that he said he listened to during his recovery \u2014 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 \u201cmy favorite band, playing my favorite song.\u201d<\/p>\n Last week, during its final Late Show<\/em> appearance, the band played a medley of both.<\/p>\n In the summer of 1995, Morissette made her American television debut on The Late Show<\/em>, delivering a nervy and intense “You Oughta Know,” from her breakthrough album Jagged Little Pill<\/em>, which was much<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n On Dec. 30, 1994, Phish was on the verge of rock stardom. They made their first major national television appearance on The Late Show, <\/em>performing a blistering version of \u201cChalkdust Torture\u201d hours before playing their first-ever show at Madison Square Garden. While introducing the band, Letterman asked, \u201cWhere are you guys from in Vermont?\u201d After they responded \u201cBurlington,\u201d the host asked if any of them needed a ride home.<\/p>\n Like Carson did for comedians, Letterman\u2019s stamp of approval could propel a relatively unknown band to overnight success, and that\u2019s exactly what happened to Future Islands. In 2014, the Baltimore synth-pop band made their television debut on The Late Show<\/em>, where frontman Samuel T. Herring\u2019s mesmerizing performance blew Letterman away. \u201cI\u2019ll take all of that you got,\u201d a downright giddy Letterman said afterward. Suddenly, festivals that had turned the band down came calling, Herring said in an interview last year<\/a>. \u201cPeople still bring that performance up,” he said. “So many people discovered our music that way.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2024, months before wowing crowds at Coachella, Chappell Roan introduced herself to late-night viewers on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert<\/em>, delivering an over-the-top theatrical rendition of \u201cRed Wine Supernova\u201d from her debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess<\/em>, collapsing on the floor at the end of her performance. \u201cStay there,\u201d Colbert told the future Grammy winner. \u201cYou’ve done enough.\u201d<\/p>\nBeastie Boys, \u201cSabotage\u201d<\/h2>\n
“<\/s>\u201d). In 1994, while they were on tour with Lollapalooza, which was a traveling festival back then, the Beasties lit up The Late Show<\/em> with \u201cSabotage\u201d in one of the greatest late-night performances of all time. No, seriously, watch it.<\/p>\nFoo Fighters, \u201cThis is a Call\u201d and \u201cEverlong\u201d<\/h2>\n
i<\/s>Is a Call\u201d in 1995. But of all the Late Show<\/em> musical guests through the years, Grohl and the Foos developed the most intimate connection to the show.<\/p>\nAlanis Morrisette, \u201cYou Oughta Know\u201d<\/h2>\n
Phish, \u201cChalkdust Torture\u201d<\/h2>\n
Future Islands, \u201cSeasons (Waiting on You)\u201d<\/h2>\n
Chappell Roan, \u201cRed Wine Supernova\u201d<\/h2>\n
Kendrick Lamar, \u201cWesley\u2019s Theory,\u201d \u201cMomma,\u201d \u201cKing Kunta\u201d and \u201cu\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/h2>\n