TV Talk Show Bands

With the recent announcement that Kevin Eubanks may be leaving the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, I began to think about talk show hosts and their musical sidekicks. I've never been a Leno fan, with the exception of Headlines, which actually write themselves. Long before it was cool to shun Leno because of the Conan debacle, I was completely uninterested.

Eubanks is bland at best, and his music is not my thing, either.

Conan has (had?) Max Weinberg. Max has personality and musical talent. Add to this the unique fact that the bandleader is a drummer, and you have a winning combination. The rest of the band is fun, too.

Dave Letterman has Paul Schaffer. He may have an annoying voice, but this guy has a kick ass rolodex and can learn just about any song in popular music on the fly.

I tuned in to Jimmy Fallon's first show just to see The Roots and how they would be incorporated into the show. Several months in, Fallon has gotten less awkward. The only good thing about that first episode was The Roots segment "Slow Jammin' The News".

Who is your favorite late night talk show musical personality?