Today marks two years since legendary keyboardist and singer-songwriter Dr. John sadly died of a heart attack at age 77. Born Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. on November 20, 1941 in New Orleans, Dr. John’s music perfectly personified the eclectic styles of the Crescent City with a heady gumbo of blues, jazz, boogie-woogie, funk and rock ‘n’ roll.
One of Dr. John’s most famous nicknames was The Night Tripper and so it was fitting that the musician was a fixture on both of renowned music fan David Letterman’s late night programs for nearly 30 years. YouTuber Dan Giller compiled all of The Night Tripper’s Letterman plays, some of which feature Dr. John’s many collaborators.
The compilation kicks off with Dr. John on piano and Bonnie Raitt on guitar to back up legendary singer Sippie Wallace in November 1982. The trio delivered a memorable performance of “Women Be Wise.” Dr. John would also swing by Late Night with David Letterman for solo appearances in the ‘80s, performing two of his signature songs “Such A Night” in 1983 and “Accentuate The Positive” in 1989. The latter year would see a second appearance by Dr. John when he came by during the holidays to deliver “Silent Night” with Darlene Love and others. Dr. John also made another holiday play in 1990, this time of “Please Come Home for Christmas” with Charles Brown. The pianist’s final appearance on Late Night took place in 1992 when he delivered “Goodnight Irene.”
Letterman would switch from NBC to CBS in 1993 and had The Night Tripper on The Late Show in ‘97 to perform “Stepping Stone” with singer-songwriter G. Love. Another landmark collaboration took place in ‘99 with the late great guitarist B.B. King. The two titans delivered “Is You Or Is You Ain’t My Baby” as well as a bonus performance of B.B.’s signature song, “The Thrill Is Gone” which also included another Letterman fixture, the famed Glen Campbell on guitar. In 2000, Dr. John teamed up with pop star Christina Aguilera on “Merry Christmas Baby.” The Night Tripper’s final Letterman play took place on June 17, 2008 when he performed “Time For A Change” with Lower 911.
To remember Dr. John, watch the beloved musician perform on Letterman throughout the years below via the JamBase Live Video Archive for this edition of Sunday Cinema:
#livestreams-promo-container .list-livestreams > li:not(.divider) {
padding-left:15px!important;;
padding-right:15px!important;;
}
!function ($) {
window.jb_populate_livestreams_promo = function( $element ) {
let args = $element.attr( ‘data-args’ );
// set up the AJAX post data
var data = {
‘action’: ‘jb_get_livestreams_promo’,
‘args’: args,
‘wpnonce’: $( ‘#jb_livestreams_promo_nonce’ ).val(),
};
console.log( ‘—— jb_populate_livestreams_promo data —–‘ );
console.log( data );
// make the AJAX $_POSTcall
$.ajax({
type: “POST”,
url: ajaxurl,
data: data,
success: function( response ){
if ( true == response.success ){
$element.html(response.data).slideDown(420, function(){
jbSetStreamLocalTimes();
});
// trigger Cloudinary
var evt = window.document.createEvent(‘UIEvents’);
evt.initUIEvent(‘resize’, true, false, window, 0);
window.dispatchEvent(evt);
return;
}else{
console.log(“jb_populate_livestreams_promo – UNSUCCESSFUL”);
console.log(response);
return;
}
},
error: function( response ){
console.log(“jb_populate_livestreams_promo – ERROR”);
console.log(response);
return;
}
});
};
$(function(){
$(‘#livestreams-promo-container’).each( function(){
if( ! jb_livestreams_promo_killswitch ){
jb_populate_livestreams_promo( $(this) );
}else{
$(this).remove();
}
});
});
}(window.jQuery);
.fb-page.fb_iframe_widget{
width:100%!important;
}
.jb-fb-like-box{
border-top: 1px solid #DAE1E8;
border-bottom: 1px solid #DAE1E8;
padding:15px 0;
margin: 15px 0;
text-align:center;
}
.jb-fb-like-box h3{
margin: 0 0 15px;
}
.jb-fb-like-box blockquote{
border:none;
margin-top: 15px;
}
.single-article-simplified .article-content .jb-fb-like-box:last-child{
border-bottom:none;
padding-bottom: 0;
}
