Paul Shaffer and the World’s Most Dangerous Band are returning to NBC for the first time in 30 years to fill in for The Roots on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The special one-night event will take place this Friday, February 3rd while The Roots are in Los Angeles for the 2023 Grammy Awards.
From 1982 to 1993, Shaffer headed the in-house band for Late Night with David Letterman before the show moved to CBS and aired opposite Jay Leno’s The Tonight Show as the newly titled Late Show with David Letterman. Also rechristened as CBS Orchestra due to a naming rights dispute with NBC, the band remained with Letterman until the late night host retired in 2015. The group was able to reclaim the World’s Most Dangerous Band moniker after Late Show ended because NBC had abandoned its trademark claim.
“Paul Shaffer is one of the most important musical figures in late night history,” Fallon said in a statement. “From SNL to Letterman, he’s done it all. I’m beyond honored and excited that they’re getting the band back together.”
With a rotating lineup over the years, Shaffer told Rolling Stone he’s still sorting out who will be playing on Fallon. “We are still working on that, since people seem to be in four opposite corners of the world,” he said. “I do have the great Felicia Collins on guitar and the great Anton Fig on drums.”
The Roots have been with Fallon dating back to the 2009 debut of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and became the house band for The Tonight Show when he took over in February 2014 from Jay Leno.
The 2023 Grammys go down this Sunday, February 5th. See all the nominees here and find out all the performers and presenters ahead of the ceremony.