Last week we welcomed Lil Wayne back from jail. As soul revivalist Mayer Hawthorne tweeted, “Conan coming back > Weezy coming back.” Agree or not, as of 11pm tonight, we’ll have ‘em both. Conan O’Brien’s new show Conan hits TBS and, after the crazy promotion the station has been doing (you gotta watch this video), it better be good.
As the youngest, hippest late night show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien always featured better music than Leno/Letterman. With Jimmy Fallon recruiting the Roots, though, O’Brien finds himself with more music-cred competition. He starts his comeback strong by bringing back Jack White for the 876th time tonight. The two first met at a Detroit bowling alley when Jack White was still John Gillis and have been buddies ever since. Jack has appeared on various Conan-helmed shows ever since, even briefly reuniting the White Stripes for the Late Night sendoff in 2009.
Below, we revisit two classic Stripes-Conan combos. In 2006 Late Night hosted the Stripes for a full week. Their performance of their own “Let’s Build a Home” blends into the Soledad Brothers’ “Goin’ Back to Memphis” and then Blind Willie Johnson’s “John the Revelator.” White’s desk solo is what late night legends are made of. “Jolene” ain’t too bad either.
The White Stripes – Jolene (Dolly Parton cover)
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Conan premieres tonight at 11pm ET on TBS.
The White Stripes are always so amazing live especially when they do other people’s songs, I wonder why their original materials leave me cold?