Bob Dylan performing “The Night We Called It a Day” on the Late Show with David Letterman
This will be Dylan’s first performance on the LATE SHOW in nearly 22 years and his first television performance since the February release of his most recent album, the acclaimed Shadows in the Night, his 36th studio set. His prior performance on the LATE SHOW took place Nov. 18, 1993, during the show’s inaugural season on CBS. Previously, he had performed on Letterman’s “Late Night” show twice, on March 22, 1984 and on “Late Night’s” 10thanniversary show Jan. 18, 1992.
Shadows, a collection of covers of songs Frank Sinatra recorded in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, topped Billboard’s Top Rock Albums chart, opened at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, and peaked at No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart — more than 50 years afterThe Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan topped the survey in 1964.
Incredibly, tonight’s appearance marked Dylan’s return to the show for the first time since 1993. While he famously performed as the Plugz on Letterman’s NBC Late Night show, he only stopped by the Ed Sullivan Theatre once during his stint as the Late Show host. In 1993, he kicked off the inaugural season of the Late Show with a performance of “Forever Young”.
