When NBC announced that Jimmy Fallon would take over "Late Night" in 2008, few suspected that the show would be a rousing success due in part to Fallon's decision to hire The Roots as his house band.
After all, the hip-hop group was hardly in the mold of Doc Severinson's orchestra or the Max Weinberg 7: Not only were they already famous as a band, their sound is evocative, eclectic and socially-conscious -- not exactly tailor-made for guest walk-on music. And even though Michele Bachmann may still agree with that, Fallon made the decision early on to share his show with the band to the benefit of all.
From near-weekly song parodies, to masterful History of Rap medleys with Justin Timberlake, to playing as President Obama's backing band when he helped to Slow Jam the News, The Roots have provided an electric jolt to the TV landscape. And not only have audiences noticed, nearly every guest has, as well.
The show put together a supercut of guests giving praise to The Roots on the show, to the point that the guests seem more nervous and excited about being in the presence of The Roots than about appearing on the show. Could any other band receive equal praise from Nicolas Cage, Jim Belushi, Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Al Roker, Jessica Alba and Marc Maron?
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