The rumors prove true once again. After months of speculation, it was officially announced on Monday that the legendary Roots crew would be giving up their touring lifestyle to join Jimmy Fallon on the set of Late Night on NBC. The unbelievable really has become reality. Fallon revealed “in the first installment of his nightly video blog on www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com ... that critically acclaimed Grammy winning hip-hop band The Roots will become Fallon’s house band when Late Night makes its broadcast debut.” (link)
The Blot is a huge fan of The Roots and I’ve been lucky enough to see them play live multiple times. I’m interested in seeing just what impact this will have on their careers. On the one hand it will definitely give them more exposure to the general public than ever before, but one would think filming a television show 5 days a week/52 weeks a year would put a stop to their constant touring and possibly an end to their recording careers. But, The Roots obviously see this as a huge opportunity.
When asked about this exciting news Roots founder Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson said “we are really excited to be working with Jimmy on the new Late Night. It’s also an honor to be working with an icon like Lorne Michaels. We are looking forward to becoming part of the history of 30 Rock.” (link) I’m really excited for Fallon’s debut on March 2, 2009 and can’t wait to see how this all plays out. It’s either going to be really awesome or a complete disaster, but I don’t see it falling somewhere in the middle.