The darkest of dark times for late-night TV musical guests exploded last night with a blinding bolt of love l-u-v. Late Show With David Letterman has been pretty much the only pre-sleep viewing option in the last couple of weeks of summer doldrums, and due to a Time Warner Cable dispute, a lot of people can’t even watch that. And sure, Gladys Knight sang stupendously on Letterman last night in a rendition of her Lenny Kravitz Oscarbait “You Ain’t Nothin’ No More,” but Gladys singing stupendously is straight-up Dog Bites Man non-news: She’s a legend.
The musical moment from last night’s Letterman that will live on in glory forever and ever, hallelujah, amen, is captured in the video above. Bill Murray, the show’s first guest ever, returned in full, magnificent Liberace garb to celebrate its 20th anniversary. And he serenaded the host with the song that was No. 1 when it all started: Whitney Houston’s operatic version of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.” Cinderella story, out of nowhere, former Saturday Night Live singer, now about to sing the second-best cover of — it looks like a mirac — it’s in the hole! It’s in the hole!
