Fall Guide to Good TV: The Roots on Jimmy Fallon
Weeknights at 12:35 p.m. on NBC
As the the house band for Jimmy Fallon, the hardest working hip-hop band in the world takes a much deserved break from incessant touring for the comforts of 30 Rockefeller. We talked to the band’s co-founder and drummer Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson on the show’s 100th episode, and here’s what he had to say about his new gig:
On connecting with guest musicians: “Cat Stevens came—it was surreal. We talked about an obscure album cut from 1977 called ‘Was Dog A Doughnut?’ What was just him messing around for four minutes in the studio wound up being a staple in the hip-hop world, which he was very shocked to discover. Same thing happened with Tom Jones when we backed him up on the show. There was a really obscure cut called ‘Lookin Out Of My Window’ which is a B-boy staple. He’s just baffled that from all the things he contributed it was some obscure B-side that made an impact.”
On not knowing what he was getting into: “Lorne Michaels said, ‘You’ll probably back up the occasional star four or five times a year. It’s very easy money; all you have to do is give up a collective five minutes of music a week.’ It was a lie from the pit of hell, but I wasn’t mad. Once they realized they could utilize us more than just as the house band, that’s when the gig from hell broke loose. This gig is five times harder than touring. It’s now to the point where we get that week off to tour, it’s the easiest thing. I needed this job just to realize how great I had it when I was touring.”
Watch a clip from Season One of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon:
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