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The Night Jimmy Fallon Showed The World He’s A Genius

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NBC HAS ITS PROBLEMS these days, but they seem small when compared with the platinum talent of itsTonight Show host, Jimmy Fallon. Of course, he has all the requisite abilities for that spot, such as an easy, seemingly effortless on-camera presence and the ability to imaginatively engage entertainers and other hot personalities.

But he also has an extra dimension, which was spontaneously on display at the afterparty that took place at the Plaza hotel following Saturday Night Live‘s astonishing 40th anniversary show. I got to attend because I had hosted an SNL show immediately after dropping out of the 1996 presidential race. As you’d expect, there were numerous notable musicians in attendance. At a little after 1:00 a.m. we heard noise on the suddenly lighted stage of the Plaza’s ballroom, and there was Jimmy Fallon calling up Paul McCartney, Dan Aykroyd and others. What followed for almost two hours was one of the most amazing, impromptu jam sessions in music history. There was no way you could have arranged to get so many stars to perform together like that. The people Fallon enticed to participate left all of us in dropped-jaw amazement: McCartney, Aykroyd, Taylor SwiftMiley Cyrus, Elvis Costello, Debbie Harry, the B-52s, Ariana Grande, Chris Rock, Martin Short, the pop band HAIM, Michael Bolton, Prince and others. I’ve never heard a more resounding rendition of Elvis Costello’s classic, “Pump It Up,” the B-52s’ “Love Shack” or what Harry and Grande did with “Respect.” Watching Bill Murray gamely play the tambourine and Paul Allen on back up guitar all made this a unique event.

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The way Fallon kept everything moving, getting stars to come up, one after another, was a virtuoso performance without precedent. His successful wooing of the reluctant Prince was a masterpiece in open diplomacy. Egos were deftly managed amid the booming music. Fallon knew most of the songs and belted them out with the others. His enthusiastic participation was contagious.

Everyone there knew they were witnessing something unrepeatable–until, perhaps, SNL‘s next big anniversary. We recognized that only Fallon could have made it happen and that, although he’s been a remarkable success on theTonight Show, his abilities have yet to be fully appreciated.

P.S. While handheld technology has made immense strides, the videos taken by numerous guests don’t begin to capture what took place.


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