Doc Severinsen on Letterman, June 17, 1985

The Tonight Show's music director performs "Too Soon to Tell" and then chats with Dave. Both allude to some sort of band personnel issues that only the audience understands. To see what may have occurred, I included selected moments that preceded Doc's appearance:

Open: The full band is seen -- Sid Mcginnis, Paul Shaffer, Steve Jordan, and Will Lee.

Act 2: Dave asks if Phil Collins, a guest for an upcoming show, will be performing and/or playing the drums. Paul: "Well, we may need him," as Steve is seen sneaking away from his drum kit, climbing up a nearby ladder. Judging by the audience reaction, they know what's going on. Dave explains, "There's some personnel circumstances in the band that are being ironed out among themselves." Another shot of Steve climbing as Dave asks, "Why is your drummer evacuating the premises?"

Act 2, end: Into the break, the band plays The Who's "Substitute." It's not clear who's playing the drums.

Act 3 end: But by the end of Act 3, Steve can be seen at the drum kit.

And Steve is there playing behind Doc in Act 5.

So something happened to which the home viewer wasn't privy but the studio audience was. Did someone replace Steve in Act 2, prompting the band's performance of "Substitute"?

To be tracked down.

Thanks to John Dalton for bringing this up earlier today and for prompting me to put this together.

Видео Doc Severinsen on Letterman, June 17, 1985 канала Don Giller