This week marks David Letterman’s last three episodes as host of CBS’s Late Show, and who better to serve as one of the final musical guests than Eddie Vedder. The Pearl Jam frontman has a long history with Letterman, having performed on his show countless times over the last two decades.
For his final performance, Vedder teamed with Paul Shaffer and CBS Orchestra for a rendition of Pearl Jam’s “Better Man” that was equally parts thrilling and heart-warming, especially when Vedder reworked the song to mouth the lyrics, “Love you, Dave.” Watch the replay below.
For the history bluffs, Vedder’s first-ever appearance on the show, in February 1996, actually came as a surprise. Letterman’s singing of the chorus to Pearl Jam’s “Black” became part of his nightly schtick — sort of like how he obsessively replayed Future Islands’ performance years later. Vedder eventually showed up to sing the song himself with the backing of Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra. Revisit his initial performance below.