Next week brings David Letterman’s final three episode as host of CBS’s the Late Show. The past several weeks has seen an array of A-list movie stars, musicians, even the President stop by the Ed Sullivan Theatre to bid adieu, but Letterman has saved some of his all-time favorite guests for last.

Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder will serve as the musical guest for Monday episode. He’s performed on the show countless times over the last two decades, as a solo musician, with Pearl Jam, even accompanying The Who. In fact, 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.

Vedder will reportedly perform again with Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra on Monday night. Based on recent appearances from Dave Matthews Band and Ryan Adams, which saw the artists revisit the songs they played for their initial Letterman appearances, one has to imagine Vedder will be there to sing “Black”.

Monday night’s episode will also feature Tom Hanks, who will be making his 60th (!) performance on the show. Bill Murray will stop by on Tuesday night for what is only his 44th appearance. No guests have been announced for Wednesday night’s finale, but CBS promises “an hour filled with surprises.”