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JIMMY FALLON AND THE ROOTS BAND

JIMMY FALLON AND THE ROOTS BAND
I had the chance to work with Jimmy Fallon and the Roots Band on The Jimmy Fallon Show before Jimmy started the Tonight Show. This was in 2011 to support the global release of my album “Dennis Coffey” on the London based Strut Record label. Jimmy is a fantastic talent and really treated me well when he held up my new album and allowed me to play in the audience warmup segment and throughout the show with The Roots Band. The Roots Band with band leader/drummer Questlove is a great band. They really do a good job on the show. I went to a small rehearsal room before the show and we practiced the music we would be playing. They recorded the music on computer. We wore headphones during the show and each time before we would play a cue or chaser, Questlove would announce it through our headphones and play a little bit of the track we recorded. It is a great system and made it easier for us to play our parts. I also played with The Roots Band on the “Road to Memphis” album by Booker T.

My wife Millie was in the Green Room watching the show on TV. Millie asked a staff member if he could get her a NBC Peacock Badge and made him feel so guilty, he finally gave her one. We had a great time at NBC on that show. Everyone was very nice. “Captain” Kirk Douglas, one of the guitar players in The Roots Band took the time to show me his guitars. He had a lot of Gibson guitars in his collection. Gibson endorses me and I have a lot of Gibson guitars going back to the early 60s including the new 355 guitar they gave me after I played with Les Paul and Larry Carlton at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and The Playhouse Theater in Cleveland.

Jimmy Fallon

Dennis Coffey and the Roots Band

Dennis Coffey and the Roots Band