--- ---  # Watch the Foo Fighters Sing 'Everlong' for David Letterman's Final Show by [Megan Gibson](https://time.com/author/megan-gibson/) ## Megan Gibson May 21, 2015 11:38 AM UTC  In this image released by CBS, David Letterman appears during a taping of his final "Late Show with David Letterman," on May 20, 2015 at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York. In this image released by CBS, David Letterman appears during a taping of his final "Late Show with David Letterman," on May 20, 2015 at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York.Jeffrey R. Staab—AP by [Megan Gibson](https://time.com/author/megan-gibson/) ## Megan Gibson May 21, 2015 11:38 AM UTC Though David Letterman was dry-eyed throughout his final episode of the _Late Show_, the montage that played during Foo Fighters performance of “Everlong” ensured that no one in the audience was. The song, which Letterman has previously declared a favorite, played over a video of highlights spanning the late-night host’s 33-year career, which included myriad stunts, countless interviews with celebrities and politicians and, most of all, lots of laughs. Check out the performance below. ### Photos: David Letterman’s Early Career  One of David Letterman's earliest roles before he made it as a television host was as a guest star on Mork & Mindy. CBS/Getty Images  Before he received his own show, Letterman was a regular guest host for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Above, he is seen interviewing Betty White. Paul Drinkwater—NBC/Getty Images  In 1980, Letterman finally got his own morning comedy show, The David Letterman Show. Above, he is seen interviewing Truman Capote. Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  After the cancellation of his morning show, Letterman was given a new show and time slot, Late Night With David Letterman which immediately followed The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The first version of the Late Night franchise, debuted on February 1, 1982 and would eventually be succeeded by Conan O’Brien, seen above. Al Levine—NBC/Getty Images  Letterman left NBC for CBS to start the Late Show with David Letterman when NBC gave the reigns of The Tonight Show to Jay Leno instead of him after Johnny Carson's retirement. The first show debuted on August 30, 1993, with Letterman's retirement announced for 2015. New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images David Letterman Late Show Finale: Foo Fighters Sing Everlong ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3892105/david-letterman-late-night-finale-foo-fighters/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3892105/david-letterman-late-night-finale-foo-fighters/"},"headline":"Watch the Foo Fighters Sing 'Everlong' for David Letterman's Final Show","datePublished":"2015-05-21T11:38:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:47:33.342Z","description":"The late-night host says goodbye to his favorite song","url":"https://time.com/3892105/david-letterman-late-night-finale-foo-fighters/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt66ce6aea8688ca67/69885114428a9e2802ccd580/david-letterman3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Gibson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/megan-gibson/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt66ce6aea8688ca67/69885114428a9e2802ccd580/david-letterman3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"In this image released by CBS, David Letterman appears during a taping of his final \"Late Show with David Letterman,\" on May 20, 2015 at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York.","caption":"In this image released by CBS, David Letterman appears during a taping of his final \"Late Show with David Letterman,\" on May 20, 2015 at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York.","creditText":"Jeffrey R. Staab—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3892105/david-letterman-late-night-finale-foo-fighters/","name":"Watch the Foo Fighters Sing 'Everlong' for David Letterman's Final Show"}}]}] ```