Dressed in tuxedos but not seen again once the first notes of the song rang out, the group performed one of The Late Show host's favorite songs, "Everlong", while a montage of clips from the program's history streamed by.

Letterman explained the song - from the band's 1997 album, "The Colour And The Shape" - held special meaning for him as he recovered from quintuple bypass surgery in January of 2000.

When producers planned the host's return after a 6-week period of recovery, Letterman requested they try to arrange for the Foo Fighters to appear; the band agreed and cancelled shows in South America to return to New York for the host and the program.