Jayhawks Waiting for the Sun on Letterman circa 1991

[NorthernStone1]

Is that Shaun White on Lead vocals? Just kidding!!! This is where it is at! So Good!

[OrisLover]

Really amazing.

[fperdomo]

PEAVEY!!!!!!!!!

[jbcatl]

Wow, in their prime, excellent performance.

[CHillyDoggy]

Love me some Jayhawks! Some of the best harmonies out there!

[elburns64]

They remind me a bit of Neil Young. Love them.

[sacflies]

Wasn't this '92, when "Hollywood Town Hall" was released?

[MrFreerangechicken]

saw them under the penguin on this tour in ottawa with sun volt opening

bar is different now thought sun volt is back and so are the jayhawks

one of the best shows i've ever been to

[Jrad0623]

@MrFreerangechicken Son Volt didn't form until 1994

[Fiffiification]

dani california? sweet home alabama? mary jane's last dance?

[danteintheburgh]

always a joy

[myke7777]

Is Gary like 19 here? ;)

[BrotherAngstrom]

They wrote great songs. But their live singing was rough.

[tbarsness13]

I saw these guys front row at Taste of Chicago in the 90's...still one of my favorite groups...they're awesome. I'm bummed I missed the accoustic show they did here at the Vic Theater in Chicago last month. They played Hollywood Townhall all the way through on Thursday then Tomorrow the Green Grass the next night. I hope they stay together for a while.

[creativerms3]

Great show last night at the Vic! They played the entire Hollywood Town Hall album. Still one of my favorite albums. Love these guys.

[MegaReplacement]

i just watched them on Letterman in '03 "Save it for a Rainy Day" via UToube - then going back to this 12 years earlier, amazing. I am sure I saw these back in the day, but nice to re-live it. This band was around for a long time and never got the respesct they deserved...

[madelonlampe]

The best ever. especialy in Utrech a couple of years ago.......

[jbcatl]

Paul Schaeffer does this song complete justice on organ. Man I wish these guys were still together and touring. I was late to the party and only saw them a couple of times pre-split.

[MidDaySky]

Who plays piano at 0:08 (just before the organ starts)? Overdub ?

[yellowtoronado]

wow...I never put all that together re; the Petty/Tench connection. On another note, why is the house drummer (anton what's his name) playing drumset and the Jayhawks drummer is playing congas that you can't hear??? I love all of the Jayhawks records...such a wonderful band...such wonderful records!

[igrowhigher]

@yellowtoronado re: your question about Anton Fig -- well this song is essentially Gary Louris' tune (he sings it because he wrote it) and since Fig is a great drummer and was available, Gary probably preferred to use him instead of Ken Callahan. I don't think Louris liked Callahan's drumming. About ten years ago I made the mistake of asking Louris about Callahan and Gary had a fit! By the way, I think Callahan is a great drummer too!

[peterdaniel66]

popular doesn't always = good

the most incredible music is often times the most obscure.

[nemokoning17]

Amazing, and beautiful ofcourse. This band just really makes me feel right...

[sizzlin25]

Heard a versoin on serius with a woman acoustic version. Could not recall who sang song took ~ 3 days. great song hope it gets to American idol!!!! Great song, Also thought it was from later in the 90's.

[lecaiddu53]

MY GOD ! Letterman got hairs !

[popguynj]

ok sounds like Mary Jane's last dance lol

[bd5150]

Strike that ... reverse it. This song actually came out first. Not saying anyone plagiarized, just that this song is older than Mary Jane's Last Dance.

[jaymo13]

@popguynj Actually Mary Jane's Last Dance sounds like this considering Waiting For The Sun was recorded about a year earlier.

[Unheard08]

@popguynj Not only does this song predate the Petty song, but Benmont Tench played organ on this album, so I think it's a fair guess that Petty had heard this song when he wrote MJ's last dance.

[jimmyjack321]

Im in a band with callahans son

[jzmitch]

Dude, where is Kenny? He's the person who actually introduced me to the Jayhawks!  He was at my aunt & new uncle's wedding. He was my uncle, Michael Goodrich's, best man, I think. I set across from Michael & Ken @ the Wedd recept dinner. Thats when he talked about his new band - the Jayhawks. Tell him that my aunt, Kelly Goodrich, no longer married, but still friends w/Michael, said "hello". Yeah I was 16 at the time and after hearing the Jayhawks I never listened to badmusic ever again.

[rundoetx]

Cosmic American Music

[patchmack2]

they have such a great american sound...i hope they get together to make another album soon

[Issicra]

Oh man.. absolutely . Pure American rock and roll... I haven't looked it up, but I've read that Louris and Olsen have a new record coming out.

Simon and Garfunkel for the 21st century.

[nilshot13]

The congo player is actually the Jayhawks drummer. But back in those days, the Late Show band served as the "house band" and always played with the artists. They couldn't have two drummers and Anton Fig was there first.

By the way, I think this was around 1993.

[nakamichiguy]

Was that Thad on the congos? You're right about the 'house band' thing. Cool in a way since it shouts back to old-school television shows from the 50s and 60s, but lame in a way too because, you know, let the REAL band play! I'm a huge Letterman fan and a huge Jayhawks fan..so I feel so conflicted.

this is a great clip though, I didn't even know they ever played Letterman's old NBC show. They should've been HUGE! Sigh.

[jzmitch]

Ken Callahan on congos.... Thad Spencer, I THINK, on drums. Def Ken on congo's, though

[nadionmediagroup]

yeah, they had the whole package for sure. i always was puzzled about the lack of mainstream success. they had the hooks, the right "sound" for the time, and they were road warriors. they probably played 300 - 325 nights per year for a while.

luck has something to do with it. great talent alone does not = huge. which is too bad, really. ask warren zevon. similar story and level of success

[hooragood]

*luck* and the willingness to sell your soul.

Good that they didn't, as you still get to hear them in wee intimate venues.

[jesamani75]

thanks for posting this video,i didn't know they had a conga player.

[petty73]

Tom Petty never copied this song. As someone already mentionned, Mary Jane is Indiana Girl.

Also, lets not forget that Benmont Tench worked on the Jayhawks album.

So if there was any copying going on ( which I dont think there is ) Petty had the original stuff!

[reghubbard]

But this song predates both of the so-called similar releases by the maforementioned artists by 2 and 15 years, respectively. So, what's your point? Ermmmm?

[thesuzies]

They were the opening act for Tom Petty on the tour right before Wildflowers was released. I wonder where he got the idea for Mary Jane's Last Dance eh?

[johno1951]

I saw the Jayhawks open for Tom Petty and the heartbreakers. Both bands were incredible. Mid 90's. Great venue. After that Petty copied (modified) a Jayhawk song. " The Man Who Loved Life". on the last DJ album.

[cmartin03345]

The Heartbreakers didn't steal the chords seeing as the song was worked on in the beginning of 1987 under the name Indiana Girl and neither did the Jayhawks steal it seeing as this came out in 91 and Mary Jane's Last Dance not till 93. Both are great songs with a similar chord structure, alot of songs have similar structures and sound, doesn't mean it's a rip off

[reghubbard]

For those citing plagarism: They did this song before Tom Petty and the Red Hot Chilipoopers..... BTW, Am, G, and D are pretty common chords in rock and roll, so STFU.

[JoeStracke]

Not to say one way or the other, just that you seen rather naive.

Having the same chords says nothing, it's the tablature that matters. Also, release date has nothing to do with creation date (e.g. 'Norwegian Wood' released before '4th Time Around', but Dylan wrote his first).

[reghubbard]

Not to say one way or the other, just that you seem like a presumptuous prick. Just because it happened with Dylan and the Beatles doesn't mean that's the case here. BYW, spare me the musical lecture. The same chords, in the same order, with the same time signature, can sound very similar. Regardless of the tablature!  This isn't a complex orchestral piece. It's basically a 3 chord rock tune. Now, go look for other nits to pick.

[beefoneeto]

The song is great-yeah it echoes Petty but so what.Petty copped much of his stuff from the Byrds.

[vpieper]

WOW! The Jayhawks as I encountered them back in '92. Love the dark sound of Gary's SG..

French boy below: shut the f*ck up.

[jzmitch]

i still have my "long box" that HTH came in :)

[thegrunt1]

Le plagiat de Tom petit et de Red hot Chili peppers Oh my fuckung God ! -_-""

[LiladyK]

Somedays nothing sets me flying higher than the sight and sound of Olson and Louris together on the same stage. THANK YOU. Looking forward to their next reunion tour in Jan. of 2009.

[FisheyeSC78]

Awesome!! Thanks!

[dougedart]

FUCKING Awesome!

[EarthyPoetGrrl]

Wow! thanks Dan for posting this! I heard about it via a Jayhawks fanpage and this really rocks! Can't wait til this fall for the coming Louris/Olson release! xo~Beth