Darlene Love's Final Late Show Performance Scheduled for Next Friday

I don't know about you, but the first thing that came to mind when I learned that David Letterman will be retiring next year was "Does this mean no more Darlene Love at Christmas?" For the past 28 years, Darlene Love has been the musical guest on the final Letterman show before Christmas each year, where she's sung her classic hit song from 1963, "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)." The tradition first began in 1986 on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman, and continued when the program migrated to CBS in 1993 to become the Late Show with David Letterman. Now that CBS has confirmed that Letterman's last show will be on May 20, 2015, it seems clear that next Friday, December 19, will be Love's last holiday appearance on the Letterman show. What's more, Love, who is now 76 years old, recently told reporters that she has no plans to appear on another late night program following Letterman's retirement. Fortunately, she doesn't intend to retire any time soon. In fact, she has nearly finished a new album under the direction of producer Steve Van Zandt, who's also a key member of Bruce Springsteen's legendary E Street Band. Two of the songs on the new record were contributed by Springsteen, who, along with Van Zandt, is a longtime fan. I think I've watched live TV exactly twice so far this year, but I'll be in front of the old box next Friday night, for sure.