origin stories

Steve Martin and Paul Simon, the Act That Almost Was

Even though Conan O’Brien’s ratings (understandably) dropped 30 percent last night from his healthy Monday-night debut, the producers of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon are continuing to take advantage of having an unusually strong lead-in audience. Last night’s show featured appearances from longtime Lorne Michaels cronies Steve Martin and Paul Simon, who not only delighted the audience by duetting on one of Steve Martin’s new songs (with Martin on banjo and Paul on acoustic guitar), but also revealed that Martin and Simon briefly considered pairing up together as an act in the sixties. Thanks to a little televised flashback magic, we were treated to a scene where the two pompadoured youngsters sat together in a bedroom and debated whether songs like “Bridge Over Troubled Water” should be performed with a serious or comedic tone. Stupid creative differences, we curse thee!

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon [Hulu]

Steve Martin and Paul Simon, the Act That Almost Was