7th Anniversary Special on Letterman, February 2, 1989

Taped January 23 in Studio 6A.
From Tom Shales' Washington Post article 2/2/89, "Letterman's Cranky Charm: Celebrating 7 Years of 'Late Night' Humor":
Last year's special, a ratings hit, originated from Radio City Music Hall. Alas, this year's [anniversary special] will originate from the same cramped NBC studio where Dave originates every night.
"We toyed with the idea of doing something on an aircraft carrier in the South Pacific," says Dave from his home in verdant New Canaan, Conn., "but the cost proved prohibitive. Then we thought about maybe doing it in Lincoln Center in Washington - the Kennedy Center. We could not get availability there.
"Then we asked if we could do it at the White House and apparently the idea was presented at some low-level gathering there and it was just booted out of the building. Which of course is only as it should be."
Part 1:
1. Satellite interview, "A.M. Cleveland" with Scott Newell.
2. "Live at Five" interview across the hall with Jack Cafferty.
A split-screen version of both Live and Five and LN's broadcasts can be seen here:
• David Letterman Visits...
3. An NBC promo.
Part 2: The anniversary show.
With a stand-up by Jerry Seinfeld and performance of "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green and Toni Childs, with a backup band consisting of:
Keyboard: Paul Shaffer
Guitar: Sid McGinnis
Bass: Will Lee
Drums: Anton Fig
Tower of Power Horns: Greg Adams, Emilio Castillo, Steve Grove, Stephen Kupka, Lee Thornburg
Saxophonist: Dave Sanborn
Guitarist: Carlos Santana
Pianist: McCoy Tyner
Percussionist: Tito Puente
Vocalists: Darlene Love, Patti Austin, Melissa Etheridge
Ending with a Tom Jones performance of the Late Night Anthem.
And a few Easter Eggs,
Satellite interview and NBC promo courtesy Christopher Bay.