Jimmy Kimmel broke down in tears Tuesday night as he paid tribute to his longtime friend and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” bandleader, Cleto Escobedo III, who passed away earlier that morning at 59.
“This is the hardest monologue I’ve ever done,” the 57-year-old host said, choking back tears. “Late last night, early this morning, we lost someone very special who was much too young. Cleto was a great friend, father, son, musician and man.”
Kimmel shared memories of growing up in Las Vegas, where he met Escobedo as a child in Spring Valley.
“He was a year older than me. His name was Cleto, but we called him Junior,” Kimmel recalled. “We had sleepovers all the time. At one point, I stayed at his house 33 nights in a row.”
The host described Escobedo’s musical talent as evident from a young age.
“He was a phenomenal sax player from a very young age,” Kimmel said. “He was a child prodigy who would get standing ovations in junior high school, if you could believe that.”
Escobedo inherited his musical chops from his father, Cleto Escobedo II, who played in “Cleto and the Cletones” and had put his own career aside to focus on family.
“So when Cleto Jr. became a professional musician, Cleto Senior was thrilled,” Kimmel said. “He got to live vicariously through his son, who started playing in bars, clubs, and lounges around Las Vegas.”
Kimmel recounted Escobedo’s early career, including gigs with Paula Abdul and a record deal that didn’t succeed, Trending Politics reported.
“He was a serious musician, not made for pop fame,” Kimmel said. “He went back to performing with big names like Marc Anthony and Philip Bailey.”
When Kimmel launched his talk show in 2002, he immediately called his childhood best friend to lead the house band—and included Cleto Sr. as well.
“When you do a show like this, you need a few things,” Kimmel said. “You need a desk, an announcer, a Guillermo, and you need a band. Of course, I wanted Cleto to lead my band. We grew up watching Dave [Letterman] and Paul [Shaffer], and the idea that anyone other than him would lead the band was terrifying. It had to be him.”
The Escobedos and their crew nailed their audition at a restaurant gig, impressing ABC executives and securing their place in late-night history.
“Cleto and the Cletones” became a staple of Kimmel’s show, a bond that lasted nearly 23 years.
Kimmel closed his emotional tribute, noting their decades-long partnership. “We’ve been working together every day for almost 23 years,” he said.
