As David Letterman's tenure comes to an end, we look back at the top 10 times someone from Dallas made a noteworthy appearance on his show. Many of them were musical acts. Strangely, none of them were sports figures. And yes, it's an arbitrary list.
Edie Brickell and New Bohemians
Feb. 17, 1989: Edie's first appearance on Letterman's show was on NBC, and she charmed the host in a brief chat after playing "What I Am." The highlight: her recollection of how a shot of Jack Daniels fueled her first improv session with New Bohemians.
Norah Jones
May 6, 2002: The Booker T. Washington and UNT alum made her first appearance on Letterman's show, playing the hit single "Don't Know Why" from her first album, Come Away with Me.
May 6, 2015: Exactly 13 years later, Jones returned to Letterman's show for her 10th and final appearance. She again played "Don't Know Why," and when Dave tells her, "We could have that every night," you can just hear the admiration in his voice.
George W. Bush
Oct. 19, 2000: Not long before he moved into the White House, Bush appeared on the program and delivered that night's Top 10 ("from the home office in Crawford, Texas.") The topic? "Changes I'll Make in the White House." The highlight? "No. 2: Give Oval Office one heck of a scrubbing." The pair got along well during this appearance, though Dave would go on to have plenty of fun at Bush's expense over the years.
Dixie Chicks
May 22, 2006: Remember all the flap over the Dixie Chicks' criticism of Bush? This appearance, featuring the debut of their Grammy-winning single "Not Ready to Make Nice," was their coming-back-out party. The band made five appearances -- and Natalie Maines made another as a solo act -- on Dave's show, but none was bigger than this one.
Jessica Simpson
March 10, 2010: She made six appearances on Dave's show, but this one is notable for Dave's pressing questions about her exes Tony Romo ("He broke up with me on my birthday") and John Mayer ("He gave away my game").
Old 97's
Aug. 4, 1999: You might not recognize these kids performing "Nineteen" from the album Fight Songs. It's worth a watch for the haircuts alone.
Erykah Badu
Feb. 14, 2012: The singer-songwriter made four appearances on the show, but none more eclectic than this: She performed a jazz-soul collaboration with Mark Ronson, the Dap-Kings and Zigaboo Modeliste (take that, spellcheck) that lit up the stage even more than anything Paul Shaffer could have worn.
St. Vincent
July 17, 2014: The last of her four appearances featured the artist's "Bring Me Your Loves," and Dave never did get an answer to his question: "Some of that was semaphore, wasn't it?" (Bonus: Check out her webcast concert from the same appearance.)
Meat Loaf
Sept. 15, 1999: The TJ alum and Noted Acquaintance of Robert Wilonsky covered Warren Zevon's "Lawyers, Guns and Money." So there that is.
