As you may have read elsewhere on this blog, I used to occasionally roam the halls and studios of NBC Burbank. Sometimes, I had actual authorization to be inside the building, though not to wander into various studios there to watch rehearsals or tapings. Sometimes, I bluffed my way in and roamed from where Laugh-In was taping to where Bob Hope was rehearsing to where everyone on The Dean Martin Show except Dean Martin was rehearsing to where Johnny Carson was taping or Hollywood Squares was being done…
I got around. One of my favorite things was to be near Studio 1 around 2 PM when the Tonight Show Orchestra was rehearsing and then to maybe get back there later to stand in the producers' area and watch Mr. Carson do his show. That band was incredible when heard in person…at least ten times as good as what came out of the speakers on your TV set at home.
Johnny loved that band. His Exec Producer Fred DeCordova told me one time that he thought one of the things that had prevented Johnny from retiring a few years earlier was that he couldn't bear to put an end to that band. He knew that whoever replaced him would bring in a whole new sound — new bandleader, new musicians, new style. It was really the last of the Big Bands and it was also the best gig most of those musicians had ever had. They were well-paid for working four hours a day and didn't have to go on the road, which is where most of the jobs were for guys who played that kind of music.
Here's a number the band performed March 8, 1974. It's good but I guarantee you it was ten times better if you were in the studio…