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Robbie Robertson staged his first late-night performance in eight years Wednesday with a rendition of “Let Love Reign,” the John Lennon-inspired song from the former Band leader’s new album Sinematic.
The Tonight Show house band the Roots backed the guitarist for a brassy take on the track.
In a statement, Robertson previously said of “Let Love Reign”: “Some people think John Lennon’s dream about love and togetherness went up in flames. I think that’s wrong. It’s everlasting. There was something a little naive about John Lennon going around singing about peace, but in that period young people celebrating love and peace helped end a war.”
In addition to Sinematic, Robertson also contributed music to Martin Scorsese’s upcoming epic The Irishman.
“I was working on music for The Irishman and working on [The Band] documentary, and these things were bleeding into each other,” Robertson said of Sinematic in a statement. “I could see a path. Ideas for songs about haunting and violent and beautiful things were swirling together like a movie. You follow that sound and it all starts to take shape right in front of your ears. At some point, I started referring to it as ‘Peckinpah Rock,’” a nod to the legendary Westerns director.
