“The Late Show” Loses Key Ally for Country & Roots Artists
For twenty years and for two separate hosts, senior music producer for The Late Show Sheryl Zelikson has been a key behind-the-scenes champion for under-the-radar country and roots music performers who otherwise may never have been afforded an opportunity for a national television debut.
It began in the David Letterman era, when artists such as Jason Isbell, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Elizabeth Cook, Dale Watson all received a chance on the stage at the Ed Sullivan Theater. When Stephen Colbert took over recently, the honor was also bestowed to John Moreland, Aubrie Sellers, and others. Often these artists were there at the behest of the hosts themselves, but sometimes it was due to the open-mind and quality ear of Sheryl Zelikson.
Hopefully that won’t change when the next person assumes the important and influential position, but Sheryl Zelikson has let it be known that she’s moving on. “Artists have been discovered, careers made, and it has been a tremendous privilege to have been an integral part of the process for over two decades,” wrote Zelikson in a statement. Unlike the priorities of some television shows, The Late Show has prided itself in being part of the discovery process for music as opposed to just being another entertainment outlet for the same popular names already afforded national media opportunities.
According to The Late Show, the decision by Sheryl Zelikson to leave was “very amicable.” She originally started at CBS in the mailroom department. And even though she is leaving, she says she’s still interested in continuing to championing great talent in future endeavors.
Now the late night staple is looking for a new senior music producer. Hopefully it will be one that will continue to prioritize discovering new artists not just from country and roots, but across the music landscape, and keep The Late Show a friend of the little guy.
July 27, 2017 @ 8:07 am
Sounds like somebody is looking to be a booking agent with a resume to back the endeavor.
July 27, 2017 @ 8:19 am
Tony Joe White, too.
If I was this guy, you could all kiss my ass.
July 27, 2017 @ 8:19 am
Where do we apply? ha
July 27, 2017 @ 8:50 am
I remember forever ago, when they featured a practically unknown Ian Moore on the show. Hopefully the longstanding tradition remains intact.
July 27, 2017 @ 9:04 am
Trig, could you do the blog *and* the booking? Hmm.
July 27, 2017 @ 11:24 am
I DVR the show every night and usually watch 4 of the week’s 5 but on some shows I skip some of the talking guests and zip straight thru to the music. In general the lineup has been pretty diverse and enjoyable but in my opinion there has been a subtle change over the past year. More pop acts and less well-known acts such as a recent show with The War On Drugs being featured. The lineup was a bit strange – 5 guitars, 2 keyboards and a drummer. Not being a big fan of TWOD did not help me to understand the mostly mumbled lyrics. Music itself was nothing special either but maybe this was just a typical one of their songs and I’m just not giving them enough attention. I confess to turning it off about 2 minutes into the song. My guess would be that a new producer will only continue this trend and I will watch even less.
July 27, 2017 @ 4:42 pm
I dvr the late late show and make it start recording 10 minutes early to catch the music act on colbert.
July 27, 2017 @ 12:17 pm
Letterman is also a big americana fan. He was a guest with Paul on outlaw country with Elizabeth cook I think. Talked a lot about personal music stories,Steve Earle ect…
July 27, 2017 @ 2:29 pm
Kudos to her. She did a great job over the years. Hopefully the next person will be an ally for good music.
July 27, 2017 @ 4:33 pm
She did a great job and of course David Letterman was a big Outlaw Country fan. He heard Dale Watson on Sirius and wanted him on the show immediately. I hope someone good replaces her as said above.
July 27, 2017 @ 6:00 pm
That’s too bad – she could’ve brought Tyler Childers on to promote his new album which is now streaming on NPR and is amazing.
July 29, 2017 @ 2:32 pm
Just listened too it. It’s awesome.
July 27, 2017 @ 9:44 pm
Lifelong Letterman fan and remember vividly watching “life of sin” and wondering who the f is this?! Dave’s reaction was so great, too.
July 27, 2017 @ 11:45 pm
Letterman always had great music on the show; that was the main reason to watch it as far back as the 80’s. Ms. Zelikson did a fantastic job. But back in those pre-internet days, we didn’t have access to anything like YouTube. So besides going to a live show, watching the Letterman Show (and occasionally SNL) offered a rare opportunity to see an artist play a song live.Oh the times they are a changin’…