The King of Salsa and 'The Hit'

Here's another lost TV musical gem, featuring renowned singer/songwriter/actor/politico Rubén Blades. The salsa titan, who has a Harvard law degree, a Panamanian presidential run, and millions of albums sales under his belt, made a 1985 appearance on David Letterman's classic Late Night show to perform "The Hit" with some of his own crew and Paul Shaffer's band. This is an early, high-energy, salsified version of the song which appeared later on Blades' 1988 all-English album Nothing But the Truth. Shaffer demonstrates, as he has countless times over the years, that he can play anything in any style at any time.