The members of the Beastie Boys (from left, Adrock, Mike D and MCA), who gave a rousing performance on Late Night with David Letterman in June 2004. (Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images)

When country star Dwight Yoakam performed on The Tonight Show on May 14, it was his 24th appearance on the show. His first came in 1986, when Johnny Carson was still the host. Yoakam has now broken the record set by Lyle Lovett for most appearances on The Tonight Show. In honour of this, CBCNews.ca takes a look back at some of the most memorable musical performances on late-night talk TV.

Tiny Tim on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, August 1968

Carson made a household name out of novelty act Tiny Tim, best known for performing Tiptoe Through the Tulips with a ukulele and his strange falsetto. (Tiny Tim eventually got married on the show, drawing the second-largest audience in the show's history, approximately 40 million viewers.)

Buddy Rich/Ed Shaughnessy drum battle on Johnny Carson, August 1978

Ed Shaughnessy, drummer for The Tonight Show band, takes on legendary jazz basher Buddy Rich. The sticks fly, but it ends with a civil embrace — not to mention an amazing, diagonal split-screen.

Sonny and Cher on Late Night with David Letterman, November 1987

More than 20 years after they made I Got You Babe a hit, Sonny and Cher reunited on Letterman to sing it from cue cards. Sonny Bono had aged; Cher still hasn’t.

Bette Midler on Johnny Carson, May 1992

When Carson retired, the Divine Miss M. stole the show. Midler serenaded Carson at his desk with a funny show tune she wrote especially for the occasion, before launching into an emotion-filled rendition of One for My Baby (And One More for the Road). She made him laugh and cry, then ran off-stage before she lost it herself. Incidentally, the performance won her an Emmy award.

Bill Clinton on The Arsenio Hall Show, June 1992

While still governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton joined Arsenio Hall’s house band, Arsenio's Posse, on saxophone for a performance of Heartbreak Hotel. Clinton's post-performance banter included this line: "Your drummer said if the music thing doesn't work out, [I] could always run for president." Clinton became president five months later.

The Beastie Boys on Letterman, June 2004

In a stunt designed to make you love them all over again, the Beastie Boys did a literally moving performance of Ch-Check It Out that began at a New York City subway stop, made its way into the Ed Sullivan Theatre and ended on top of Dave’s desk. A big high five to the Steadicam operator.

Feist on Jimmy Kimmel Live, May 2007

Before her name became synonymous with the iPod Nano, the Canadian singer performed I Feel It All on a moving city bus for Jimmy Kimmel Live. The cramped and cozy performance featured acoustic instruments, a jolly bus driver and awkward band members who didn't know where to look.

Justice on Jimmy Kimmel, October 2007

Introducing the French electronic duo Justice, the host said, "This is gonna be weird." Indeed, Hollyweird. The band members appear briefly in this rendition of their hit D.A.N.C.E., which was an awesome lip-synch performance by a bunch of pop-star look-alikes led by a fake Michael Jackson.

Rain on The Colbert Report, May 2008

Rain is a triple-threat pop star from Korea. Funnyman Stephen Colbert is… well, competitive. When Colbert came a distant second to Rain in an online popularity poll taken in 2007 by Time magazine, the result was an ongoing beef that culminated in this dance-tastic showdown.

Stone Temple Pilots reunion on Jimmy Kimmel, May 2008

Scott Weiland left Stone Temple Pilots in 2002 to pursue, um, drugs and jail time, and then brought his issues to the cock-rock band Velvet Revolver. Less than a week after Velvet Revolver and Weiland announced that they'd had enough of each other, the singer grabbed his old STP buddies and announced a reunion in April. They then staged an exciting outdoor reunion performance on Kimmel’s show, with all the bells and whistles of an arena rock spectacle.

Hannah Sung writes about the arts for CBCNews.ca.