Jimmy Kimmel’s bandmate and lifelong friend Cleto Escobedo has passed away. He was 59 years old.
I heard that Escobedo, the leader of the house band, was suffering from complications from a liver transplant.
“Early this morning, we lost a great friend, father, son, musician, and human being, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III,” Kimmel posted on Instagram Tuesday.
“To say we are heartbroken is an understatement. Cleto and I have been inseparable since we were 9 years old. The fact that we get to work together every day is a dream neither of us ever imagined would come true. Please cherish our friend and keep Cleto’s wife, children, and parents in your prayers.”
We hear Escobedo was hospitalized last week and Kimmel canceled Thursday’s broadcast at the last minute to be by Escobedo’s side.
The musicians, who have toured with Kimmel with Earth, Wind & Fire and Paula Abdul, became friends in his hometown of Las Vegas when the late-night host was 9 years old.
They reportedly grew up across the street from each other and had their own band.
In a past interview, Esobed said that his young colleagues “were all on the same page when it came to things we thought were interesting.”
They spent time with Escobedo’s father playing baseball and soccer, having sleepovers and going fishing.
When Kimmel hosted the show in 2003, he fought hard to get Escobedo on it.
“I was nervous because I thought they were going to say, ‘We don’t want your friend to be the leader of the band,'” Kimmel told ABC. “So I took the president of ABC to see his band perform, and he really liked it.”
“Obviously, we wanted great musicians, but we also wanted people with chemistry,” Kimmel said. “And there’s no one in my life I’m more compatible with than him.”
Escobedo said of his character, “Jimmy is very loyal to his friends. He didn’t have to ask me. If he had hired someone famous as music director, I would have understood. But he trusted me, and I don’t take that for granted.”
Escobedo’s father also plays in the house band, and after quitting music to raise his son, he has come out of retirement to perform live.
“As a father of young children, this is the perfect job for me,” he said. “I can do other things if I want, but as long as they accept me, I want to be here. I’ll always be by Jimmy’s side.”
