Why is Kevin Eubanks Leaving the ‘Tonight Show,?
Kevin Eubanks had been with ‘The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, since 1992 (and heading the band since 1995), a total of 18 years as Jay Leno’s sidekick, playing both comedian and the guitar, ‘playing America in to commercials,, as he says, and he wants to ‘go somewhere where I can finish a song.,
Eubanks had nothing but the best to say of ‘Tonight,, calling it his home and that he had had a most wonderful experience while working throughout his time on the late show.
Eubanks, a phenomenal guitar player, had wanted to personally record and tour for years before hand, but he only expressed interest to NBC in February. He told Leno that he was ready to look for a change of pace in his career, but did not express specific plans. He still has not publicly announced any specific plans, and when asked what he was hoping to do, he replied that he was ‘keeping everything open.,
His final day was May 28th, and completed his 18 years working on the show.
Some people want more of an explanation than him simply getting bored of doing the same job every night for 18 years. Many believe it was because of a ratings struggle, which not only destroyed the image of Jay Leno, but also left Conan O’Brien out of a job. After O’Brien took over ‘The Tonight Show,, Leno began ‘The Jay Leno Show., But both shows received extremely low ratings, pushing things back to normal; O’Brien consequently negotiated leaving the network, slandering Leno the entire time. Leno’s ratings continued to drop, as both coworkers and fans believed he was responsible for destroying O’Brien’s career.
Perhaps Eubanks simply did not want to be allied with Leno anymore, not wanting to go down in flames along side his star.
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