TVSquad

Hey kids, it's time to break out that ol' guitar, trombone, washboard, monkey trumpet, or whatever the heck else you play and join me in listing the best bands to ever grace the small screen. Today we're going to focus on real bands, but don't worry, there's another "The Five" right around the corner where we'll discuss the best fictional bands on television. But for now:

The Tonight Show Band (under Doc Severinsen): The Johnny Carson era of The Tonight Show came to an end when I was a sophomore in high school, and while I never had the same loathing for Jay Leno many others did, I don't think the show will ever be able to duplicate the vibe created by Carson, Ed McMahon, and bandleader Carl H. Severinsen (his friends call him "Doc"). Don't get me wrong, Kevin Eubanks and the current musicians on the show all have chops to spare, but Doc and his fellow bandmates had a kind of old-time classiness about them I couldn't help but admire. And who could forget those glittery, kitschy suits he used to wear?

Lawrence Welk's Band: The other day I was walking around the lake by my apartment building, listening to my iPod, and I passed by a man standing near the water and playing the accordion. I actually turned down the volume on my iPod so I could hear him play, because I have a penchant for older, less pretentious music, and I love big band music, too (I've got about sixteen big band albums on vinyl). While I will admit that The Lawrence Welk Show is essentially a syndicated sleeping pill, the band itself was top drawer, and featured some of the best players in the business. Also, the bubbles. Gotta love the bubbles.

Les Brown and the Band of Renown: Another great "big band," Les Brown and his fellow musicians recorded "Sentimental Journey" with singer Doris Day, a song that became synonymous with the end of World War II. This band was also Bob Hope's band on both radio and television, playing with the late comedian for almost half a century. "Les Brown and the Band" were also the house band for The Dean Martin Variety Hour. Les' son, Les Brown, Jr., took over as bandleader after his father's death. The "Band of Renown" actually still plays today, and have their own show in Branson.

Paul Shaffer and The World's Most Dangerous Band: Yeah, I know, it's essentially the same band that now plays under the moniker "The CBS Orchestra" (after moving from NBC to CBS), but what kind of a lame-o name is that compared to "World's Most Dangerous Band?" Actually, when I played in the high school pep band we called ourselves "The World's Most Dangerous Pep Band" in honor of the late night band and their nutty, sunglass-wearing, keyboard-pounding leader.

The Saturday Night Live Band: It's easy to take this band for granted because they're so integrated into the show, but keep in mind that not only do they play the opening and closing themes for the show, but they also often perform music for the opening monologues, for commercial parodies, other sketches ... really, there's very few moments when these guys aren't playing something, and it's all done live. Not only that, but being on a comedy show requires them to play a lot of different genres, which just goes to show how versatile these players are.