Back in February, singer-songwriter Nathaniel Rateliff teamed up with The Late Show with Stephen Colbert musical director Jon Batiste for a cover of the Sam & Dave hit “Hold On, I’m Coming”. Video of their collaboration was shared on Wednesday night’s broadcast of the late-night show, along with their rendition of “All Or Nothing” from Rateliff’s 2020 debut solo album And It’s Still Alright.
The video of the pair’s take on the 1960’s R&B hit finds the two performing in close quarters, both maskless, as audiences fondly remember what life was like six months ago. Batiste tackles the infectiously upbeat rhythm on a grand piano while Rateliff contributes his own understated vocals while playing his acoustic guitar. While Rateliff’s soft-spoken singing style may be one of the hallmarks of his repertoire, even he can’t resist belting out the classic tune as he and Batiste team up for the chorus.
Related: Nathaniel Rateliff Provides Unique Perspective In New “Time Stands” Music Video [Watch]
In the bonus clip, shared online rather than during the live broadcast, a bit of between-song banter fosters the idea that this meeting was some kind of impromptu jam session, rather than a carefully choreographed media event. Yet there is a bit of levity in the scripted dialogue as Rateliff admits that even he turns to YouTube sometimes to try and learn songs. Even YouTube couldn’t teach Rateliff whatever obscure Eddie Arnold song he was trying to learn, however, so he just wrote “All Or Nothing” instead.
Watch Nathaniel Rateliff and Jon Batiste’s collaboration on “Hold On, I’m Coming” and “All Or Nothing” below.
Jon Batiste & Nathaniel Rateliff – “Hold On, I’m Coming” (Sam & Dave)
[Video: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert]
Jon Batiste & Nathaniel Rateliff – “All Or Nothing”
[Video: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert]