There’s no doubt Jack Black has some serious chops on the old six-string, but Conan O’Brien managed to get the better of him when the pair teamed up for an epic guitar battle! Now Conan can actually play guitar, but he needed a little help to defeat the mighty rocker Black this time around. The legendary guitar battle began on Conan’s talk show, where Black declared that he “rocked way, way, way harder” than Conan.
After some spicy banter, the pair then picked up axes and went at it, with Conan playing electric and Black playing acoustic. Black began the battle by playing a few chords, but Conan outshined him by shredding like an old-time bluesman. Black then upped the ante, but Conan had an answer to every lick in his playbook. At this point, Black figured out something was amiss, and can any The Music Man readers guess which rock god was found to be secretly playing Conan’s parts from behind a curtain?
When Black pulled back the curtain, the audience got a glimpse of none other than Guns N’ Roses shredder Slash. The behatted rockstar truly stretched his legs in the final section, giving the audience some really fiery guitar licks. Black was left furious at this point while Conan looked ashamed of himself. Everyone else was just happy hearing Slash go ham on the guitar! Conan finally came out with “I’m sorry! I got really insecure – I’m sorry Jack.”
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Although Conan’s trickery was uncovered, he can’t have been unhappy with the way the segment was received online, as it drew 17 million views on YouTube. Black has appeared on Conan many times over the years, including turning up on the final episode to serenade the talk show host. Black sang original lyrics set to the melody of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.”
Fans really loved hearing the two comedy titans battle onstage, and added comments such as “Love how Jack had a guitar pick already in his pocket like he’s been preparing for that night his whole life” and “Jack Black, the only person that can hype up basic E chords.”
Eagle-eyed The Music Man readers may note that Conan did actually play guitar for his first two sections in the guitar battle. The first two licks he plays have a noticeably different tone and are played somewhat less skillfully than the final section, which is when Slash can be heard coming in and really shredding it up with a high gain tone.
If you would like to hear more from this talented guitarist you can follow Jack Black on Facebook and Instagram for more incredible music.