I only watched John­ny Car­son once, his last show. I was too young then to real­ly get it, though I remem­ber find­ing Bette Midler’s per­for­mance odd.

Any­way, Salon.com has some rec­ol­lec­tions which explain the appeal as well as I expect tim­ing and poise can be expressed in words.

“Fum­blin’ With The Blues” by Tom Waits from the album The Heart of Sat­ur­day Night (1974, 3:02).