Two Johnson County friends appeared on the “Late Show with David Letterman” Wednesday to perform “Fur Elise” on piano during the show’s “Stupid Human Tricks” segment.
Ludwig van Beethoven may have penned the popular tune, but he probably never played it with his nose.
Doing just that earned Kelsey Little of Cleburne — a May Cleburne High School graduate and salutatorian — and Kathleen Black of Burleson a free trip to New York to display their musical virtuosity on national TV.
“I guess it went from the toes to the nose,” Little said, explaining the genesis of the pair’s unique musical technique.
Both claim a long love and history of performing music.
“After church once we were playing music, and I was joking with Kelsey about how I used to play piano with my toes in high school,” Black said. “It made us think of what else we could do that might be funny, and we thought why not noses?”
The Letterman stint occurred through happy accident, Black said. During a September 2007 trip to New York to celebrate her birthday, Black checked the Internet to obtain tickets to the show. That proved impossible, but she noticed the Web site’s link providing information about stupid human tricks. Black e-mailed, outlining her and Little’s Stupid Human Trick and received a response, and request for a DVD, within hours.
“I forgot about it,” Black said. “But wrote again about three or four months ago asking if they were still interested, and they were.”
The pair submitted a tape, received airline tickets and flew to New York on Tuesday.
“Some of the people in the audition had sent their tapes in three or four years ago,” Black said.
Black characterized the trip as awesome.
“They booked the flight,” Black said. “A limo met us at the airport. Everything was taken care of.”
Little, reached Friday at McMurry University in Abilene where she is a freshman, said she still can’t quite believe it.
“For me, the whole experience was surreal,” Little said. “It just happened so fast. It was definitely the experience of a lifetime.”
In addition to appearing on the show, Black and Little took time to take in the Big Apple visiting Times Square, Central Park, Rupert Jee’s Hello Deli — frequently featured on Letterman’s show — and catching a performance of “Chicago” on Broadway.
Both had the chance to briefly visit with Letterman show regulars Paul Shaffer and Biff Henderson as well as actor Jack Black before the show. Dave himself, not so much.
“No, during rehearsals Brian Hall [one of the show’s producers] stands in for Dave’s part,” Black said.
The only time the pair spent with Letterman occurred during taping of the show. Nonetheless, Little said she came away impressed.
“He’s really cool, really tall too,” Little said. “The thing is, he made us really feel at ease on stage. We were so nervous beforehand.”
Unfortunately, Black and Little’s return flight left Friday night, meaning the pair were in the air while they were on the air.
Thankfully, family members made sure to tape the show, Black said.
Burleson
Related Photos
-
Kelsey Little of Cleburne, left, and Kathleen Black of Burleson outside the Ed Sullivan Theater where the “Late Show with David Letterman” is taped. The pair appeared on Wednesday’s show playing piano with their noses.
Discussion
2 from Johnson Co. perform on Letterman
- Burleson
-
-
Indians on top of selections
The 2011 Lone Star Chrysler Dodge Jeep Autoplex All-Johnson-County football team has been announced. The team was chosen by the Times-Review sports department based on all-district selections and coaches’ nominations.
Four of Johnson County’s eight football teams qualified for the postseason in 2011 with Alvarado making it all the way to the Class 3A Division I state championship game at Cowboys Stadium against Tyler Chapel Hill. -
First team offense, defense features host of area standouts
The 2011 Lone Star Chrysler Dodge Jeep Autoplex All-Johnson-County football team has been announced. The team was chosen by the Times-Review sports department based on all-district selections and coaches’ nominations.
The first-team offense included Alvarado quarterback Kenny West and Burleson quarterback Barrett Cain. -
Cleburne, Grandview, Burleson lead second team offense, defense
The 2011 Lone Star Chrysler Dodge Jeep Autoplex All-Johnson-County football team has been announced. The team was chosen by the Times-Review sports department based on all-district selections and coaches’ nominations.
The second-team offense was led by Cleburne’s Quade Coward and Godley’s Rhett Brawner as the second-team quarterbacks. -
Cleburne pulls away from Burleson, 62-48
The Cleburne Yellow Jackets beat Burleson, 62-48, on Friday night at Yellow Jacket Gym to move to 2-7 in District 7-A play. Burleson fell to 2-7 in league play with the loss.
-
Lady Jackets pick up first District 7-4A win
On Friday night at Yellow Jacket Stadium, Cleburne picked up its first win of the District 7-4A season, 66-60, over Burleson, which fell to 3-8.
-
Upcoming sports schedule
A look at the sports schedule for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
-
Tuesday basketball roundup
Both Burleson teams fell on the road against two state-ranked Mansfield Summit teams on Tuesday.
-
Burleson woman jailed for trying to take gun to courthouse
A Burleson woman reporting for jury duty is charged with trying to take a loaded handgun into a courthouse.
-
Lady Elks playoff chances take hit in 33-32 loss to Crowley
The Burleson Lady Elks missed a chance to pull within a game of fourth place with a 33-32 loss to Crowley on Friday.
-
Centennial moves to 1-2-5 after Duncanville Classic Tourney
The Burleson Centennial boys’ soccer team took on Euless Trinity on Thursday at the Duncanville Classic Tournament.
- More Burleson Headlines
-
