Jimmy Fallon Demonstrates What Hamilton Would Sound Like if It Starred Famous Rockers

A couple of months ago, Hamilton composer and star Lin-Manuel Miranda went on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show to prove his freestyling genius. Now, Fallon has returned the favor by appearing on Miranda’s own variety show, the musical’s #Ham4Ham sidewalk performances, which recently moved indoors and out of the cold weather.

Joining Fallon backstage, Miranda threw down the gauntlet, challenging the Tonight Show host to sing Hamilton’s “You’ll Be Back” in a succession of musical personas. Fallon, the current king of musical impressions, gets a chance to break out nearly the entire arsenal (no Neil Young, though?), nailing Paul McCartney’s conversational nonchalance, Rufus Wainwright’s nasal croon, Dave Matthews’ scatty chirp, Bruce Springsteen’s tendency to lead with a man-of-the-people anecdote (“It reminds me of that time, you know, when I was just a little kid, sittin’ on the end of the driveway…”), and more. Miranda cracks up throughout, and it’s clear they’re both enjoying themselves—along with Questlove, who can be heard losing it off camera.

Read more in Slate about Hamilton:

• All the Hip-Hop References in Hamilton: A Track-by-Track Guide
• #Ham4Ham, the Joyous Free Shows the cast of Hamilton Puts on Once a Week on the Sidewalk
• A Hamilton Scholar on How Broadway’s Hamilton Resembles the Historical One