‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ band changes name after Cleto Escobedo’s death

The house band for “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” has changed its name after the death of their bandleader, Cleto Escobedo.

Formerly known as Cleto and the Cletones, they revealed their new name, The Cletones, during the late-night show’s Tuesday episode.

In the opening sequence for the show, the credits rolled to the band’s new name illuminated by a flashing light.

The musician and lifelong best friend of Kimmel died of cardiogenic shock on Nov. 11. He was 59.

Page Six exclusively reported that he also had complications stemming from a liver transplant.

Sources told us Escobedo was hospitalized shortly prior to his death, causing Kimmel to cancel his Nov. 6 episode last minute to be by his best friend’s side.

The comedian took to Instagram after Escobedo’s death to announce the heartbreaking news to his fans and post a heartfelt tribute.

“Early this morning, we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III,” Kimmel posted on Instagram at the time.

“To say that we are heartbroken is an understatement. Cleto and I have been inseparable since I was nine years old. The fact that we got to work together every day is a dream neither of us could ever have imagined would come true. Cherish your friends and please keep Cleto’s wife, children and parents in your prayers.”

Kimmel also paid tribute to his friend on his show, breaking down in tears as he honored him.

“We’ve been on the air for almost 23 years and I’ve had to do some hard monologues along the way, but this one’s the hardest because late last night, early this morning, we lost someone very special who was much too young to go,” the emotional comedian told his audience on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Nov. 12.

He then shared how he and Escobedo became inseparable after they met as neighbors in Spring Valley, Nev., in 1977.

“There was a boy who lived down my block … lived across the street and two houses over. His name was Cleto, but we all called him Jr.,” the talk show host shared.

“We had so many adventures. We would laugh so hard. We had our own language that, like, almost no one else understood,” Kimmel recalled of their childhood.

Escobedo and his father have been a part of Kimmel’s house band since he got his own show in 2003, as he fought hard to make sure his best friend could be a part of it.