In fact, the stage wasn't quite big enough for all the big names who wanted to join in the sendoff, so some guests joined in remotely. As he started singing the song from his desk, he began walking toward a piano where Randy Newman was playing, and he was joined by Jon Stewart, whose Daily Show launched Colbert's famously conservative character.

As the song went on, he was joined by a huge number of celebrities including (but not limited to) Willie Nelson, Bryan Cranston, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Cyndi Lauper, Keith Olbermann, Ric Ocasek of the Cars, CBS This Morning's Charlie Rose, former R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe (who was apparently not sore over the matter of Colbert trying to sell him at a yard sale), star of the now-canceled The Interview James Franco, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Toby Keith, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and, from Afghanistan, U.S. and Coalition forces. Check it out - here.

Willie Nelson Music, DVDs, Books and more Willie Nelson T-shirts and Posters Share this article

...end