Subtitles section Play video Print subtitles -We were lucky enough to have you on our show twice while you were in the White House. The first time was 2012 on "Late Night." And then again in 2016, at the end of your presidency. And I have to say that I saw a different President Obama the second time around. Because the first time around -- I don't know if you remember this, but we -- we did a "Slow Jam the News" bit. And at the end, I go -- and it was great. It was one of our best things we ever did. And I said, "At the end, can you go like, 'Ohh, yeaah'?" And you go, "Uh, no." -[ Laughs ] -I go, "Yeah, but, maybe, can you give like a little -- just a little like a ohhh." And you go, "Yeah, no, I'm not going to do that. I'll say, 'Oh, yeah.'" And I go, "Okay, yep, absolutely right." And by the way, those writers, Bashir and Diallo, went on to do "Sherman's Showcase" and "South Side." They're doing really well. Like, the same writers that wrote "Slow Jam." And they were so excited to write that for ya. -That was -- one of my greatest pieces ever, by the way. -Thank you. -I -- I loved -- I loved "Slow Jam." -Thank you. I appreciate that. -That was terrific. -That was fun. And then, the end of your presidency, we did another "Slow Jam." And at the end, I wrote in a part where I wanted you to, like, kind of stiffly say, "Like Rihanna, we have to go to work, work, work, work, work." And you go, "Why do you have me doing that? Like, can't I go like, work, work, work, work, work"? and I go "Stop. You cannot." And I was telling you, no, no, no. You're this close to leaving the White House. You're not -- do not do that now. You've been so perfect all the way. No, do not -- we're not doing that. And you go, "Okay. Alright. Yeah." -Are you saying that that would have affected my legacy? Because that is a jam and I know that jam well. -[ Laughs ] No. -So, I'm a little insulted... -Yeah, you should be. -...that you didn't think I could pull it off. -You should be. But I saved your legacy. That moment in time and, hopefully, that makes it in the second volume of the book. That night, I also introduced you to Madonna. Do you remember that? -Yes, I do remember that. -And I will never forget this because I go, "Madonna would like to meet you." And you go, "Sure." And we went over to see Madonna and she -- you know, she's so, like, tiny. But she's, like, very like -- she's very flirty and kind of just very, like, you know, she's Madonna. She's very sexy. And she was like, "Hello, hi." And you go, all business, you're like, "Hello. Pleasure to meet you." I was like, "That's right. That's the way -- Michelle would be like, 'That's right. That's how you do it.'" -You know what? Don't think that you elected a fool. -[ Laughing ] Okay. -I knew. -Yep, you knew. -I knew how to handle my business. -[ Laughing ] Yeah, exactly. We talked about music, and you were saying that you were like an Earth, Wind, and Fire guy. And then, you were talking about Dylan. There's so many iconic music moments in your White House history, and you talk about it in the book. And you'll even have a Spotify playlist based on the book. I just thought we'd talk about a couple memories. Beyoncé, "At Last." -Beyoncé sang -- She sang at our inauguration. That was our first dance with -- at the very first ball, and it was spectacular. -I mean, her doing "At Last" -- And Michelle was dressed in that white gown, and as I write in the book, you know, she was just...special. -Yeah. -Beautiful. -Yep, just stunning. -Yeah. -Bob Dylan -- I don't really remember the story. Did he not talk to you or something? -That's what happened. He was Dylan-esque. He's exactly how you wanted him to be. -Yes! -So, you know, we -- I describe in the book, we have these concerts. And they were really wonderful. They'd be themed. You know, so you had a Motown night or you had a, you know, Broadway. -Yep. -Or we had a poetry slam. And, you know, we'd usually have kids from the surrounding area come in, and the artists would do workshops on music or performance. And then, they'd do rehearsals. And so, by the time you actually had the concert, you know, they'd been hanging around for a while. There was a photo line. Dylan's -- he skips all that, right? Literally shows up a few minutes before he's about to go on. Comes on, on his trio. Does this incredible rendition of "The Times They Are A-Changin'." -Gosh. -Beautiful. -Yep. -Finishes. Walks off the stage. Stands in front of Michelle and me. Does a quick nod, leaves. -He's out. -That's it. -He's gone. -And just mysterious, you know, has a little kind of quirky smile on his face. -Yep. -Perfect. -Exactly what you want from Bob Dylan. -That's what you want from Bob Dylan. You know, you don't want him to be all, you know, chatty and, you know, eating -- eating off the cheese plate and all that stuff, right? -It wouldn't be real. It wouldn't be him. -It'd disappoint ya. -Exactly right. -Exactly. -Where does your love for music come from? -Well, look. I don't -- I don't come from a musical family, but I think that partly because I had such a strange childhood, right? Mom from Kansas, Dad from Kenya, in Hawaii, lives in Indonesia for a while, et cetera. -That's an interesting playlist right there, yeah. -Yeah. Well, exactly. But what it also meant was I was moving around a lot. I was an only child till I was nine. And so I think music becomes one of those things that keeps you company. And it becomes a way for you to connect with other people and kids your age. And so, you know, I still remember the first two albums I ever bought with my own money, right, Stevie Wonder's "Talking Book" and Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." -Ah, phew. -Pretty good choices. -Yeah. -I have to say. -Fantastic ones. -Yeah, and, you know, from that time forward, I think music was just always, you know, something I cared deeply about. And Michelle and I, as I describe in the book, I think used music as a way of reminding people of -- the magic of America is we have all these traditions that we draw from, that all get kind of jumbled up, right? You know, you got country music and blues and rock 'n' roll and gospel and hip-hop and, you know, reggaeton. And all that stuff is this medley, this blend of, you know, Irish folk songs and African drums and, you know, all these different traditions. And that, in some ways, is what makes America exceptional. It's the reason why American culture exports everywhere. Because people get a sense of "There's a piece of me in here." -Yeah. -And so we thought it was important to have that kind of music in the White House as representing the kind of America we should want,