Towel Off, Boogie Down

Paul Shaffer plans a send-off party for the Atlanta Olympics

When the last diver peels off his Speedos, the last fencer unplugs her electronic tether and the band plays its final anthem--it's time to PAR-TAY! And the closing ceremonies for the Olympics, billed as a blowout for the athletes, should indeed convince the world that there's one last event Americans excel at: the multistar, multimedia, multimillion-buck party-throw. Here's the lineup as organized by musical director and Letterman straight man Paul Shaffer:

We start with "Southern Jamboree." Wynton Marsalis plays New Orleans jazz; Marc O'Conner plays country fiddle with Faith Hill; then B.B. King, Al Green, and the Pointer Sisters perform R&B. Detour a bit farther south for the Miami sound by Gloria Estefan, Tito Puente and Sheila E. Then to Little Richard for more straight-ahead southern rock 'n' roll. Finally, all the musical styles collide for a jam session with some heavy influence from zydeco.

That's collide, literally. The acts are going to move around the stadium on floats that will park together for the finale.

With that segment done, many of the same artists will return to a main stage to join Stevie Wonder for what Shaffer told the Hollywood Reporter will be "a more informal concert...a party for the athletes for all their years of training and weeks of competing. We will rock the house."