Cleto Escobedo III, the bandleader for the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in-house band Cleto and the Cletones, has died. He was 59.

Kimmel shared the news about his childhood friend on social media on Tuesday, Nov. 11.

"Early this morning, we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III," Kimmel wrote. "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," he added. "Cherish your friends and please keep Cleto’s wife, children and parents in your prayers."

A cause of death was not immediately available.

Beginning in the late '70s, Kimmel and Escobedo grew up together as neighbors in Las Vegas. Escobedo went on to form the band Cleto and the Cletones, playing the saxophone mostly, with Toshi Yanagi, Jimmy Earl, Jonathan Dresel and Jeff Babko.

When Kimmel was tapped as a late-night host for ABC in 2003, he made sure Escobedo had a role on the show. The musician has been with the show since its premiere 22 years ago. Escobedo's father, Cleto Escobedo Jr., also plays saxophone for the band.

"We began a lifetime of friendship that was highlighted by the kind of torture that only an older brother can inflict on you without being arrested," Kimmel said in an on-air 50th birthday tribute to Escobedo in 2016. "He taught me everything I needed to know. He taught me some things I didn't need to know, in fact."

On the Monday, Nov. 10 episode, Grammy-winning musician Christopher Cross sat in with Cleto and the Cletones as part of the show's '80s week. Singer Debbie Gibson will join the band on Wednesday, Nov. 12, and Susanna Hoffs will perform with the Cletones on Thursday, Nov. 13.

The prior week, "Jimmy Kimmel Live" postponed its Thursday, Nov. 6, episode on short notice. The cancellation was due to a personal matter involving Jimmy Kimmel, according to someone familiar with the situation.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cleto Escobedo III, 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' bandleader of 22 years, dies at 59

Reporting by KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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