Jimmy Kimmel is paying tribute to Cleto Escobedo III, his childhood best friend and longtime bandleader for his late night talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! , who died on Tuesday at 59 .

During his 22-minute monologue (below), which he called his “hardest” to date, the host recalled tons of memories he shared with Escobedo over the years. The pair became best friends as children after Kimmel’s family moved in across the street from Escobedo’s home in Las Vegas. Once Kimmel later landed his show at ABC in 2003, he brought Escobedo and his band, Cleto and the Cletones, along since the beginning.

Jimmy Kimmel is paying tribute to Cleto Escobedo III, his childhood best friend and longtime bandleader for his late night talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! , who died on Tuesday at 59 .

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