All language subtitles for Ladies.Gentlemen....50.Years.Of.SNL.Music.2025.1080p.WEBRip.x264.AAC5.1-[YTS.MX]

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- Here we go.
15 seconds back.

- [speaking indistinctly]

Official YIFY movies site:
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- Okay.

- Say it, then just walk.
- Mm-hmm.

[crowd screaming]
- Five, four.

Three seconds.

Two, stand by.

- Ladies and gentlemen--
- Ladies and gentlemen--

- Ladies and gentlemen--

- Ladies and gentlemen--
- Ladies and gentlemen--

[rhythmic music]
all: Ladies and gentlemen--

- * Ladies *
- * I wanna *

- And now,
ladies and gentlemen--

all:
Ladies and gentlemen--

- Ladies and gentlemen--

- Saturday.
- New York.

- Jolt of electricity.

- Iconic.
- Musical history.

Game changing
for a network show.

- Sorry, ladies and gentlemen.

- Here we go.
- Excitement.

both: Energy.
- Adrenaline.

both: Live.

- Absolutely
fucking terrifying.

- Come on,
"Saturday Night Live"!

- "Saturday Night Live."
- "Saturday Night Live"!

- "Saturday Night Live."

- * Saturday night,
we in the spot *

- I'm on "SNL," and you're not.

[upbeat hip-hop mashup]

- Yeah!

* *

- * Are you ready for this *
- * We're ready for this *

- * Are you ready for this *
- * We're ready for this *

- * Few times I've been
around that track *

* So it's not just gonna
happen like that *

* 'Cause I ain't no
hollaback girl *

- Yeah! Yeah!
- * Cause I ain't no-- *

- Hey!
One, two, three, four!

- * It's getting hot in here *

- * So hot *

- * So take off
all your clothes *

- * I am getting so hot *

* I wanna take my clothes off *

- * Oh,
it's getting hot in here *

- * So hot *

- * So take off
all your clothes *

- * Break it down for me baby *

* Oh, oh, oh, oh *

- * See-saw swinging
with the boys in school *

* And the feet was
flying up in the air *

* Singin' hey diddle diddle
with the kitty in the middle *

* And they swinging like
it just don't care *

* So I took a--

- * I can't go for that *
- * No-whoa *

* No can do *

* I can't go for that *
* No-whoa *

- * When she told me
how to walk this way *

- * But you walked away *

* When I needed you most *

* Now baby, baby, baby, baby *

* I found someone *

- * Mm-bop doo-wop *

- * To take away
the heartache *

- * Mm-bop doo-wop *

- * Come on *

- * To take away
the loneliness *

- * Mm-bop doo-wop *

- * I've been feeling
for too long *

- * Since you've been gone *

[Queen's "Under Pressure"]

[Dave Matthews Band's
"Ants Marching"]

- [scatting]

- * Candyman tempting
the thoughts of a *

* Cut cut cut cut *

- * Pressure *

- * Ice, ice, baby *

- * Under pressure *

- * Ice, ice, baby *

[Fine Young Cannibals'
"She Drives Me Crazy"]

* Ice, ice, baby *

* *

* Ice, ice, baby *

- * Love is a wonderful thing *

- * Ice, ice, baby *

- * I'll sing it again *

- * Stop, wait a minute *

* Fill my cup,
put some liquor in it *

* Take a sip, sign the check *

* Julio, get the stretch *

- * Don't cost you nothin' *
- * Ooh, ooh, ooh *

- * Take a chance as you go *
- * Yeah *

- * Don't cost you nothin' *
- * Ooh, ooh, ooh *

- * If you like it,
come back for more *

- * Break it down *

[record scratching]

* *

- * Caribbean queen *

* Now we're sharing
the same dream *

[upbeat music]

- * That's me in the corner *

* That's me in the spotlight *

* Losing my religion *

- * Hey, baby, it's you *

- * Suicide blonde *

- * Pretty woman *

- * Come on, girl,
now it's you *

- * Suicide blonde *
- * Pretty woman *

- * Sink your teeth
right through my bones, baby *

- Mercy.
- * Just me and you *

* Come on and make it, uh *

[funky music]

* *

- * Party up *

* Got to, got to,
got to party up *

* Party *

* Got to party down *

- Whoo!

- * Girls on film *
- * She's a very kinky girl *

- * Girls on film *

- * From her head
down to her toenails *

- * Girls on film *

- * She's a super freak,
super freak *

* She's super freaky *
- * Girls on film *

- * Two and one, two, three *

- Ow!

Hey!

Come on now!

- * I was born long ago *

* I am the chosen,
I'm the one *

- * Hit me! *

- * I have come
to save the day *

* And I won't leave
until I'm done *

[Billie Eilish's "Bad Guy"]

- * Lights go down,
it's dark *

* The jungle is your head *

* Can't rule your heart *

* A feeling so much
stronger than a thought *

* Your eyes are wide *

* And though your soul,
it can't be bought *

* Your mind can wander *

- * I know we weren't perfect *

* But I've never felt
this way for no one *

- * If she reads all
the lyrics, she'll *

- * Cause you said forever *

* Now I drive alone
past your street *

- * Bounce, baby,
bounce, baby, bounce *

- [beat-boxing]
- * When I come through *

* Hit y'all with the one-two *

* Break y'all suckas
that y'all suckas *

* Won't even know what to do *

* Break fool, make all
y'all people wanna come to *

- * So I creep, yeah *

- * Flip mode role thick *

* And you know we don't quit *

* Hit you with some more hits *

* That make y'all wanna go *

* I'm rollin'
with my whole crew *

* Bounce through
even when we're-- *

- * Bye, bye, bye *
- * Bye, bye *

- * My tea's gone cold,
I'm wondering why *

- * Just another player
in your game for two *

- * The morning rain
clouds up my window *

- * Ain't no lie, baby,
bye, bye, bye *

- * I'm a survivor,
I'm not gon' give up *

* I'm not gon' stop,
I'm gon' work harder *

* I'm a survivor *

- * It might sound crazy *

* But it ain't no lie *

- * Keep on surviving,
I'm a survivor *

- Come on, "SNL," let's go.

- It's not the same as
being on any other TV show.

- Something about the vibe.

- Like a school of music.

- "SNL" is about making...
- Moments in time.

- Whether they're new
or they're legendary.

- It's fertile ground
for an artist

to really express themselves.

- They was bold enough to say,
yo, put the hip-hoppers on.

Let the punk guys come on.

That's the beautiful thing.

- There's a reason why
it's lasted 50 years.

- All from New York,
and all live.

- Ladies and gentlemen--
- Ladies and gentlemen--

- Ladies and gentlemen--
- The Rolling Stones.

- Frank Zappa.

- Once again, the Clash.
- Lady Gaga.

- Now here's Prince.
- Nirvana.

- One Direction.
- Foo Fighters.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
Taylor Swift!

- * 'Cause there we are again *

- * Nothing from nothing
leaves nothing *

- * In the middle
of the night *

- * You gotta have something *

- * Dancing around
the kitchen *

* In the refrigerator light *

- * You got to know
how to party *

* You got to know
how to party *

* You got to know
how to party *

- * Who needs a heart when
a heart can be broken *

- Billy Preston.

[Billy Preston's
"Nothing From Nothing"]

[cheers and applause]

- I remember when
we come on the air.

We're following Watergate,

the last helicopter
out of Vietnam.

The city is broke.
The Church is being questioned.

And so everything seemed
to be if not crumbling,

at least open to question.

That kind of moment in time,
we just came on

and did a show
that we'd wanna see.

And music was
a big part of that.

[slow piano music]

* *

- [snorting]

Achoo.

[funky piano music]

[Ray Charles' "What'd I Say"]

* *

- * Hey, mama,
don't you treat me wrong *

* Come and love your daddy
all night long *

* Hey, hey *

* What'd I say *

* What'd I say now *

* Baby, what I say *

- What'd you say?

- * I said hey *

both: Hey?

- * Ho *

both: Ho?

- * Hey *
both: Hey?

- * Ho *
both: Ho?

- * Hey, ho *
both: Hey? Ho?

- * Baby, it's all right *

both:
* Baby, it's all right *

- * Baby, it's all right *

both:
* Baby, it's all right *

- * Baby, it's all right *

both:
* Baby, it's all right *

- * Baby, it's all right *

both:
* Baby, it's all right *

- * Baby, it's all right *
[both vocalizing]

* Tell me what'd I say *

- Live from New York,
it's Saturday night.

["Saturday Night Live" theme]

- Could you sing for us

what you think is the theme
to "Saturday Night Live?"

- Hmm.

Hum the theme to
"Saturday Night Live."

- Wow.

- Hold on, wait.
- [chuckles]

- Is this a trick question?

- The "SNL" theme?

- If I heard it, I'd know it.

- It's a lot of saxophone,
I know that.

- Multiple horns.

Every horn is going crazy.

[discordant vocalizing]

- [imitating saxophone]

- [vocalizing]

- [humming]

[discordant vocalizing]

- [shrieking]

- [humming]

- [vocalizing]

- [laughing]
- Whee--

- Whee--
- [laughs]

- Wow.
What's the rest of it?

- There is no melody
consistent, is there?

It's just a wailing saxophone.

It's someone being taken
out of the building,

playing saxophone
by the police.

And the microphone
is still connected.

- So it's, um--

[jazzy saxophone]

* *

- When the opening is playing,
I'm usually having

a panic attack somewhere.

- You're like, oh, no!

This is gonna be a disaster.
I'm gonna fail.

Everything's gonna go bad live.

- That music to us was like
when a rocket ship goes off,

and everybody's
going like this.

[laughing]
That's what that music is.

- There is no
getting out of this.

And it's happening.

[screaming]

[saxophone riff]

* *

- The idea was to have an
improvisation which matched

the improvisation of comedy.

- [over-the-top sobbing]

- In those days,
you have to understand

that almost everything
was described as

new and experimental and bold.

[sobbing becomes rhythmic]

[percussive music
and sobbing rhythm]

* *

- You take it again, James.

Strut--strut your stuff there.

- Hey, stud muffins,
wanna make bouncy-bouncy?

- Hey, that's enough.
Knock it off, okay?

- Hey, hey.

They're so cute
when they're mad.

- Now, here it is,
as you can see, verifiably,

it is a check made out to you,

the Beatles, for $3,000.

All you have to do
is sing three Beatle tunes.

"She loves you,
yeah yeah yeah,"

that's $1,000 right there.

- "SNL" comes out
in October of '75.

It's hard to explain what
a revolution that was.

- * Tell me what's the word *

- * Johannesburg *

- * Said what's the word *

- * Johannesburg *

- * Said what's the word *

- * Johannesburg *

- * Said what's the word *

- * Johannesburg *

- * Say it again for me, Joe *

- * Johannesburg *

- * Say haven't you heard *

- * Johannesburg *

- * You gotta get what *

- * Johannesburg *

- * Will somebody tell me
what's happening *

- * Life is a carnival *

* Believe it or not *

* Life is a carnival *

* Two bits a shot *

[The Band's
"Life Is a Carnival"]

- This is rock and roll on
television pretty damn early.

We're not doing it
in a prerecorded way.

We're gonna go on a live show

with live music,
which didn't happen all

that much in those early days.

[Paul & Paula's
"Flipped Over You"]

- * Flipped over you *

- Well, there wasn't really
any musical television to do

because you never played live.

You mimed to a latest single.

- * I love you so *

- * I feel the same as you *

- * More than you know *

- * No other one will do *

- * Flipped over you *

- * Flipped, flipped, flipped *

- * Flipped, flipped *

- So "Saturday Night Live"
was a departure

where you actually were
featured and you played live.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
The Rolling Stones.

- * You're so respectable *

* You're so respectable *

* You're so respectable *

* You're so respectable *

* Get out of my life *

* Don't take my wife *

* Don't come back *

[The Rolling Stones'
"Respectable"]

[cheers and applause]

- Lorne said that
from the beginning,

music had been just as
important as comedy.

Do you agree with the balance
of music and comedy?

- Absolutely.

Because that was
the time that we lived in.

Music was so important.

And all sorts of different
new kinds of music

were happening,
especially in New York City.

It was just this confluence
of different kinds of music.

- Up-ski,
you little firecracker.

Come on, you're on
in a few seconds.

Howard, can you give me a hand?

Thank you so much.
It's a real favor.

She really appreciates it.

Thank you.

- The comedy clubs were
starting to become really big.

And the music clubs started
becoming really big.

So it made sense that
they came together.

- Hey, Mick Jagger, if you're
out there, this is for you.

[bluesy rock and roll]

* Give me Mick *

* Give me Mick *

* Baby's hair *

* Bulging eyes *

* Lips so thick *

* Are you woman, are you man *

* I'm your biggest
funked-up fan *

* So rock me and roll me
till I'm sick *

* *

* Rock and roll,
rock and roll *

* Gimme, gimme, gimme,
gimme rock and roll *

* Gimme, gimme rock and roll *

* Gimme, gimme *

* Gimme, gimme *

* Gimme, gimme, gimme *

* Are you woman, are you man *

* I'm your biggest
funked-up fan *

.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
Reverend Al Green.

[cheers and applause]

[Al Green's "Going Away"]

* *

- * Life can be hard
if you live in vain *

* *

* Oh, oh *

* Trials can't be hard *

- The very first thing
I ever do as a comic is,

I do an impression
of Al Green.

I did "Let's Stay Together,"
July 1976,

at the Roosevelt Youth Center.

And I sang,
"Let's Stay Together."

And I heard a little girl
named Libby in the front row

say, whoo!

And I've been in show business
from that moment.

[laughs]

[James Brown's "The Payback"]

[funky music]

* *

- * The big payback *

* Ow! *

- If you're a Black person and
you were raised in America,

James Brown is a big,
big deal.

- * The big payback *

- Can you tell us,
from soup to nuts,

how the concept of "James
Brown's Celebrity Hot Tub"

came to be?

- I didn't wanna do it,
first of all.

Because back then I didn't
smoke, I didn't get high.

And at "SNL," a lot of
the people were smoking.

It was 2:00, 3:00
in the morning,

and Barry Blaustein
and David Sheffield,

who wrote "Coming to America,"
they was like...

[breathlessly] Hey, you know
what would be funny?

If you was James Brown
in a hot tub.

And I was like, what?

And I was like,
get the fuck out of here.

Y'all be smoking that shit,
talking that--

I ain't doing no crazy shit.

- * Hot tub full of water *

* I say hot tub *

- And then when we did it,
it was, oh,

it was the funniest thing ever.

- Should I get in the hot tub?
- Yeah!

- Will it make me sweat?
- Yeah!

- Should I get in the hot tub?
- Yeah!

- Will it make me wet?
- Yeah!

- Well, well, well.

[funky music]

- All us kids were looking
to "SNL" for the information,

for the take on stuff.

The impressions, they ended up
becoming reality for us.

- * Hey! *

* Too hot in the hot tub *

- And not even
really remembering

if we really knew
what James Brown

danced like or sounded like.

We just knew the way
Eddie did it.

- I'm gonna get in the hot tub.

- He really is a musician.

And when you can
really sing...

- Hey!

- That's when the joke
is the funniest.

- Don't go away.

We'll be right back with more
"Celebrity Hot Tub."

- The similarities
between music

and comedy are plentiful.

There's timing.

[upbeat Latin music]

Cadence.

[energetic jazz music]

* *

There's misdirecting.

[piano riff]

A great jazz musician,
when he plays a solo

or she plays a solo, will
give the audience something

that their ear can
attach to and then

turn on it to surprise them.

And that same thing
happens in comedy.

That's why music and comedy
has always gone together.

- Ray, you're probably
the most popular

rhythm and blues artist
in American history.

I guess my first question
to you, sir, would be,

why singing?

- I suppose I started singing
because I wanted to express

what I was feeling in my soul.

And I felt the blues.

So I needed to sing the blues.

- All right, sir. Fair enough.

My next question to you, sir,
would be,

what the heck are the blues
and who gets them?

- Danny Aykroyd was
a blues aficionado.

And when he met Belushi,
the two of them teamed up.

And Belushi could sing.

These two guys had
in the back of their minds,

it would be fun to get
a musical act together someday

and play the blues.

[bluesy piano music]

- [scatting]

- There was a running bit
on the show

at that time, the Bees.

- Do you think we like this?

- John hated the bee costume.

Nonetheless, he said, if I
could put that bee costume on

and sing with Danny
on the harmonica,

that's how it started.

- * A buzz-buzz *

- * Buzz-buzz *
- * A-buzz-buzz *

- And that was the
first time they really

did the Blues Brothers
on television,

but they were
in the bee costumes.

[mid-tempo jazz music]

- King Bee?

I mean, still one of
my favorite things

I've ever seen in my life.

I mean, the way he ended
and flipped

and just fell on his back.

I'm like,
this guy's unbelievable.

- * I'm a King Bee *

* I can buzz all night long *

- So during the
week off, they come up

with this concept of these
two brothers who play blues.

And they wear sunglasses
day and night.

So I wrote an arrangement of
a song called "Hey, Bartender."

We rehearsed the
"Saturday Night Live" Band,

did it for Lorne Michaels.

Didn't make the show.

Lorne said, frankly,
I don't see anything funny

about the Blues Brothers.

So they gave up.

They said, if Lorne
doesn't like it,

we're wasting our time.

Wednesday, about 3:15, Lorne
comes out of read-through,

and he says, the show's
three minutes short.

John and Danny
jumped on him and--

Lorne, the Blues Brothers.

So Lorne said, we have
nothing worthwhile to put

in those three minutes.

You guys might as well
make fools of yourselves.

[The Blues Brothers'
"Soul Man"]

[energetic jazz music]

- * Coming to you
on a dusty road *

* Good loving,
I got a truckload *

* And when you get it,
you got something *

* So don't worry,
'cause I'm coming *

* I'm a soul man *

* *

- It's shocking sometimes when
you see things like, you know,

Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi
making music,

and it also happens
to be good music.

It almost makes you upset
if a comedian

can just turn it on like that.

- * Put on your yarmulke *

* Here comes Hanukkah *

* So much fun-ukkah *

* To celebrate Hanukkah *

I had no idea how much
I'd be doing music on the show

when I first got on.

* I love you, sweatshirt *

* Red-hooded sweatshirt *

* Dip, dip, dip sweatshirt *

* Shama lama ding-dong *

"Weekend Update" was what
Lorne told me to start doing

when I first was on.

And he would always say,
get on "Weekend Update,"

talk directly to the camera,
let America

get to know you a little bit,
and then you'll relax.

Come on, audience members.
Help me out here.

* I love you, sweatshirt *

- Red-hooded--

- * Sweatshirt *

- Dip, dip, dip--

- Aw!

- Adam was kind of
deconstructing everything.

A lot of times when people
write song parodies,

the production
is very elaborate.

And Adam broke it down
and just played a guitar

and made sure that
every joke landed.

- * Sloppy Joe,
slop Sloppy Joe *

It's always been
a comfortable spot

for a lot of comedians getting
to say jokes through music.

And it does something
to your brain that allows you

to just be a little freer.

- "SNL" was such a huge part
of my musical taste.

Not just that I liked
the bands that were on there,

but just like, it influenced
the way I wanted to make art.

And "Band Reunion
at the Wedding" is

a very personal sketch for me.

- So that is the sketch
that I am the most

jealous of in my life.

- The premise of the sketch
is that there's this old guy

at his daughter's wedding.

- The bride's dad
got his old band

back together at a wedding.

It's an elegant event.

- Everyone's in tuxes,
and he's like,

I'm so proud of you, honey,
that you're getting married.

I got the guys back together.

We're gonna play
a little song for you.

So the feeling is like,
oh, this is gonna be

like a blues song
or something.

- Fred came up to me.

He's like, I want
you to play bass.

I'm like, what?

And he's like,
you're actually--

you can actually
play bass on this song.

- And by luck, Dave Grohl
was, like, in the band

for the musical guest.

So I didn't have to explain
any--he comes from that music.

- That was
Fred Armisen singing,

Bill Hader playing bass,
Ashton playing guitar,

and me playing drums.

- So there I am with a bass
next to Dave Grohl on drums,

and I'm like, this is insane.

- But this feels right,
sharing our music

with this wonderful
young couple.

- Yes.

- We did it at dress,
and it was--you know.

And so I was like, oh, I guess
that's not gonna be on air.

And then I was dressed
as Jesse Ventura.

This is how it works at "SNL."

I'm in full--fully
dressed like Jesse Ventura.

I have a bald cap on,
I have a whole thing,

and I'm ready to go out
as Jesse Ventura.

And then Fred said,
we're gonna do the sketch.

And Fred came up,
and he's like, we're

just cutting the second verse.

It's just chorus, verse,
chorus, and then we're out.

We have to cut the
whole sketch in half.

It was three minutes.

Now it's like a minute 50.
So we gotta go.

We have a minute 30.
We gotta go. We gotta go.

And I see Dave Grohl.

And I'm like--so, you know,
we cut the second verse.

He's like, what?
[laughs]

- All right.
Did this thing get heavier?

All right, let's do this.

Madeline, my little Maddie,
I'm so proud of you.

And I hope Daddy doesn't make
too much of a fool

of himself up here.

All right.
It's with all my love.

You guys ready? Here we go.

One, two, three, four.

Yeah!

[hardcore punk music]

* *

* When Ronald Reagan
comes around *

* *

* He brings the fascists
to your town *

* *

* You think it's cool
to be a jock *

* *

* But we get beat up
by the cops *

* *

* Fist fight, fist fight *

* Fist fight
in the parking lot *

- Oh, and Dave Grohl's mic
doesn't work, right?

- [yelling indistinctly]

* And a white picket fence *

- Awesome too, because
you're actually seeing

a perfect live sketch
experience a live problem.

So, like, you're seeing
the chaos of that

and the problem solving
of that in real time.

And it also looks so fun.

- One, two, three, four!

all:
* Fist fight, fist fight *

* Fist fight
in the parking lot *

* Fist fight *

- And it was such a Fred
Armisen creation, that sketch.

- That's, like,
the major thing

that I wanted to do on "SNL"
is like--

it's like a love letter
to my youth.

All those bands that I loved,

it was everything
combined into one.

* *

- We're Crisis of Conformity.
Thank you.

.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
Olivia Rodrigo.

[cheers and applause]

- I just remember the doors.
It said 8H.

And I remember them opening.

And then the rest is, like,
such a fever dream blur.

- Music next.

- I don't think
I've ever been more nervous

for anything than the first
time I performed at "SNL."

Yeah, it turned out okay,
but man,

I was in the dressing room
sort of having a panic attack

before I went on.

Being on "SNL" is such
a rite of passage.

I feel so honored to have
gotten to perform here.

* Got my driver's license
last week *

* Just like we always
talked about *

* 'Cause you were
so excited for me *

* To finally
drive up to your house *

I just think it's
all of the people

that you've ever looked up to
have performed on that stage.

And so to get to do it is
just--it's really meaningful.

- "SNL," because
it's a live show

and because it's
an American ritual,

it has this unique ability
to take whatever is

the thing that's
happening right now

and put it into Studio 8H.

- 'Cause that's a big
part of the booking.

You have to be very ahead
about who's gonna make it.

[The Strokes' "Last Night"]

- * Last night, she said *

* Oh, baby, I feel so down *

* You turn me off *

* When I feel left out *

- Often a lot of people
say, like,

I don't know who that band is.

And I'm like, well, you
will know who they are soon.

[The White Stripes' "Dead
Leaves and the Dirty Ground"]

- It changes the way
that you're seen in a way

that no other show can do.

[grungy metal music]

- It's hard to know.

When things start cooking,
you can't tell

if you're the
flavor of the week

and this is gonna be all over
within a couple weeks,

or if this is
the beginning of a new path

that you're going down
that's gonna go on for years.

You really just
don't have any idea.

I always assumed it
was something that was

gonna be short-lived, so.

* *

- * Dead leaves
and the dirty ground *

* When I know
you're not around *

- And now here's Prince.

- I was there when Prince
came on the very first time.

And he only got one song.
He sang "Partyup."

And he wasn't Prince yet.

- Down with war. Party up.

One, two, three!

[Prince's "Partyup"]

[funky rock music]

* *

- * We don't give a damn *

* We just wanna jam
and party *

- * Party up, got to party up *

- But he was still
"Dirty Mind" Prince,

kind of grungy and legwarmers,

and boots look
kind of old and cheap.

I remember at the end,
they sang,

"We're not gonna fight
no more,"

and threw his mic down
and walked off the stage.

- * You're gonna have to fight
your own damn war *

* 'Cause we don't wanna
fight no more *

[cheers and applause]

- What's up?
How you doing?

I saw you earlier.

Hi. All right.

- Thank you for doing this.

- Who's the smallest?

- Let's try
and get it over quick.

- It can't be that wide.

- David Geffen called me
about Nirvana,

because they were
on his label,

and he said, I don't know
what's happening,

but last week they sold
60,000 records,

and this week
they sold 140,000.

So something's happening.

- You felt that--you felt
that Nirvana was there

and people were
talking about it.

You get more calls than
you ever got before

from friends in my hometown.

Just like, what's he like?

What's Kurt like?

- Nirvana on "SNL"
was the first time

I'd seen them perform live.

I didn't have cable
in my house in high school,

so that was very exciting.

That whole week
we had talked about,

Nirvana's gonna be on "SNL."
Nirvana's gonna be on "SNL."

Me and my friends had
been learning their songs

in our bedroom too.

[indistinct chatter]

- Jesus Christ,
look at that camera.

- Stand by.

- To me, it was the most
iconic American

television show of all time.

- Hi, I'm Charles Barkley,
host of the season premiere

of "Saturday Night Live"
with Nirvana.

Look, Mom,
your favorite, Nirvana.

[laughter]

- The first time we came
to "Saturday Night Live,"

I was absolutely
fucking terrified.

So we get up,
and you kind of check

to make sure everything works.

Guitars, drums,
speakers are up.

Mic is up.

And then you try
to be really quiet,

and then they start
to count you down.

[ticking]

The room gets dead silent.

Your heart is racing.

And you're thinking,
oh, my God, I'm gonna faint.

I'm gonna puke
on live television.

I'm gonna die.

And typically, what happens
if I get nervous,

I beat the shit out
of the drums twice as hard.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
Nirvana.

[cheers and applause]

[Nirvana's
"Smells Like Teen Spirit"]

[upbeat grunge music]

* *

- I was hitting the drums
ten times harder

than I've ever hit them
before in my life.

By the first verse,
I had snapped

my snare stick in half.

[wood cracks]

Which, um, is not good.

And I thought, oh--
and this is only, like,

20 seconds into the song.

And there was one break right
before the first drum roll,

I think, where I grabbed
another stick really

quick and busted into it.

- * Hello, hello, how low *

- I mean, it was
so close to being,

like,
"Titanic"-level disaster.

- * With the lights out *

* It's less dangerous *

* Here we are now *

* Entertain us *

* I feel stupid *

* And contagious *

* Here we are now *

* Entertain us *

* A mulatto *

* Yeah *

- Three people
making that sound

through your television sets--

I mean, they probably
blew so many speakers.

- Yeah!

- Hi, I'm Josh Brolin, and I'm
hosting "SNL" with Adele.

- So if you still
have your house,

stay in, invest your money,
and invest in some laughs.

- That's good advice,
crazy lady.

- I know.

- Okay, let's do that again.

- Should I look in the camera?
Where am I looking?

I'm just kind of looking lost.

[laughter]

- I remember us sitting
at the rewrite table on nine.

And Adele, like, not a lot
of us had heard of her.

And she started singing.

And it was--
like, we all stopped.

We opened the curtain,
and everybody looked down

and went, who is that?

- Ladies and gentlemen, Adele.

[cheers and applause]

- * Should I give up *

* Or should I just keep
chasing pavements *

* Even if it leads nowhere *

* Or would it be a waste *

* Even if I knew my place *

* Should I leave it there *

It was just meant to be
like a normal show,

just like me and Josh Brolin.

And I was the musical guest,
and he was hosting it.

* Yeah *

- The whole country was
watching for other reasons.

It just happened to be that
show that Sarah Palin was on.

- The real one?

Bye.

[cheering]

- Adele went to
the after party,

and then they went back
to the hotel.

And they went
to British Airways

for the 8:00 a.m. flight.

She said when they
were on the runway,

she checked her computer,
and she was at number 45.

And when they landed,
she was almost at number 1.

- It ended up
being a huge show.

And literally overnight--

like, whenever I've heard
that saying,

overnight success, I was like,
yeah, whatever.

You've gotta
proper work for it.

And it was overnight--
literally overnight, so.

- After she performed here,
her whole career

took off in America.

Now it sounds ridiculous
because you're like,

hey, it's Adele, you know.

But everybody has
to start somewhere.

"SNL's" musical legacy is
the incredible opportunity

it gives artists
and the early belief in them.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
Dua Lipa.

[cheers and applause]

- When they give you
the nod and go,

yeah, you deserve to be
on this stage.

* I got new rules,
I count 'em *

* One, don't pick up
the phone *

* You know he's only calling
'cause he's drunk and alone *

* Two, don't let him in *

You get, like,
a certain confidence

and excitement and a belief in
yourself that you can do it.

* You're getting over him *

.

- I was in LA hosting
the MTV Movie Awards.

And these writers were there.

And there were all
these young kids,

and they look like
they're all from Brooklyn.

I remember talking to Lorne.

I go, hey, you should
look into these kids, man.

Like, these guys that
wrote this are really funny.

And they work hard.
They show up.

Not knowing that
they were gonna change

the face
of "Saturday Night Live."

- Well, we got hired
on the strength

of not our songs or our
videos, is my understanding.

They didn't know that
we were doing them

until we were already hired.

- So we had made a
short that hadn't

gotten on the air
at that point.

It was--Will Forte had written
a thing called "Lettuce."

- It's all right to feel sad,
but the pain goes away.

- After that, we knew that it
was possible to get something

that we just filmed
on a mini-DV camera

on our own on national TV.

So we were trying to
think of another idea.

- We knew Parnell had done
his "raps" on "Update,"

which we had loved.

- Listen up, beyotch.

* You know she sends me *

* When she looks my way *

* I can't defend me *

* All I can do is pray *

* For her to spare me *

* From a sweet death ray *

* But the bitch really wants
to take a roll in the hay *

- The next thing that
we tried was "Lazy Sunday."

And it was me and Parnell.

* Lazy Sunday, wake up
in the late afternoon *

* Call Parnell just to
see how he's doing *

- * Hello *
- * What up, Parns *

- * Yo, Samberg,
what's crackin' *

- * You thinking
what I'm thinkin' *

* Narnia, man, it's happening *

- We had no expectations
on it, truly.

We were, like,
just hoping it aired.

- Jorma made the beat
to "Lazy Sunday,"

and he just did it
on his "SNL" computer,

as far as I know.

- I had to make a beat fast.

And it was kind of
the first time

that you could make music
fast enough, like using

the computers that we had
that were strictly meant for,

like, writers to write on.

- * 68th and Broadway *

- We never got
a shooting permit.

We didn't have a crew either.

We would just get into
a van or something.

We kind of liked
the lo-fi aesthetic

as well, because the
show was so polished.

- * Two *
- * No, six *

- * No, 12 *
- * Baker's dozen *

- * I told you that I'm crazy
for these cupcakes, cousin *

- Did you watch the one before?

both:
Yeah.

- It was like being on ecstasy.
[laughs]

- "Lazy Sunday,"
that was the first time

I had ever been in the vicinity
of, like, a phenomenon.

The first YouTube clip I was
ever sent was "Lazy Sunday."

I remember going back home
to Oklahoma.

I was in an airport,
and someone had a T-shirt

that said, you know,
"Mr. Pibb plus Red Vines

equals crazy delicious."

I mean, it was like--

overnight this became
a huge thing.

- * Yes, the chronic-- *
- * What *

- * Cles of Narnia *

* We love the chronic-- *
- * What *

- * Cles of Narnia *

* Pass that chronic-- *
- * What *

- * Cles of Narnia *

[gun clicks and fires]

But it wasn't until
"Dick in a Box"

that we were like, fuck.

[laughs] Like,
we're gonna be doing these.

["Saturday Night Live" theme]

* *

- I met them when I came in
to host the Christmas episode.

And they had just had a lot
of success with "Lazy Sunday."

So Lorne, of course,
was like, do a digital short,

some sort of musical
element with Justin.

- We kicked it with him
and talked about how

we kind came up
on similar music.

And then we just locked
ourselves in our office

and pitched a million ideas.

- By the way, we gave up first.

Because we tried Tuesday night,
stayed up all night

the way everyone does,
but came out empty-handed.

And then it got to Wednesday,
and we stayed up

all night and also had nothing.

- But I remember that
it was late in the game.

And Lorne would pop in
and say, hey,

do you guys got anything yet?

And we didn't have anything.

- * I wanna sex you up *

- And I wanna say it was--
yeah, Thursday night.

Andy and I bonded over
our love of early '90s R&B.

- * I wanna sex you up *

- Like, what's the best
sort of spoof of that?

And how can we create
these characters

to be so unaware
of how terrible they are?

- We had this much on
a piece of paper, I remember.

- Yes.
- I remember because I had it.

And it was some version
of the intro lines

up to the first
dick in a box.

So it was just enough
to know what the premise was.

- We asked Katreese Barnes,
who was music supervisor

and just the best person.

She could start building music
in that style, which she did.

- And we told Lorne the idea.

And he was like, okay.

Well, just remember,
it's the Christmas show.

And a lot of kids
will be watching.

- So we ended up writing it
sort of on the spot

and recording it
into that night.

Until--you know, late,
late night, early morning.

- He literally taught us
so many more tricks

of producing pop vocals.

And he redid the melodies
to be way better.

- I remember he came in
and he was like, watch this.

- I was like, guys, if you
really put the effort in

to actually try to
make this a good song,

it's going to make it
even funnier.

There were some
meticulous moments

in the recording
where I was like,

no, Andy, do that line again.

[laughter]

- And we shot it
on a Friday night.

And the song was so good.

We were all singing it and,
like, having such a good time.

- That's how the song made
me feel at that very moment.

- Yeah?
- Okay, we're rolling.

- And we did it the way
that we had always done

all of our early
music videos, where

we bought a little
tiny shitty speaker

from RadioShack.

- * Something so you know
what's on my mind *

- We played the beat so
they could rap back to it.

We bought a bunch
of mini-DV tapes

and, like, just
filmed it ourselves.

- All right.
Cut it, cut it, cut it.

- And then Akiva, who's
sort of resident Lonely Island

director and editor,
took all the footage

and went in
and from Friday night

stayed up all night
into Saturday,

up until dress rehearsal was
finishing the final edit.

I'm convinced, and no one
can tell me otherwise,

that the reason it
made it onto the show

is because no one really
knew what the sketch was.

[gentle R&B music]

- Hey girl, I got something
real important to give you.

So just sit down and listen.

[upbeat R&B music]

* Girl, you know
we've been together *

* Such a long, long time *

- * Such a long time *

- * And now I'm ready
to lay it on the line *

- * Wow, you know
it's Christmas *

* And my heart is open wide *

- * Open wide *

- * Gonna give you something
so you know what's on my mind *

- * What's on my mind *

* A gift real special *

* So take off the top *

- * Take a look inside *

* It's my dick in a box *

- It's in a box.

- Everybody went out to
the floor to watch it.

We have a great
picture of everybody

watching it out on the floor.

- * Don't mean anything *

* I'm not gonna
get you a fancy car *

* Girl, you gotta know
you're my shining star *

* Not gonna get you *

- We were trying to borrow
from all the iconic moments

from those early '90s
R&B videos,

like the Michael Bivins

sitting on
the basketball hoop.

- * It's my dick a box *

- The references were
accurate, and it was--

it was a little dream
come true.

* *

- * My dick in a box, girl *

* It's my dick in a box *

[cheers and applause]

- He changed the whole game.

It was like, whoa.

This is a comedy voice that
we haven't heard in years.

They just took it
and just crushed it.

- * I just had sex *

* And it felt so good *

- * Take no chances *

* Stop freelancin' *

* Invest in your future *

* Don't dilute your finances *

- * [bleep] land, I'm on
a boat, mother [bleep] *

- * Mother [...] *

- * No trees, I climb buoys,
mother [bleep] *

- Mother [...] *

- * I took it and threw it
on the ground *

- We had had a whole lot of,
like, let them do what they do,

you know what I mean,
week after week after week.

- * Shy Ronnie *

- [mumbling]
* My name is shy Ronnie *

* And I'm walking the streets *

* You can't tell me nothin' *

* 'Cause I'm straight up
equipped *

- * Speak up *

- It really became a staple.

There's like a template now.

- * Here we go *

* Uh, Lonely Island *

* Michael Bolton *

- * Yeah! *

- The funny music video was
really in vogue in the 2000s

on Lonely Island's coattails.

People were doing them
all the time on YouTube.

But yet the style persists
with "SNL."

- You guys are just
playing characters.

- Characters.
- Oh!

- So people won't
think it's us.

- It's not about you at all.

- * Three sad virgins, what *

* Three sad virgins, whoa *

* Three sad virgins, what *

* Three sad virgins, whoa *

- * Let's do it in my
twin bed, twin bed *

* I'm not gonna
like it, like it *

* But it's the only
option, option *

* Where we can get it poppin' *

- * Come back, Barack *

- Come on, man.
We out in the rain.

- * Don't leave us here alone *

- It's definitely too cold
to be in the rain, though.

- * At least pick
up the phone *

- I mean, I know you're
busy with that library

and everything.

- * The White House
ain't a home *

- Trump don't even
got a dog, man.

- * Just come back, Barack *

- It's been
a long time, Barack.

- I mean, we made over
a hundred of them by the end.

And the whole time,
we just kind of

couldn't believe our luck
that we did something

that people liked enough that
we got asked to keep doing it.

[panting]

Damn.

The whole thing was just
a virtual reality experience.

.

- * The problem is all inside
your head, she said to me *

* The answer is easy
if you take it logically *

* I'd like to help you
in your struggle to be free *

* There must be 50 ways
to leave your lover *

- Growing up, watching "SNL"

was a big part of music
for me.

- * Furthermore,
I hope my meaning won't *

* Be lost or misconstrued *

- There's no question that
the musical guests influenced

if I was gonna be watching.

And then if you were
lucky, that person

would show up in a sketch.

- Lorne, I have grave doubts
about the costume.

- What, in the opening?
- Yes, I do.

The opportunity to be part
of a comedic ensemble,

that was a treat for me.

- What are you worried about?

- I'm worried about--
[stammers]

I feel there's
a real good chance that

I could look like a fool,
is what I'm worried about.

- Not a chance.

- * I met my old lover *

* On the street last night *

* She seemed so glad
to see me, I just smiled *

* *

* And we talked
about some old times *

* And we drank ourselves
some beers *

* Still crazy after all *

* Oh *

The turkey outfit
was my idea.

Lorne was fine with me
making up what I wanted to do,

and I was fine
with the writers

giving me lines to say.

[applause]

- And that was wonderful.
- Wonderful?

You call that wonderful?
- What, you had a problem?

- It was one of the
most humiliating

experiences of my life.

- In those days,
it was still shocking

when the musical guest
was in a sketch.

- The Kannon AE-I, a camera
so advanced, so simple,

even Stevie Wonder can use it.

- So simple, anyone can use it.

- That showed
how cool they were.

- Remember when you were
with the Beatles?

- Sure.

Sure.

- That was awesome.

- So, like, when Madonna
was on "Coffee Talk,"

that was just like--
you know, brain explosion.

- This is
my best friend, Liz Rosenberg.

[cheers and applause]

- Linda, don't talk to me.

I'm having a bad hair day.

- Mike Myers had
a relationship with Madonna

because they shot a short film
for "Wayne's World."

- Wayne!

- I'm in here, Garth.

- Hello, Garth.

- So Mike wrote her
into "Coffee Talk."

- This show is dedicated,
as ev-rah,

to Barbra Joan Streisand.

Yes.
- We love her.

- We love her!

- And then we booked
Barbra Streisand.

We weren't really sure
she was gonna come

because she doesn't do
live television.

She was not sure
she wanted to do it.

She wasn't in dress.

It was a thing.

- Long story short,
I loved "Prince of Tides."

It was to die for.

- She came in, we pulled her
around the back,

and we pushed her out.

- And if you watch the sketch,
they have no idea.

- The movie was like buttah.

- Like buttah!

- Like a big stick of buttah.

- Mamma-la! Oy.

- All this talk about food,
I'm getting hungry, girls.

[all screaming]

- Oh, my God! oh!

[cheers and applause]

It's Barbra!

It's Barbra!

You're beautiful!
I love this woman!

It's Barbra!

Oh, my God!

It's Barbra!

- She's like buttah!

Did you see her?
- She is like buttah!

Oh, I can die now!

- Watching musicians
do comedy, I'm into it.

I like that.

I think they're having fun.

They must love that
for this one day,

they get to do a character.

- Here are the top
three questions

they had for Aerosmith, okay?

Question number one.

Is it true you guys don't
do drugs or alcohol anymore?

- Yeah, that's right.

No drugs, no alcohol.

Feels great.

- No way.

- Way.

[chuckling]

- Okay. Garth, go ahead.
Next question.

- Okay, next question
is for Steven.

Um, okay.

Are those really
your lips, or are

they lip implants
like Barbara Hershey

had in the movie "Beaches"?

- [trilling]
They mine, man!

- Bitchin'!

Bitchin' lips.

- I love doing stuff like that,
particularly things that

push me out of the
comfort zone a little bit,

because I'm such
a fan of comedy.

- They're telling me
to get out.

They keep saying it.

- Who? Who is saying that?

- The walls.

- When you pitch a sketch idea
that the musicalguest

is involved in potentially,

it could always go wrong.

There are a million reasons
why they would say no.

It's your job to
respectfully convince them.

- Can you tell me
the story of how you guys

convinced Beyoncé to do
the "Single Ladies" sketch?

- Yes.

Andy texted me and he said,
hey, are you in town?

I said, yeah, I'm in the city.

He said, Bobby Moynihan has
this great idea for a sketch

about you, me, and him being

Beyoncé's background dancers

for "Single Ladies"
that never made the cut.

She's gonna be
the musical guest this week.

I was like, full,
like, leotard?

And he's like, yeah.

And I was like, oh,
this is too funny.

Like, we have to do this.

She was very polite about it,
but she was very hesitant.

And when I say
hesitant, I mean,

like, she was not having it.

- Beyoncé!

Oh, my gosh, I'm so psyched
to do this new video with you.

- Me too.

But, you know,
there's this one thing.

Um, I haven't met
the other dancers.

Are we gonna have time
to rehearse?

- Oh, look, don't worry about
the other dancers, B-town.

I handpicked them myself.
These guys are pros.

- These guys?

- I'm like, does she know
how funny this is gonna be?

Like, how beloved
this whole moment will be?

So I said, bring--
bring me the leotard.

So I put the leotard
and the heels

and the hose on and everything.

And I put a robe on.

And I walked,
and I knocked on her door.

I walked in
and I threw the robe down,

and I put my hands on my hips.

And she was like,
no, you didn't.

all: Hi.
- We're the dancers.

[cheers and applause]

- All right.
Are you guys warmed up?

- Oh, we're warmed up.

- Yeah, we're warmed up
like biscuits.

- Yeah, dance biscuits.
- Playback.

- * Don't be mad once
you see that he want it *

* If you like it, then you
should'a put a ring on it *

- Action!

- * Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh *

* Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh *

* Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh *

* Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh *

* If you like it,
then you should'a put-- *

- Can we stop?
We gotta stop.

- Cut, cut, cut.

- * If you like it, then you
should'a put a ring on it *

* Oh-oh-oh *

[cheers and applause]

.

[Patti Smith's "My Generation"]

- * People are trying
to put us down *

- * Talkin' 'bout
my generation *

- * Just because
we g-g-g-get around *

- * Talkin' 'bout
my generation *

- * I don't dig no censorship *

- * Talkin 'bout
my generation *

- * Hope I die
because I'm hip *

- * Talkin' 'bout
my generation *

- * My generation, baby *

* My generation, baby *

- If you look at the city
of New York--culturally,

financially, everything--

"Saturday Night Live"
always went with that.

So in 1975, '76, '77, it was
kind of an avant-garde city.

This was kind of an
avant-garde show at the time.

[cacophonous music]

* *

- "SNL" music in the
'70s and '80s felt like

it was kind of counterculture.

- * Your mind is
totally controlled *

* It has been stuffed
into my mold *

- It was highlighting
things that might

not have been on top 40 radio.

[breathy flute music]

- I grew up watching the show.

The first thing I remember
that blew my mind

was a rerun, and it was
Devo playing "Satisfaction."

- Ladies and gentlemen, Devo.

- Fred Willard was hosting,
and I just remember thinking,

the way they played and that
they did--like--[stammers]

It feels like
an optical illusion.

- * I can't get
no satisfaction *

* I can't get me
no satisfaction *

* And I try, and I try *

- I almost feel like it was
also a message from Lorne.

We're gonna put
visual bands on.

This is not just,
like, a musical guest.

Like, we're gonna
make this a really

important part of the show.

[Debbie Harry's
"Come Back Jonee"]

* *

- * Come back,
come back, Jonee *

* Come back now, Jonee *

* Come back, come back, Jonee *

You know, we were
all sort of having

this countercultural approach.

And "Saturday Night Live"
really brought some of that

to the masses--you know,
the big audience.

It was really like talking
to a friend in a way.

* Come back, Jonee! *

* *

- So in this new wave
of music,

it had much more to do
with imagination

and less to do with technique.

You could become an artist
overnight just by having

an idea and a keyboard.

[Talking Heads' "Artists Only"]

- * I don't have to prove *

* That I am creative *

* I don't have to prove *

* That I am creative *

* All my pictures *

* Are confused *

* And now I'm going to
take me to you *

* *

- Some of the bands with
the sharpest edges at the time

were groups like
The Talking Heads and B-52s.

And again, they took
the idea of punk rock

and just mixed it
with their own kind

of personal eccentricities
and flavor

to make some of the
most interesting music.

- * We were at the beach *
- * Ooh *

* Everybody had
matching towels *

* Somebody went under a dock *

* And there they saw a rock *

* It wasn't a rock *

* It was a rock lobster *

[singers vocalizing]

[The B-52s' "Rock Lobster"]

- Seeing the B-52s
on "Saturday Night Live"

for the first time, that is
really what changed my life.

- * Rock lobster *

- I always felt weird.

And then I see
the B-52s on television.

I'm like, oh, my God,
they're weird too.

And they're on TV,
and people like weird stuff.

And okay,
it's okay to be weird.

[Captain Beefheart & His Magic
Band's "Ashtray Heart"]

[grungy punk rock music]

- * You used me like
an ashtray heart *

* Case of the punks,
right from the start *

- I was responsible
for a few bookings--

Miles Davis and
Captain Beefheart,

both of which were considered
disaster appearances.

[mellow jazz music]

Miles had his back
to the camera,

which was driving them nuts.

* *

- * You picked me out *

* Brushed me off *

- And Captain Beefheart,
if you ever heard his music,

he has tones that a lot
of people can't handle.

[discordant horn solo]

* *

- His performance on "SNL,"
I had on a VCR tape.

We had passed it around.

You know,
by the '90s, you know,

these kind of things
were bootleg tapes.

And that was one
of my favorites,

was Captain Beefheart.

- Not one person in
the audience clapped.

It was--I'd never seen that
before the "applause" sign.

And one guy from the balcony
yelled, "Shit!"

You could see that on the tape.

[music ends]

- Shit!

- It's hard to explain
what this show meant.

It means a lot now,
but at that time,

when the city was smaller,
less people,

the arts scene
was more integrated.

Music and comedy were
brothers and sisters in arms.

They were not separated.

[David Bowie's
"The Man Who Sold the World"]

* *

- * We passed upon the stair *

* And spoke of was and when *

* Although I wasn't there *

* He said I was his friend *

* Which came as some surprise *

* I spoke into his eyes *

- * I thought you died alone *

- * A long, long time ago *

* *

* Oh, no *
- * Oh, no *

- * Not me *
- * Not him *

- * I never lost control *

* You're face *
- * You're face *

- * To face *
- * To face *

- * With the man
who sold the world *

* *

* I laughed
and shook his hand *

* And made my way back home *
- * Home *

- * I roamed the desert land *

- * For years and years
I roamed *

- * I gazed a gazely stare *

* At all the millions here *

- * We must have died alone *

- * A long, long time ago *

* *

* Oh, no *
- * Who knows *

- * Not me *
- * Not him *

- * Not you *

- * We never lost control *

* You're face *
- * You're face *

- * To face *
- * To face *

.

- All right, here we go.
Stand by, sound on tape at 11.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
Kendrick Lamar.

[Kendrick Lamar's
"Rich Spirit"]

- * Broke phone *

- * I'm a savage *

* Classy, bougie, ratchet *

* Sassy *

- * Five, four, three, two-- *

- * Let's rock *

- * Bow, get the [...] though,
I don't bluff, bro *

* Aiming at your head
like a buffalo *

- * Is so maniacal,
we're liable to pull a juju *

* The irony is that
this bad chick in my lap *

* *

- * This very moment I bring *

* Put it on everything *

* That I will retire
with the ring *

- * My name is Hov *

* Not D.O.C. *

* But they belong
to them letters *

* "No One Can Do It Better" *

- * This is the story
of a champion *

* Runners on their mark
and they pop their guns *

* Stand up, stand up,
here he comes *

* Tell me what it takes
to be number one *

- * Never meant to
make your daughter cry *

* I apologized
a million times *

- * What's my name? *

* DMX, and I be the best,
you see the rest? *

* They lookin' like
they need a rest *

- * Girls, you know you better
watch out *

* Some guys, some guys are
only about *

* That thing, that thing,
that *

- * As I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death *

* I take a look at my life
and realize *

* There's nothing left *

- * With so much
drama in the LBC *

* It's kind of hard being
Snoop D-O-double-G *

- * How low can you go *

* Death row *

* What a brother know *

* Once again back
is the incredible *

* Rhyme animal,
the uncannable *

- * Rock y'all,
check out the funky cut *

* It's like
travelin' through time *

* To the "Stray Cat Strut" *

* Cuts are slicker than grease,
needles sharper than knives *

- "Saturday Night Live" was
one of the first platforms

that played hip-hop music.

And so to have hip-hop
on a show

that was seen by millions of
people was really a big deal.

- Check this out.

Lately, the media
has been dogging rap music,

saying it incites violence,
riots, and whatnot.

They are not violent, never
have been, never will be.

My homeboys,
from Hollis, Queens, Run-DMC!

[cheers and applause]

- Initially, did you guys
feel, like, out of place?

Like, these people might
not get us, or like--

- No, not really.

We knew we was just gonna rock
and go home.

- * It goes one for the money,
two for the show *

* Jam Master Jay,
Darryl and Joe! *

- Everybody, put your
hands in the air.

We going from side to side.
Everybody!

- Your "Saturday Night Live"

was really
some superstars stuff.

It was, like,
validation for us,

that we're a legit culture.

We have just
as much right to be accepted

as a legitimate form
of entertainment

as everybody else.

[Run-DMC's "Walk This Way"]

- * Like this! *

- Hollis crew in effect, bro.

- Run-DMC's greatness
in hip-hop is,

we're pioneers
of recorded rap.

But we didn't create it.

Like, we celebrate
everybody before.

I'm very honored
to be talking about

being on "Saturday Night Live,"
only because I know

that the Funky Four
did it first.

- Here's our host,
Deborah Harry.

Let's hear it.

- * Looking back
over the years *

* I guess I shedded
some tears *

"Saturday Night Live,"
I have to say,

is responsible
for a lot of things.

But we in turn brought
something very special

to "Saturday Night Live."

- What might that be?

- What might that be?
- Yes.

- Funky Four.

- * Now we're the Funky Four *

- * And I'm the plus one more *

- * And this is the way we go *

- When you're talking
about hip-hop culture,

you're talking young teenagers
in the streets of New York.

We were playing in every park
in New York City.

But we were not just
in the South Bronx.

We were headed downtown.

The Funky Four was
the one that introduced

hip-hop to punk rockers.

That's how we wind up
running into Debbie Harry.

- Hi, I'm Deborah Harry.

Join me this week when I host
"Saturday Night Live"

with my special musical guest,
Deborah Harry.

- They let us pick
our musical guest.

We decided on those guys.

- They were so fresh
and entertaining.

It seemed like a great idea.

- Debbie Harry fought for us.

We were innocent-looking.

There were similarities
with her

being with an all-male band.

And so this is the reason
why she wanted the Funky Four

to be on "Saturday Night Live."

- One minute.
One minute to air.

- There was no preperformance
or anything.

They said, okay,
time for y'all to go on.

- We did it.
- And we did it.

- 20 seconds.

- Do you remember what was
going through your head

at the moment?

- What was going on
through my head at the time

was I was pregnant.

My whole life was flashing
in front of me at that time.

But we had to go on, you know,
with the show.

- Three, two, one.
- And dissolve.

- Oh, the next group
are among the best

street rappers in the country.

Please welcome my friends
from the Bronx,

the Funky Four Plus One More.

[applause]

[Funky Four Plus One's
"That's the Joint"]

* *

- * Ha ha *

* Yeah *

* If you're ready for this *

* Say you're ready for this

- With DJ Breakout
being the first DJ

to be in front of a camera,
they didn't know what to do.

They didn't know how
to put the music through.

You're talking about--
this is the first time

that rap music is on TV.

- Nobody has ever
heard of scratching.

Try to explain that
to somebody.

And it's really hard.

- * We gotta prove to the world
that we're for real *

* We gotta prove to everybody
we know the real deal *

* We got golden voices
and hearts of steel *

* Cause we're five emcees
that got to be real *

* We wanna hear the party
people yell Sugar Hill *

- And at that time, we didn't
know the impact of what we did

to become the first rap group,
you know, to ever

be on national television.

That is the beginning
of everything.

Just learn the culture.

Learn how all of this came.

There's a saying that
Grandmaster Caz always said

hip-hop didn't
invent anything,

but we reinvented everything.

.

- This monologue will
lead us to a commercial.

And go one.

Send him out. Ready five.

Announce.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
Billie Eilish.

- I was hosting,
and I was the musical guest,

which I never, ever thought
would ever happen--ever.

Even, like, the first time
I played here.

- Nobody in your career
tells you, like,

now might not be
the right time.

Like, if you get
the "SNL" offer,

you're like,
oh, we gotta do that.

- "SNL" is, like,
always the biggest deal.

Dude, like,
people don't understand.

Like, "SNL" is hard.

It's a lot of work
and very challenging.

And you don't
really sleep much.

And everyone is on edge,
but in a good, exciting way,

but a terrifying way.

- Fade to black.

Ready one, up on one.

And cue.

- Once again,
Megan Thee Stallion.

[cheers and applause]

- When the musical guest
is the host,

there is no mistaking
or questioning, like,

the caliber of performer
that you are.

- I can't tell y'all
how excited I am to be here.

[energetic rock music]

* *

- Double duty,
it's meant for a dream board.

You know, you just never really
expect it to actually happen.

* *

- I do remember getting
the opportunity

to host "SNL"
for the first time.

And it was right after
a controversial moment

in my career where
a lot of people

were kind of afraid
to work with me,

which is when Lorne
gets excited to work

with you the most.

There are a few subjects we're
not gonna get into tonight.

I'm not gonna
do Hannah Montana.

But I can give you an update
on what she's been up to.

She was murdered.

And also, we went back
and forth on this.

But, guys, I just don't
think we should do

that "Wrecking Ball" sketch.

- What?
Miley, come on! My mom is here!

- I was kind of seen as being,
like, not quite understood

or not quite predictable,
which is really

what this show is all about.

He always says,
it's the tightrope walk.

They wanna see you dangle.
They don't wanna see you fall.

- [clears throat]
- You good?

All right, we're set.

- There is no getting
around, you know,

kind of the guts
of the show is,

do you have it or do you not?

And you see people for
who and what they are.

- Bad Bunny had
such a monster year.

We were just like, oh, it'd be
really fun to have him host.

And again, it goes back
to the musicians

that you don't normally
see doing comedy.

- [speaking Spanish]

- If you're the host and music,
you have zero time off.

And I think that's
explained to them too.

We just want you to know,
it's gonna be very--

- So Monday is--
writer's pitch to the host

ideas and stuff like that.

They'll meet
with the monologue team

and different writers.

- I think everyone
that does the monologue is

a bit worried about
the monologue,

I think rightfully so,
because if it's rubbish,

it kicks the show off and
doesn't set a very good tone.

So you've gotta
get that right.

You go to all
the writer's rooms,

and they give you the ideas.

And you go like,
being kind of English

and kind of try and be
nice to people,

you don't say that's shit,
basically.

I'm never gonna do that.

You say, hmm,
that's interesting.

I'll think about that.

- Three, two--

- Hi, I'm Bad Bunny.

And I'm the host and musical
guest this week on "SNL."

- Tuesday, they shoot
promos in the morning,

and then they come in and
meet with individual writers

to determine sketches.

- It's a very stupid sketch.

- You're just,
like, it's bonkers.

- It's bonkers.

- Then table read
is on Wednesday.

You read a ton of sketches,

just at the table with
everyone who's on the show.

Everyone who's
behind the scenes,

from the gaffer to Lorne.

You see naturally
in the room what

feels like it's gonna crush
and what may end up

on the back burner,
as far as sketches.

- My name is Benito,
and I'm so excited to be

here on "Sabado Gigante."

- And you run with
those 12 to 15 sketches,

and you start developing
those a little bit further.

But if you're host
and musical guest,

then Thursday is kind of crazy.

- Thursday morning,
the musician comes in.

And they begin
an audio sound check.

- * Something I'm not *

* But something I can be *

* Something I wait for *

* Something I'm made for *

* Mm *

[Billie Eilish's
"What Was I Made For?"]

* Something I'm made for *

Does it sound really bad?

all:
No.

- Whoo!

- My God!

- And once audio is happy,

then we turn that into
a cam rehearsal.

[violin melody]

- I wanna watch you separate.
- Okay.

- Once you sound check
the two songs,

you camera block the two songs.

And then you keep
blocking sketches.

- From TaskRabbit.
I'm here with the 800 DVDs.

And you can start
bringing them in.

- I'm here with the 800 DVDs.

- We don't want the DVDs!

- On Friday, the host films
a pretape early in the morning

so they have time
to edit it by Saturday.

- You rehearse the rest
of the show until

probably midnight or 1:00.

- I'm so excited to be here
on "Sabado Gigante."

- So you're down here.
- Do not look down.

- Mijo does not
have depression.

- [speaking Spanish]

- [singing in Spanish]

- Saturday, you start at noon.

Again, musicians have
to get up earlier

to make sure
everything's okay.

- [singing in Spanish]

- You have to figure
out the time of, like,

well, what's the outfit
you're gonna wear?

- They're gonna
have to wear some--

maybe some absurd clothes,
a crazy wig, maybe a mustache.

- Can you wear it
in this sketch?

What sketch has to be
before your music

so that you can get
enough time to prep?

- And then the live show comes.

And it's just like,
oh, yeah, so your four minutes

has gone down to 1:25.

It's all good.
We're gonna change you here.

We're gonna change you there.

- You have to run
from the music sketch,

and you're all
covered in sweat,

and change to be the host
and the musical guest.

- It just is the most
super-intense week.

- You basically don't know
what's gonna happen

until 11:30 p.m. when
the show is about to start.

Like, things are
constantly changing.

["Saturday Night Live" theme]

- You have time.
You have time.

- Time?

[cheering]

[soft upbeat percussive music]

* *

- Get ready.

Five seconds.
Four, three, two--

[cheering]

- Bad Bunny!

[cheers and applause]

- And I'm very excited to be
here on "Sabado Gigante,"

oh, sorry.

- Does not have depression.

He just like the dark!

- Eh.
- Oh!

- Oh!

both:
Oh!

* *

- Once again, Bad Bunny.

- Mijo!

[soft piano music]

[upbeat clapping]

- A big thing that I learned
is, like, seriously

to trust the process.

Because at the beginning of
the week, I was like, what?

Like, how are we going
from where--

how are we gonna go
from here anywhere?

And then it was, like,
truly one of the most fun days

of my life, was that Saturday.

Every part of it was so cool.

I felt like part
of a big family.

- Benito!

- Hey!

[applause]

.

- One thing I think is
very important is to weave

your convictions into your
vocation--whatever it is,

whether you're directing
a film or running a camera

or playing guitar
in a rock and roll band.

And for a band like Rage,

"SNL" was a perfect opportunity
to do that.

Being on "SNL" is something
that was valued.

It was a part of the DNA
of American culture

and entertainment.

So when the offer came
to be on it, we were like,

we'd be happy to.

But Rage never did things
in a normal way.

So we were thinking like,
how do we make this

into some sort of
crazy performance-art thing?

Then we heard that Steve Forbes
was going to be the host.

- It has been a hectic
last few months.

As many of you may know,
I was campaigning

for the Republican nomination
for the presidency

of the United States.

- He had just been

a Republican candidate
for president.

You know, he's Forbes
of "Forbes" magazine.

He's one of the richest
people in America.

And one of the driest
and most boring humans

to ever walk the face
of the Earth

was going to be hosting "SNL"
when Rage Against the Machine

was gonna be performing.
How ironic.

Let's see how that works out.

[heavy metal riff]

So the day of rehearsal,
we had already had

the upside-down
American flags,

the Navy distress signal,
on our amplifiers.

They asked us to please remove
the flags from the amplifiers

because, one, advertisers
would be upset.

And, two, it was
with Steve Forbes,

and that might be
a weird vibe.

We were like, you invited
Rage Against the Machine--

the "Fuck you, I won't do
what you tell me" band--

and then said,
don't do the thing.

Just to be clear, that's
what you're saying right now.

Great.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
Steve Forbes.

[cheers and applause]

- So the night
of the show comes,

and our roadies are primed.

- We're about to rock
"Bulls on Parade,"

and our roadies put
the upside-down flags

back up onto the amplifiers.

- The stage manager is
barking into his headset,

like, take those down
right now.

- Our roadies have been told
to, like, defend the perimeter.

There's 35 seconds
till we're live.

The stage manager
sends the "SNL" crew.

There's a quick scrum on stage.

- Unfortunately, the burly
New York City union men

are able to wrestle the flags
off of the amplifiers

with seven seconds to go
before we go live.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
Rage Against the Machine.

[cheers and applause]

[Rage Against the Machine's
"Bulls On Parade"]

* *

- It's a rocking performance.

We go back to the dressing
room and it's tense.

Our dressing room is
right across the hall

from Steve Forbes.

- * Come wit' it now *

- Time goes by.

A representative of "SNL"
comes to the door

and says, uh, it looks like the
show's running a little long.

And we're gonna cut
your second number.

And then they leave us alone.

That was their mistake.

- * Come wit' it now *

* *

* Come wit' it now *

- Timmy C doesn't like
things like that.

And he expresses himself.

And so what he did was, he took
one of the American flags,

and he tore it up
and knotted it into a ball.

You might call it a weapon.

And he entered Steve Forbes'
dressing room

across the way to attack him.

[knock at door]

- That's strange.

Nobody even knows
that we're here yet.

- I'll go get it.
- Okay.

- Steve Forbes was not
in his dressing room,

but his family was.

So Timmy launches his
American flag ball rocket

at aunts, cousins,
wives, children.

- * They rally
'round the family *

* With a pocket
full of shells *

- Fortunately, the kind
of solid integrity of it

is not so great.

So it's kind of like--it
flaps apart, hurting no one.

However, did I mention before
that Steve Forbes

had just been
a presidential candidate?

The hallway floods
with Secret Service.

- * Bulls on parade *

- We're now locked
in our room.

They're protecting
Steve Forbes and his family.

* *

[cheers and applause]

And then we are escorted out
and put on the sidewalk

at 30 Rock there.

- I'd like to thank Rage
Against the Machine, the cast.

- You might notice Rage
is not in the farewells

on that particular show.

- Thank you.
[cheers and applause]

- I still went
to the after party.

[laughs]

["Saturday Night Live" theme]

.

- Probably the most famous
moment of protest on "SNL"

was Sinéad O'Connor.

She really was a one-woman
Rage Against the Machine.

- * We used to go out
walking hand in hand *

* You told me all the
big things you had planned *

- I remember it all
fairly vividly.

Tim Robbins was hosting.

He wanted to do some pieces
on GE and PCBs

in the Hudson,
which was a serious issue.

- As you know, GE owns NBC.

Yes, GE owns quite a few
interesting companies.

- Uh, Tim?
- Yeah, Davey?

- Would you mind
coming backstage?

Lorne wants to see you.

- Tim, I--I--I'm upset.

- Why?
Because I'm attacking GE?

- Yes.
- Why?

Because GE pays
your check, Lorne?

- Yes.

And so that was
the political thing

that was happening that week.

- Once again, Sinéad O'Connor.

[applause]

- I was really excited
Sinéad was coming on.

- She had a full orchestra
on the first song,

and then singing a cappella
on the second song.

With the camera block
on Thursday,

she saw the cameras
switching and this and that.

And she said, no.

For the second song,
I just want one camera on me--

tightening,
tightening, tightening.

- * Through child abuse *

- And I could hear on
the PL, it's like, well,

that's kind of
deadly television.

But all right, we'll do it.

- * Of good *

- And then she held up
a picture of a baby.

- I actually thought, like,
should she hold up a photo?

Like, it was more that it was
not--it was not a common thing

that people add things
to their music set.

- We kind of looked at it as,
like, some artistic statement

that she's making, not even
thinking it was political.

And then the air show comes.

- Once again, Sinéad O'Connor.

- Okay.

[cheers and applause]

- * War in the east *

* War in the west *

* War up north *

* War down south *

* There's war
and the rumors of war *

* Until that day *

* There is no continent
which will know peace *

* Children *

* Children *

* Fight *

* We find it necessary *

* We know we will win *

* We have confidence
in the victory *

* Of good *

* Over evil *

Fight the real enemy.

- I think I heard the director
say something like,

holy shit, she just ripped
up the Pope on national TV.

- We were standing right where
you're--right behind you,

watching, right there.

I looked up, and everyone's,
like, mouths have dropped.

And everyone's,
like, freaking out.

- Well, another controversy
for singer Sinéad O'Connor,

as she strikes
a sour note with Catholics.

A steamroller smashed

200 of her albums,
cassettes, and CDs.

- If you missed it,
Tim Robbins was host.

And Sinéad O'Connor
didn't exactly

make friends with the Pope.

Lighten up, Sinéad.
[laughs]

- So they were blaming
Lorne and--and us.

But, you know, we explained
that she did it on her own.

And she was kind of right.

- Sirens were going off
in the background

in the control room
and all that stuff.

There was a part of me

that just admired
the bravery of what she'd done,

and also the
absolute sincerity of it.

- She was speaking
to her own abuse

that she had endured
in the Catholic Church,

and speaking for children
and young people

who had been molested, you
know, through the centuries.

And she paid the price for it.

- That picture is of him.

And when he did
his tour of Ireland,

Ireland has the
highest incidence

in Europe of child abuse.

I experienced it myself.

And I find his presence
in Ireland

telling the young
people of Ireland

that he loved them hilarious.

* Since then you have *

* Taken me for granted *

[soft acoustic music]

[upbeat rock music]

* Well, let me tell you
that you were no *

* Life raft to me *

- I remember thinking,
like, whoa.

She's so strong.

Like, I could never be
as strong as someone

with that type
of political view

that you would take
that kind of a stance.

I just remember being
sort of mesmerized by her.

- * I'll meet you later *

* In somebody's office *

* Oh, whoa, whoa *

* *

- It was another
instance of the artist

with their principles
and values

in a very impactful way,

throwing their lives
and their career on the line

for this statement.

* *

[cheers and applause]

.

- There's a lot of ways music
is used in the show.

I mean, I think
that's the beauty of sketch.

It allows you to embrace
the possibilities of anything.

- Doing impressions
of iconic musicians

is, like, kind of a staple.

Like, that's really become so
much of the language of "SNL."

- It was something
that really did

start organically,
with Belushi showing off

a few musical impressions.

- * Seems like I've gotta
have a change of scene *

* 'Cause every night I have
the strangest dream *

- Joe Cocker was
really outrageous.

John would pick up
on something like that

and just exaggerate it.

- * By with a little help
from my friends *

- * Oh, you know
I'm gonna get my friend *

- * By with a little help
from my friends *

- * Whoa, whoa, whoa *

- * By with a little
help from my friends *

* Ooh, ooh, ooh *

[Joe Cocker's "With a Little
Help From My Friends"]

- Belushi had a way
of overdoing everything.

- * Turn it up please *

- * Yes, I'm doing all right *

* Yes, I'm doing all right *

- * Don't do no wrong *

- * Yes,
I'm feeling all right *

- * Oh, no *

- * Yes,
I'm feeling all right *

- * Come on *

[cheers and applause]

- Do you have
any favorite "SNL"

impersonations of musicians?

- Ooh.

I mean, obviously,
Eddie's Stevie is like--

that's like another level.

- Listen, listen.

* My cherie amour
distant as the Milky Way *

Try that.

[cheers and applause]

- You'd see Stevie
on "Ed Sullivan,"

and you'd see Stevie on,
you know, "Midnight Special."

And he was the biggest thing
around then.

But I don't have
to study somebody

to do an impression of them.

I have it as soon as I see it.

* Ebony and ivory *

both: * Live together
in perfect harmony *

- "Ebony and Ivory"
was a huge song.

You know, that was a big song.

So Eddie comes up
with the idea,

let's do "Ebony and Ivory."

Eddie goes, I'll do Stevie.

I said, I'll play
Frank Sinatra.

And we'll do
our version of it.

And we fleshed it out.

Read-through,
it was a little harsh,

and I thought a little
offensive to Frank Sinatra.

Frank Sinatra is a hero
if you're

a North Jersey
Italian American.

I remember as a kid we would
go to the barber shop

in Bloomfield, New Jersey.

And when you'd go in, there'd
be a picture of two people,

the Pope and Frank Sinatra.

And Frank Sinatra's picture
was above the Pope's, you know.

So I was scared
to offend Mr. Sinatra.

- We're all set to record
as soon as he gets here,

Mr. Sinatra.

- Good, good, good.

[applause]

It was harsh,
but I wanted it to be funny,

so the pressure was on.

- Excuse me, Mr. Sinatra, sir.

He's here.
- Show him in.

- Yes, sir.

- And then it's the moment
and you're live.

And the cards go up.

And you've gotta
hit the voice.

You gotta hit the mannerisms.

Stevie Wonder, Stevie Wonder,
you are aptly named.

Like I said many times,
you are truly a wonder.

- Thanks a lot, Frank.

- It was scary as anything
you could possibly imagine.

- * I am dark
and you are light *

- * You are blind as a bat
and I have sight *

- Piscopo can sing,
and Eddie Murphy

solidified that, because
his version of Stevie

is so perfect.

It's so good.

It's not funny because
he's dressed as Stevie Wonder.

It's funny because
he's pulling off

the musicality
of Stevie Wonder.

- * Ebony and ivory *

- That's good.
That's good, Steve.

- * Just living
in perfect harmony *

- * We're talking
salt and pepper *

* Sammy and Dean *

- Steve loved it from the--
because nobody had done Steve.

People were just telling him,
he's going like this.

Because he couldn't see it.

But--but he loved the idea
of somebody imitating him.

- I heard that Frank Sinatra
was watching it,

and he liked it.

You know, thank God
he liked it--

and that his beautiful
daughters Tina and Nancy said,

Dad, go to the studio.
Walk in on Piscopo now.

Yeah, I would have fainted.

I would have had
a coronary right there.

All right, kid, that's enough.
Out.

- * You are white *

- * You are Black *

- * And who cares *

Who cares, baby?

[applause]

- I think the majority of the
people that work at "SNL"

respect and idolize

most of those people
that they're doing.

- Hi. I'm Sean Evans.

I'm joined today
by Beyoncé Knowles Carter.

I cannot believe
you're on "Hot Ones."

- No, I feel you.

I still can't tell
if this is beneath me.

You wanna make sure that
the people that you're doing

are not offended, but know
that, like, you're having fun.

- * "Prince Show" *

- * Everybody
wants to be free *

- * It's Prince, yo *

- I already loved
Destiny's Child,

and then I was
a fan of Beyoncé.

- * Come and take a ride
with me *

- I was trying to do
the notes that she would do.

* It's Prince, yo *

Because the way it was written,

she would not have sung it
that way.

both:
* Climb the rainbow of truth *

- I was trying to convey,
I am a fan,

I am not making fun of anybody.

- My musical impressions
without a doubt

started my whole career.

I love The Rolling Stones,
I love Mick Jagger.

And Lorne said, Mick is
looking to do a sketch.

I go, cool.

And I did an
impression of Mick.

I go, maybe I can do a sketch
for him in the mirror

opposite Mick Jagger.

And I'm like, I'm doing
an impression and--

and Lorne goes,
please don't do that.

It's been done a zillion times.

Groucho Marx did it.

Lucille Ball has done it.

I go with a bunch of ideas.
I go, here you go.

And Lorne goes, no,
you go talk to him.

I go, oh,
I don't wanna do that.

You're the producer.

You should go talk
to Mick Jagger.

I'm afraid of Mick Jagger.

He's like, just go talk to him.

So I go in. I'm nervous.
I go, hello.

- We kind of
pitched each other ideas.

And we didn't really
like any of them.

- I have an idea where
me and you work on the beach,

and we're selling
suntan lotion.

And he's like,
no, I don't wanna do that. No.

Okay, I have another idea
where you play Keith,

and Keith cloned himself
so that he

could party with himself.

And he goes, no.
No, I don't wanna do that.

I go through, like,
five or six terrible ideas.

I go, all right.
And I'm sweating, flop sweat.

- So I didn't like the ideas.
We weren't getting anywhere.

And then Jimmy said--

- I got this other idea
where I'm you in the mirror.

And it's like, you know,
why are you doing this show?

You've done it
in every decade.

- And I said,
that sounds great.

- I go, okay.

And I left.

I go, Lorne,
good news, bad news.

Mick wants to do the sketch.

Bad news is, it's the mirror.
It's me in the mirror.

[applause]

- Here we are,
"Saturday Night Live" again.

I mean, what more can I do?

I mean, I did this show
in the '70s.

I did it in the '80s.

I did it in the '90s.

And now I'm doing it in--

whatever you call this decade.

I mean--I mean, think.

Think.

- Come on, Mick.

Come on.
You can do this, right?

Yeah.
- That's not the point.

I mean, I've done this.

That's the problem.
I've done it.

- All right, well, what were
you planning on doing?

- Well, I was
gonna come out.

And I'd go like
that, and like that.

- Right.

- And then I was gonna do
maybe, like--

like that.
- Yeah, pretty good.

- Right.
- Yeah, that's pretty good.

Yeah, right.

- And then the thing
with the Stones,

like punching the air
like that.

- Yeah, that's pretty good.
Right.

What else?
What else have you got?

- Well, I dunno.
Uh, pointing fingers.

We do pointing fingers.

- Yeah, what's
pointing fingers?

- You know, like...

* I'm pointing my fingers *

- * And I'm pointing my
fingers, pointing at you *

- That's great.

- Right, it's a little--

[cheers and applause]

- A little--a little stale.

- A little stale?
- Yeah.

We did the sketch, me and Mick
Jagger, and the place shook.

I remember it.
I remember it to this day.

- By the way, you look great.

- No, no. We look great.

- Oh, yeah.

Hey, let's--let's go over
pointing fingers again, okay?

- Ah, cool.
- Okay.

- * And I point *

* My finger *

* I'm pointing, pointing,
pointing, pointing at you *

[cheers and applause]

- And I don't know if it's
real or if I just thought it

in my head, but when I got off
the stage, everything was hot.

And everyone was clapping.

And the thing was
kind of vibrating.

It was one of the most
surreal moments of my life.

I'll never forget that.

And I was like, whew,
that will never happen again.

And--and it didn't.

.

- They said I couldn't
light my joint,

you know what I'm saying?

But we ain't going
out like that.

- We ain't going out.

- When it's live television,
you know,

you gotta be ready for
things to go left or right.

- We've got a great show,
and I totally care

that I'm here,
because it's the coolest

fucking thing--oop!
[audience oohing]

- * Why don't presidents
fight the war *

* Why do they always
send the poor *

* Why do they always
send the poor *

* Why do they always
send the poor *

- Fuck you!

- I had never seen "SNL"
until I was on it.

- Here's Elvis Costello.

- In the dress rehearsal,
we did a song

that was on my first album.

But I thought it sounded
a little too slow.

It was a medium tempo song,
and I didn't think

it was exciting enough.

And I realized,
this show is live.

We can do anything we want.

- * Calling Mister Oswald
with the swastika tattoo *

* There is a vacancy
waiting in the... *

Stop!

I'm sorry,
ladies and gentlemen.

There's no reason
to do this song here.

- When he stopped,
the hubbub in the studio

was like, oh, my God.

Oh, my God,
what's gonna happen?

You could hear it.

- "Radio, Radio."
- Okay.

- One, two, three, four.

[Elvis Costello's
"Radio, Radio"]

- With the Elvis thing,
I was sitting

with Dan Aykroyd on Home Base.

We were just watching.

And I went, oh, I think
maybe we're being hijacked.

- * I was tuning in the shine
on the light night dial *

* Doing anything
my radio advised *

* With every one of those
late night stations *

* Playing songs,
bringing tears to my eyes *

All of this stuff, it builds
up in legend in the retelling.

But I didn't
come out there to give

a political lecture, you know.

I came out to kind of
shake it up.

* So you had better
do as you are told *

* You'd better
listen to the radio *

* *

* Wonderful radio *

As we finished the song, the
initial reaction in the moment

was, I think we'd
better get out of here.

* *

[applause]

Somewhere in it,
somebody said in anger,

you'll never work on
American television again.

But the idea I was banned
from television is nonsense.

- He's back.
Elvis Costello.

- * Veronica *

[Elvis Costello's "Veronica"]

* Veronica *

- Ladies and gentlemen,
Elvis Costello.

- * To the burning forests
in the hills of AstroTurf *

* The other side of summer *

both: Ladies and gentlemen,
Beastie Boys.

[cheers and applause]

[Beastie Boys' "Sabotage"]

* *

- * I can't stand it-- *

[cheers and applause]

- I'm sorry, ladies
and gentlemen,

but there's just
really no reason

to do this song here tonight.

One two, three, four!

["Radio, Radio"]

* *

- * I was tuning in the shine
of the light night dial *

* Doing anything
my radio advised *

- I'll read it
occasionally in the "Post,"

so-and-so is banned for life.

And no, we've never
banned anyone.

We're way too crass
and opportunistic.

If something's hot, we're gonna
go for it and have it on.

- We are rare.

Taking nothing away
from all the other shows,

they have the opportunity
to fix something.

We don't.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
Ashlee Simpson.

- I had heard rumblings that
Ashlee had a sore throat

or wasn't feeling well.

But it seemed okay.

- At dress rehearsal, she had
problems with her voice.

And it was decreed
that she will lip sync

for the second song
just to save her voice.

And then somehow,
between dress and air,

it was decreed that she
will lip sync both songs.

I mean, I can hear myself
being fired by saying--anyway.

- * On a Monday I am waiting *

* On Tuesday *

- The first song went fine.

And then the second
song happened.

- Once again, Ashlee Simpson.

- And the two guitarists
and the bass all launch

into song two,

and the drummer
has cued up song one.

And I heard the director say
something like, holy shit!

- Uh-oh.

- * On a Monday *

- Oh, shit.
- Ooh.

- Fuh--wrong song, wrong song.

- This is bad.

[rock music]

They should play it. Play it.

- And it was just like,
you know, those old movies

of two locomotives hitting
each other full bore.

* *

- What are we doing?

I don't know.
She should sing.

- People were people running
in and out of the studio,

and it just seemed like the
show came to a screeching halt.

- I was in my basement,
13 years old,

sexually confused
because Jude Law was the host.

- And it's on three.

- In the moment
of it happening, like,

you weren't really sure
what was going on.

- She's walking off the stage.

What am I doing?
Am I going to bumper?

Am I going to bumper?

Should I go to bumper?
- Stand by.

- It's one of those things
where it can either go

one way if all goes well,

or be the complete opposite
if it doesn't.

- If you were watching
"Saturday Night Live"

last weekend on Halloween
night, you may have

noticed that not all of the
show stayed on the air live.

A punk band called Fear,

booked as the show's
musical guests,

brought on a contingent
of their fans

near the end of the program.

Joining us now
is Dick Ebersol,

who is the executive producer
of "Saturday Night Live."

Do you plan to cut away from
the live show and go to...

- No. No, no.
- Some sort of piece of tape?

.

- One, two, three, four!

[Fear's
"I Don't Care About You"]

* I'm from South Street
Philadelphia *

* I'm from Avenue C *

* I've seen empty eyes *

* Waiting to freeze *

* I'm from the Bowery too *

* I don't care about you *

- John Belushi
found out about us.

He liked our music.

He became a fan of ours.

Good Lord, here we are,
this riff-raff ragtag bunch.

We don't have distribution.

We had a record deal
with "Slash" magazine.

Pretty much, that was it.

- Through Belushi,
Fear was booked,

with the understanding,
I think, that Belushi

was gonna make a cameo.

- And that was a chance for,
like, this really kind of

hardcore punk to be
on nationwide television

in a way that most people
hadn't seen before.

It was kind of
a dangerous move.

- We thought it was crazy
shit that John Belushi

was making them put on TV.

- He wasn't even a cast member
anymore in 1981.

But what a soldier for punk
that he was like,

I'm gonna get this band on TV.

[energetic punk rock music]

- So I remember having to talk
to Lee Ving, the lead singer,

about his lyrics.

- * She just wants
my beef bologna *

- She just likes
my beef bologna.

- * Beef, beef, beef--
beef bologna *

- Beef, beef, beef--
beef bologna.

- * She don't want no chicken,
don't want a roast *

* She just wants
my double dose *

* Of beef, beef, beef *

* Beef bologna! *
- Beef bologna.

- It was one of
the great phone calls.

And then I heard
that Belushi was

gonna bring in
a crew from Washington

to dance around the stage.

- You see, I've got
a bad reputation around NBC

as a troublemaker.

But although I could easily
do it, I would never, never--

oh, what's the word
I'm looking for--

betray the network's
trust in me.

- John felt that in order
to allow it to look

the way that
it looks genuinely,

there had to be
this contingent.

- I think it's the only time
up to that point in the show

that there had been
participatory dancing

during the musical act,

which I don't think I'd
really figured out in my head

what slam-dancing was,
so talk about naive.

- They really didn't have
a complete idea of what

it was gonna be, and they
especially didn't have

a very in-depth idea
of what the situation

was gonna be between this
first 12 rows and the band.

- They're really nice people,
you know.

[laughs]

They--they are--hmm.

They look very frightening,
but they're really very nice.

Our Halloween night guest--

and by the way, tonight,
look out for surprises.

Ladies and gentlemen, Fear.

- * My baby *

* Talkin' 'bout
a low-down skag-a-doo *

* Yeah *

- We come on to play
our first sequence,

and Mr. and Mrs.
Normal America,

who usually go see
"Saturday Night Live,"

they're sort of looking
askance at the punk rockers,

wondering what
the hell this is.

And I picked my guitar up.

We count them off.

One-two-three-four,
one-two-three-four!

One-two-three-four,
one-two-three-four!

* Don't like cash,
she don't like phonies *

* She don't like junkies,
she don't like *

[Fear's "Beef Bologna"]

* Beef, beef, beef,
beef bologna *

* Beef, beef, beef,
beef bologna *

* Beef, beef, beef,
beef bologna *

* *

Kids are just tossing
each other through the air,

like there's gonna be
no tomorrow.

* Don't like salami,
she don't want pastrami *

* She don't want no chicken,
she don't want no roast *

* She just wants
a double dose of my *

* Beef, beef, beef,
beef bologna *

* Beef, beef, beef *

Mr. and Mrs. Tourist
America are back,

and they're looking at this.

By God, what is this?

Oh, Jesus. We're gonna die.

- * New York's all right
if you like saxophone *

- John just looks
at us and goes...

- I wish the tape
would show it,

because John was part of it,
God rest his soul.

- One-two-three-four,
one-two-three-four!

* Many of us,
there's so many of us *

* There's so many,
there's so many of us *

- At the end
of the Fear performance,

I jump up on the stage.

And I'm in the back,
like, when it gets--

I act like I'm with the group.

I was just playing.

* *

- Good or bad, those kind
of moments are great.

And I think that's what's great
about "Saturday Night Live."

I mean, we're still talking
about that moment right now.

There's been a thousand
bands on other TV shows

that we're not talking about.

So that meant something
to a lot of people.

- But there wasn't a riot.

I mean, they didn't
destroy equipment.

I mean, that was a good story.

But, in other words,
they were totally nice people

and acted totally
professionally.

- * I don't care about you *

* No *

* I don't care about you *

It was a hallmark
for punk rock music.

It didn't have to be in some
armpit basement somewhere.

It could now be
on a legitimate stage.

And it was John's doing.

John was the best thing
that ever happened to us.

I love him like a brother,
and I always will.

* Well he died while we just
stood there looking at him *

May he rest in peace.
I love you, John.

Thank you, brother.

* Oh-wee *

* I don't care about you *

[cheers and applause]

.

- Kanye.

[sighs]

That's all I should have
to say, is just Kanye, right?

And we're done
with that interview.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
Kanye West.

- * I gotta testify *

* Come up in the spot
looking extra fly *

- The artist always performed--
no matter who you were,

whether you were Bruce
Springsteen or U2 or Madonna--

you always played in front of
the brick wall, until Kanye.

There never needs to be
a rule that applies.

And "Saturday Night Live,"

which has broken
a lot of rules,

was now allowing artists
to break one more.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
Kanye West.

- * I guess every superhero
need his theme music *

* No one man should
have all that power *

- It was kind of like
a gauntlet had been thrown,

where it's like, that's
the best "SNL" performance.

And it was that thing
of certain artists

coming in
and wanting to compete.

- Kanye West was
the leader of that.

Whenever somebody would
submit their creative

and we'd be like,
no, we can't do that.

And they'd be like,
well, Kanye did.

- He was always
kind of like, nice,

but then also really
contentious, you know?

He had no problem telling us

that he found the show
incredibly unfunny.

[chuckles]

He would tell us that
on the regular.

- Hell no, I ain't doing
no motherfucking "SNL" skits.

This is my goddamn life.

[cheering]

This ain't no
motherfucking joke.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
Kanye West.

- * Hey, I need every
bad chick up in equinox *

[tense music]

* *

- Have a good show, guys.

Five, four, three...

- Okay, here we go, folks.

- Two, one.

- We got a great show!

[cheers and applause]

Kanye West is here,
so stick around.

We'll be right back.

- Ready three, take three.

Five.
- Stand by music.

- Ready three, five.
Ready, four.

- Drop the mic.
He's walking out.

- What? No.
- Let him go.

Let him go. Let him go.
Let him go.

- And Kanye's leaving the
building, and they had to--

Lorne had to chase him down
and go, don't go.

Come on, just come
sing the song.

- We talked.

And we just went over
what had happened.

I said, didn't you tell
everybody that you're on

and that they'll
be hearing this stuff?

So we'll be here regardless,
and we'll figure it out.

But this is
more damaging to you

than it is to us,
so I think you should do it.

- * We on a ultralight beam *

* This is a God dream *

* This is a God dream *

- Oh, yeah, that is
a MAGA hat, huh?

- Kenan, can you
come in a little bit?

- You didn't notice that
till now?

- I'm just now noticing.
I'm putting it all together.

- Yeah.
- He's serious.

- Here we go.
Five, four, three, two.

- Hi, I'm Adam Driver,
and I'm hosting

the season premiere of "SNL"
with musical guest, Kanye West.

- Uh-oh.

Kanye got that look.
- Oh, no.

What are you up to, Kanye?

- Oh, he's definitely
gonna do something.

- He's saving it for the show.

- Yeah, probably.

Mm!

[chuckles]

- This is the thing about
"Saturday Night Live"--

it's really live.

You could go rogue,
and some people do.

- I was super-excited
to hear that

they were gonna transform
"Good Nights" into--

into a Kanye song.

"SNL" band played it at dress
with Kanye, killed it.

Everybody was happy.

It was like--it was amazing.

- First episode
I moved to New York

exactly eight days
prior for this job.

I just remember at air
it was like, okay,

it's gonna be
my first "Good Nights."

And this--[chuckling]

[soft piano music]

- Thanks to Matt Damon,
Rachel Dratch,

Teyana Taylor,
Lil Pump, this cast,

these writers, Lorne Michaels.

Once again, Kanye West.

[cheers and applause]

- And then when
we got on stage,

he went kind of off-book.

- * Still the kids
we used to be *

Hey, y'all come up here
with us.

Y'all come up here with us.
Y'all come up here.

[indistinct]

* I could cry right now *

* Something inside me
right now *

* And the liberals
bully you and tell you *

* What you can
and cannot wear *

Actually, Blacks weren't
always Democrats.

We can't be controlled
by monolithic thought.

If someone inspires me
and I connect with them,

I don't have to believe
in all their policies.

And when I said
I'm running 2020,

all my smart friends talked
so much shit about me.

And when I saw that man win,
I say, see?

I told you.
I could have been.

- I was like, I don't wanna
be up here for this,

because I don't agree
with this.

And standing up here,
it looks like

I'm standing in solidarity.

So I was like,
don't make any faces.

Neutral face, neutral face.

Everyone's gotta know
I'm just fulfilling

my duties as a cast member.

It's like your
first day at school.

And you're like,
I don't wanna get in trouble.

Y'all told me to come up here.
I'm up here.

Then I remember
looking around the stage.

Something made me be like, oh,
are there other Black people

up here up in the cast?

And I look.

[laughing]
And no, I was the only one.

And I thought,
they had a meeting.

And so then I'm like,
these motherfuckers.

- When he grabbed the mic
and was just like, you know,

wandering around,
you could see he was, like,

gearing up to say something,
I was like, I'm out.

It would have been cool if he
just had did the music thing.

And, you know, I don't know,
just spoke through the hat,

I guess, because
the hat was loud.

- And then they say,
I'm in a sunken place.

You wanna see the sunken place?

Okay, I'ma listen to y'all now.

- When it was happening,
we kind of went

like, okay, this is Kanye.

But it went on and on and on.

And at one point, it was
just me playing, and Kanye.

- If I was concerned
about racism,

I would have moved out
of America a long time ago.

- I guess my musical instinct
just said, keep playing.

Just keep playing.

And I think only a snippet
of that actually made it

to air before they
went off to the news,

or whatever the heck else.

- Thank y'all
for giving me this platform.

I know some of y'all
don't agree.

- This is
a non-censoring show.

It's one of the last places
you do what you wanna do,

whether you're Woody Harrelson
or Chappelle or Ramy.

You know, as long as they don't
swear, break the FCC rules--

because people do forget
we're broadcast.

They think we're HBO

where you can say swear words
and stuff like that.

And it's like,
as long as you don't do that,

.

[slow jazz music]

* *

- I had just officially
moved to New York

right before September 11th.

It was just overwhelming.

[applause]

- No one knew what to do,
didn't know where to turn

or what to think or how to
be funny and all or laugh.

- I knew that Lorne
was going to handle that

in the most thoughtful way,

and in a way that felt right
for the show

and for people that needed to
watch the show in order to feel

like someone was
talking about it,

and also talking
about New York.

- I gave it a lot of thought.

The mayor, he agreed to come.

And he brought
the fire chief and the head

of the Port Authority.

And they all came
to the studio.

[applause]

[Paul Simon's "The Boxer"]

There's something
about "The Boxer"

that's about the resilience
of New York City.

- * I am just a poor boy *

* Though my story
is seldom told *

* I squandered my resistance
for a pocket full of mumbles *

* Such are promises *

The thing I remember most was
walking from the dressing room,

past a long line of firemen.

I mean, the sadness,
that they'd lost colleagues.

Of all the times
I did the show,

that might have been the only
time I was ever nervous.

[vocalizing]

* *

[cheers and applause]

And then, of course,
there's the famous joke

that he wrote with Giuliani.

- When we rehearsed,
I knew we needed a joke.

- "Saturday Night Live" is one
of our great New York City

institutions, and that's
why it's important for you

to do your show tonight.

- Can we be funny?

- Why start now?

[cheers and applause]

- It really was, like, the
perfect way to get back in it.

- And it just--kind of like
that spirit of, like,

it's New York.

This is what we do.

This is a show.

And we're gonna do this
and we're gonna survive.

Lorne really works well
when he's given a problem

and he has to solve it,
and he's put in the corner.

Like, he'll figure it out.

- Hello.
- Whoo!

- Yes.
- Yeah.

- [chuckling]

- Let's go.

- And live from Zoom,
it's sometime

between March and August.

- Yeah!

["Saturday Night Live" theme]

* *

- It's "Saturday Night Live."

- Um, as you might
have noticed,

this is a little scary.

There was never any point
in which I wasn't coming back.

I just knew that if
we worked at it somehow,

we'd be able to figure it out.

- On some level, it was
comforting to get the call

from Lorne that
we were going back.

And then it was completely
confusing and confounding

of how we were gonna do it.

Morgan Wallen was maybe gonna
be a risky person to have

in the building
because of the way

COVID regulations
were back then.

It wasn't the best idea
to, like, go to

a college party and, um,
suck face with people.

And it became this big story.

- Rising country star
Morgan Wallen

was seen on social media
partying without a mask.

He actually was canceled
from the show.

- Have you booked
another musical guest?

- Yeah, I, uh--

- You have 48 hours
till the show.

- We're in the--we're
still in the middle of it.

Calling somebody on a Thursday
to be here for Friday,

you know, is complicated.

- Yeah.

- It has to be people
who are ready to go.

- When Lorne called
on Wednesday,

I had to call my band
and fly them in.

And we didn't rehearse
till Thursday.

And then we had to fly to
New York, I think, that night.

People were kind
of wondering, well,

what song are you gonna do?

What does Lorne want us to do?

And it was such a blessing
for Lorne to just say,

he can do whatever he wants.

But yeah, I don't
think a lot of people

would have enjoyed the tension
of having two days to prepare

to play on live television.
[laughs]

I had a couple ideas
of things to do.

One of them was to reference
the pandemic in some way.

And I found this old
blues song to reference

the 1918 flu pandemic.

- * Great disease was mighty *

* And the people were sick
everywhere *

* It was an epidemic *

* It floated through the air *

[energetic guitar strumming]

- All right, you guys good?
- Yeah.

- Okay, cool.
Let's do it.

Here we go.
In five, four, three, two, one.

[Jack White's "Lazaretto"]

* *

- The entire week was wild,
because a month before

I had done a fast
of, like, five days.

And I noticed something
happened on the third day.

I had this immense
amount of energy.

You actually get
filled with energy

because your body is trying to
get you out and get you fed.

So on Wednesday,
when I got the call,

I decided to fast
all the way until I performed

on "Saturday Night Live."

* *

By the time we got
to the 8:00 rehearsal,

my manager was like,
you're gonna pass out

on stage on live television.

[rhythmic clapping]

- Coming back in ten.

- And I was on fire.

I was ready to, like,
tackle a footballteam

before we went out.

It was exactly what
I hoped was gonna happen.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
Jack White.

- * The great disease
was mighty *

[sparse guitar strumming]

* And people were
sick everywhere *

[heavy rock music]

* The great disease
was mighty *

* And people were
sick everywhere *

* *

* Yeah, it was an epidemic *

* And it traveled
through the air *

* *

It felt good to talk
about that and compare this

to something that had
happened 100 years ago.

It's just so similar,
and we were

going through it once again.

* *

* Let's have a ball *

* Take our sweet
little time about it *

* *

* Everybody in the place
can just get out *

* We'll get clean together *

* And I'll find me a soapbox
where I can shout it *

* It's gonna sound like this *

* *

I felt kind of that
responsibility of,

I haven't seen anything on TV
during this whole COVID thing

that I saw and said, man,
that makes me miss live music.

Whatever I do,
I don't even care

what the song is, I'm going to
try to emote that to people.

Like, this is what
we're missing right now.

Whatever band or whatever
kind of music you like,

this is what I'm hoping that
can give you that energy.

And it felt so good.

* *

.

[gentle music]

* *

- The legacy is unspeakable.

I really can't think
of another thing

that's as powerful
and inspirational and huge

as "SNL" is.

* *

- I think there was something
spiritually important

about Studio 8H because
it was built for music.

It was built for
the NBC Symphony Orchestra

conducted by Arturo Toscanini.

And it is situated and built
like a symphony space.

* *

- I just think it's
all of the people

that you've ever looked up to
have performed on that stage.

It's just such a magical place.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
Philip Glass

and the Philip Glass Ensemble.

[cheers and applause]

[Phillip Glass's
"Glassworks: IV. Rubric"]

[thrilling electronic music]

* *

- "SNL" has served
as a time capsule

through the decades
for America.

* *

From introducing new artists
to one-hit wonders

to making careers.

- I mean,
if you think about it,

what you've got
is something which

wouldn't have existed
if it hadn't been

for "Saturday Night Live."

You've got this huge, broad,
popular music library

of performances
from this period.

* *

- You know, when the
music changes, it changes.

And you can say,
that's not really music.

But if it's the music,
it's the music.

And the show has to look
and sound like today.

You should be able
to look at a rerun

and tell what was going on
in the country.

- I think "SNL" has been
that enduring thing.

So many musicians' careers can
be distilled down to, like,

the first times
they were on "SNL."

[soft dramatic music]

- It's really just fertile
ground for an artist

to really express themselves.

- It's so important.

It's just as important right
now to perform on "SNL"

as it was 50 years ago,
20 years ago.

- If I stood on the floor at
8H tonight and watched them

do a show at my age, after
everything I've seen and done,

I would feel
just as much excitement.

- * How can I overcome
negative energy *

* While I give infinity
and survive *

[cheers and applause]

- It is impossible
to describe,

and I get chills even talking
about it right now.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
you are so lucky tonight.

- Charlie XCX.

- Tame Impala.
- Lil Wayne.

- Justin Bieber.

- Rihanna.
- Arctic Monkeys.

- Oasis.
- Lauryn Hill.

- Garth Brooks.
- Metallica.

- Spice Girls.

- Salt-N-Pepa.

- Bon Jovi.

- The Smashing Pumpkins.

- Public Enemy.
- Public Enemy.

- Tom Petty
and the Heartbreakers.

- Aretha Franklin.
- Bob Dylan.

- Billy Joel.
- Elton John.

- Willie Nelson.

- LL Cool J.
- Tom Waits.

[soft exciting music]

- Anybody who's ever
been to a live concert

can attest that when you're
getting something closer

to the source,
the more powerful

an emotional impact it's
going to have on you.

- * All *

* That you turned out to *

* Be *

* Oh, yeah *

* Oh, yeah *

* Oh, yeah *

* Mm-hmm *

[cheers and applause]

- I think it's
important for people

to see live music
on television.

- * Hey, Jude *

* Don't make it bad *

* Take a sad song *

* And make it better *

- When you see a human being
on a stage

actually doing the thing,
it can be inspiring,

because it seems accessible
in a way.

[The Beatles' "Hey Jude"]

Like, you watch that
guitar player and you think,

okay, he's just holding
a piece of wood with wires.

I'm gonna go get
one of those things

and learn how to do it
like that guy.

- * Upon your shoulder *

- I think it inspires
a younger generation of people

to go out and fucking
try to do it.

- * Nah nah-nah *

* Nah-nah nah-nah *

* Nah-nah nah-nah *

* Hey, Jude *

- * Oh, you sound
so sweet tonight *

* Oh, yeah *

* Oh, yeah *

* Nah-nah nah-nah *

* Nah-nah nah-nah *

* Hey, Jude *

* One more time *

* Yeah, baby *

* Yeah, baby *

* Come on *

- * Nah-nah nah-nah *
- * Come one *

* I can't stop it now *

* I just can't stop it *

- * Nah nah-nah *

* Nah-nah nah-nah *

* Nah-nah nah-nah *

* Hey, Jude *
- * It's so good today *

* I love you *

* *

[cheers and applause]