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NBC airs 3-hour special: "Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music" - TONIGHT [View all]
Variety link: https://variety.com/2025/music/news/50-years-of-snl-music-tv-review-1236287290/
No matter how a person might feel about “Saturday Night Live”’s jokes or cast or host choices, there’s absolutely no denying that for the better part of the last half century, it has been the most consistently powerful platform in America for musicians, whether they’re superstars, rising stars or falling stars.
Virtually every major artist has performed on it, and for musicians on the rise, it’s a sign that they have almost arrived, that they’ve attained enough popularity or curiosity or — perhaps most important — controversy for the show to take a chance on them. It was the first mainstream American television show to feature new wave (Devo 1978), hip-hop (Funky Four Plus One 1981), hardcore punk (Fear, also 1981, although the Sex Pistols were booked in January of 1978 but pulled out because they split up), and many other sub-genres.
What serious music fan can’t remember a classic performance on the show, if not a dozen, if not 50? David Bowie — who delivered arguably the best all-time “SNL” performance in 1979 — the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Tupac, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Jack White, Radiohead, Lenny Kravitz, Tom Waits, Coldplay, Bon Jovi, Taylor Swift, Mary J. Blige, Donald Glover, U2, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, Billy Joel, No Doubt, Tom Petty, Elton John, Olivia Rodrigo, Bruno Mars, and Prince are just a few of the artists who have appeared on the show, and (usually briefly) in this doc.
In terms of its musical guests, “SNL” has no real parallel in American television history — the closest in terms of influence is probably the much more conservative “Ed Sullivan Show” during the 1960s — and for decades, many of the musicians who perform on it not only grew up on the show, they were introduced to their some of their favorite artists on it. As Dave Grohl says in the sprawling, awesome, “Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music,” which airs tonight on NBC, seeing the B-52s on the show in 1980 was a life-changing experience, because “I felt weird, and they were weird too.”
- more at link -
Virtually every major artist has performed on it, and for musicians on the rise, it’s a sign that they have almost arrived, that they’ve attained enough popularity or curiosity or — perhaps most important — controversy for the show to take a chance on them. It was the first mainstream American television show to feature new wave (Devo 1978), hip-hop (Funky Four Plus One 1981), hardcore punk (Fear, also 1981, although the Sex Pistols were booked in January of 1978 but pulled out because they split up), and many other sub-genres.
What serious music fan can’t remember a classic performance on the show, if not a dozen, if not 50? David Bowie — who delivered arguably the best all-time “SNL” performance in 1979 — the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Tupac, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Jack White, Radiohead, Lenny Kravitz, Tom Waits, Coldplay, Bon Jovi, Taylor Swift, Mary J. Blige, Donald Glover, U2, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, Billy Joel, No Doubt, Tom Petty, Elton John, Olivia Rodrigo, Bruno Mars, and Prince are just a few of the artists who have appeared on the show, and (usually briefly) in this doc.
In terms of its musical guests, “SNL” has no real parallel in American television history — the closest in terms of influence is probably the much more conservative “Ed Sullivan Show” during the 1960s — and for decades, many of the musicians who perform on it not only grew up on the show, they were introduced to their some of their favorite artists on it. As Dave Grohl says in the sprawling, awesome, “Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music,” which airs tonight on NBC, seeing the B-52s on the show in 1980 was a life-changing experience, because “I felt weird, and they were weird too.”
Set your DVR:
"Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music" airs on NBC at 8 p.m. on NBC.
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