# Best & worst SNL musical numbers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591 "2009-07-10T18:21:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591/41 "2009-07-13T03:57:03Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Generally, only the really big artists get to do three songs on SNL. In addition to Eric Clapton, the “3 song” club includes U2, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Pearl Jam, and REM. Add Grateful Dead and Simon&Garfunkel to the list (I am sure about the Dead and 99% on Simon and Garfunkel) ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591/42 "2009-07-13T04:03:30Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Generally, only the really big artists get to do three songs on SNL. In addition to Eric Clapton, the “3 song” club includes U2, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Pearl Jam, and REM. Sting was the guest host & musical performer for at least one episode (which aired the same week that the first Gulf War began.) He got the usual two musical breaks, but also performed a song in lieu of an opening monologue - the only time that (AFAIK) that’s happened. U2 performed two songs at the tail end of the show, while the credits rolled. Another one-time-only (again AFAIK.) ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591/43 "2009-07-13T04:06:12Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > T > > Oh gosh, years ago, back in the Gilda Radner days, the cast members, and was it Garrett Morris? - they sang an acapella doo wop type of song that was VERY good, but I can’t remember the name of that song!!! I thought Garrett Morris’ greatest moment on “SNL” was when he got to sing a Mozart aria during the show hosted by Walter Matthau. ---
**Author:** ![DadWagonDriver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@DadWagonDriver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DadWagonDriver)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591/44 "2009-07-13T04:59:57Z")
I never watched much SNL growing up, so I missed a lot of good performances. However, this past season, Ray LaMontagne performed. It was the first time in a LONG time (like, since Pearl Jam played in the mid-'90’s) that I was awe-stricken by the musical guest. I rewatched his songs a few times on the DVR, and rushed up to iTunes to buy some of his stuff. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591/45 "2009-07-13T13:24:34Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > I’m a big Clapton fan so I’m gonna say Clapton. I recall he got three songs and also jammed with the band on the outros to commercial breaks. Has anyone else ever got three songs? Phoenix got three songs last season. And I’ll add them to the list of best performances too, because they blew me away. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591/46 "2009-07-13T14:31:39Z")
Devo was mentioned, but my favorite was their rendition of Satisfaction. It was a real WTF moment for me…in a good way. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591/47 "2009-07-13T15:09:23Z")
I saw a re-run once with Paul Simon doing “Graceland” (with an African band) and Willie Nelson dueting on it. You wouldn’t think Texas Cowboy, New York Jew and South African band could make something together, but it was fantastic. (But then again, I think Willie Nelson could sing a duet with a jackhammer and make it work) ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591/48 "2009-07-13T15:10:45Z")
I liked Stone Temple Pilots’ performance of “Naked Sunday”; in fact, it struck me so that years later I asked for help on identifying the song here in one of those “help me find…” threads, and someone whose Google skills were better than mine figured it out. Scott Weiland sung the choruses through a small handheld, powered megaphone/bullhorn, and I loved the change in the sound of the vocals that this produced. I think I like that even better than the CD version, but I’m glad to have found out what song it was. (This was the episode with Nicole Kidman as the host; one memorable sketch was her playing a little girl, meeting Michael Myers’ hyperactive kid character.) ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591/49 "2009-07-13T15:22:30Z")
> [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > Something like “King Tut” or “the Blues Brothers” straddle the line though. Hey, the Blues Brothers were [legit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blues_Brothers#Albums.2C_early_gigs.2C_character_backgrounds), hitting #1 on the Billboard 200. ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591/50 "2009-07-13T16:05:49Z")
Times have so changed, but back in the 70’s I was nonplussed to see some guy come out, sing in a regular workers outfit and then strip to bra and panites and wig. Anyone who can figure out that one! ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591/51 "2009-07-13T16:59:55Z")
> [@Tamara+](#): > > Times have so changed, but back in the 70’s I was nonplussed to see some guy come out, sing in a regular workers outfit and then strip to bra and panites and wig. > Anyone who can figure out that one! The performer’s name was Al Alen Petersen. That’s about all I can tell you about him. I’m not familiar with anything else he’s ever done [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2547186/](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2547186/) However, I recall him doing that same “I Gotta Be Me” drag number on a handful of other shows (including Richard Pryor’s short-lived variety show). ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591/52 "2009-07-13T17:05:06Z")
Who was the guy from the seventies, played a guitat, had a moustache and glasses, looked a little like Groucho Marx, but in a white suit or something like that. He kind of sang a mumbly, blues thing? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591/53 "2009-07-13T17:20:00Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Who was the guy from the seventies, played a guitat, had a moustache and glasses, looked a little like Groucho Marx, but in a white suit or something like that. He kind of sang a mumbly, blues thing? You mean Leon Redbone? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591/54 "2009-07-14T03:32:01Z")
> [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > You mean Leon Redbone? Leon was on several times. I had one performance up on Youtube until the jerks from NBC took it down. Which would be fine if it was available anywhere else. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591/55 "2009-07-14T04:57:21Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > I saw a re-run once with Paul Simon doing “Graceland” (with an African band) and Willie Nelson dueting on it. You wouldn’t think Texas Cowboy, New York Jew and South African band could make something together, but it was fantastic. (But then again, I think Willie Nelson could sing a duet with a jackhammer and make it work) I would soooooo love a link to this. ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591/56 "2009-07-14T05:09:46Z")
SNL was my first exposure to Kinky Friedman. I fell in love right away. ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591/57 "2009-07-14T12:03:01Z")
Pearl Jam tops the list for me…specifically Porch. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591/58 "2009-07-14T12:20:39Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > My brothers knew Laura Brannigan in those days- they actually knew her before her debut album was released, as they worked at the Princeton CLub, where she and her husband were regulars. > > I remember the episode you mention, precisely because she missed so many high notes. When they saw her the following Monday, they tried to tell her and her husband how much they’d liked the performance, but Laura looked glum, and shook her head. Her husband smiled, thanked my brothers, but admitted it had been a rough gig, since Laura’s voice had been off for a few days, and they didn’t think “Gloria” sounded very good. They were much happier with her second number, “Living a Lie.” Sadly for Laura, _Gloria_ still stands out in my memory as the SNL performance that went horribly, horribly wrong. IIRC it put a serious ding in her career. ---
**Author:** ![natalie\_addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@natalie\_addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/natalie_addict)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591/59 "2009-07-22T00:50:44Z")
I just finishing watching Kate Bush’s incredible performances on the Season 4 DVD. And then I watched them again. And then again. Absolutely stunning. The other that stands out is Patti Smith’s “Gloria”. I remember seeing it way back and it instantly made me a Patti Smith fan. Seeing it again on the Season 1 DVD it was still as strong as it was then. BTW on the same SNL episode with Eric Idle/Kate Bush, Gilda Radner does a wild drunken/stoned sendup of Patti Smith in a recording studio sketch. ---
**Author:** ![Nom\_de\_Plume](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85f322/32.png) [@Nom\_de\_Plume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nom_de_Plume)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591/60 "2009-07-24T18:25:04Z")
> [@natalie\_addict](#): > > BTW on the same SNL episode with Eric Idle/Kate Bush, Gilda Radner does a wild drunken/stoned sendup of Patti Smith in a recording studio sketch. Oh yeah, as Candy Slice. That was a great character. I remember her singing “Gimme Mick.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-snl-musical-numbers/502591.md?page=4)