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Music History Events: Saturday Night Live

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November 12, 2016 Kate McKinnon sings "Hallelujah" in character as Hillary Clinton to open Saturday Night Live.More

March 12, 2016 Ariana Grande hosts Saturday Night Live, where she meets her future fiancé, cast member Pete Davidson. They don't go through with the wedding, but he gets a mention in her 2018 song "Thank U, Next."More

October 18, 2008 Adele is the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, performing "Cold Shoulder" and "Chasing Pavements." Sarah Palin is on the show, which leads to a huge audience and lots of exposure for Adele, giving her a big boost in America.

December 18, 2005 After airing on Saturday Night Live, the Digital Short "Lazy Sunday," about two gangsta wannabes who plan a trip to see The Chronicles of Narnia movie, appears on YouTube. It quickly goes viral, becoming the first TV segment to do so on YouTube, which launched 10 months earlier.More

October 11, 2003 Justin Timberlake makes his first appearance on Saturday Night Live, doing double-duty as host and musical guest. It's the first of many appearances he makes on the show through the coming years; his sketches eventually grow to include a Bee Gees parody, a sketch about dating Lady Gaga, a bailiff in a courtroom trial of an alligator, "the Target lady," appearing in drag onstage with Beyoncé, and the infamous "Dick in a Box" bit.

April 8, 2000 In a Saturday Night Live skit where Blue Öyster Cult is recording "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," Christopher Walken demands more cowbell from Will Ferrell, who complies. A catch phrase is born.More

December 12, 1998 Luciano Pavarotti becomes the first classical musician to perform on Saturday Night Live when he sings ''Adeste Fideles'' with Vanessa Williams.

December 3, 1994 Adam Sandler performs "The Chanukah Song" on the Weekend Update segment of Saturday Night Live, enlightening us to the fact that Harrison Ford, Paul Newman and David Lee Roth (among many others) are, in fact, Jewish. Released as a single the following year, the song reaches #10 US and becomes a seasonal favorite.More

November 19, 1994 Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers play "You Don't Know How It Feels" and "Honeybee" on Saturday Night Live with Dave Grohl on drums, who considers joining the band full time.More

January 15, 1994 Counting Crows are the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, performing "Mr. Jones" and "Round Here." The appearance sparks sales of their debut album and sends radio stations scrambling to add the songs to their playlists. Despite this breakthrough appearance, the band is never asked back for the show.

November 21, 1992 Adam Sandler sings "The Thanksgiving Song" on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update.More

October 3, 1992 Sinéad O'Connor, famous for her hit song "Nothing Compares 2 U," goes way off script during her Saturday Night Live appearance, declaring "Fight the real enemy" and tearing up a picture of the Pope.More

May 9, 1992 Bruce Springsteen performs on US TV for the first time when he finally accepts a longstanding offer to be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. He plays three songs from Human Touch and Lucky Town, the albums he released simultaneously five weeks earlier.

February 22, 1992 When the Red Hot Chili Peppers perform "Under The Bridge" on Saturday Night Live, their guitarist John Frusciante sabotages the song, playing unevenly and screaming into the microphone during his background part. His frustrations lead him to quit the band in May.More

January 11, 1992 Nirvana make their first appearance on Saturday Night Live. They leave a mark: after performing their hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit," they play "Territorial Pissings" for their second song, then trash their instruments and anything else they can find on stage.

February 17, 1990 Aerosmith appear on Saturday Night Live, performing "Monkey on My Back" and "Janie's Got A Gun," and also appearing in a Wayne's World skit where Tom Hanks plays their roadie.

November 5, 1988 Edie Brickell & New Bohemians are the musical guests on Saturday Night Live. Brickell meets Paul Simon on the broadcast, who she marries in 1992.

May 10, 1986 Paul Simon plays three songs from his upcoming Graceland album on Saturday Night Live. He's backed by South African musicians, including the vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, who perform with him on "Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes." With South Africa under a cultural boycott in an attempt to stop Apartheid, its music is sequestered. Simon's appearance with musicians from the country and the subsequent album introduce the sound to a global audience, but also cause problems for Simon when he faces criticism for violating the boycott.

October 3, 1981 Rod Stewart brings out special guest Tina Turner to join him on (what else) "Hot Legs" during his appearance on Saturday Night Live.More

February 14, 1981 The Funky 4 + 1 become the first hip-hop group to perform on national TV when they do "That's The Joint" on Saturday Night Live. Debbie Harry of Blondie, an early proponent of rap music, is the host.

April 22, 1978 The Blues Brothers (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) make their debut on Saturday Night Live, later becoming the first characters from the show to get their own movie.More

April 22, 1978 Steve Martin performs "King Tut" on Saturday Night Live, popularizing goofy Egyptian dancing. The song, which portrays the pharaoh as his "favorite honky," goes on to sell over 500,000 copies.

March 22, 1978 A Beatles parody special called The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash, airs on ABC. The special stars various members of the Monty Python troupe.More

December 17, 1977 Elvis Costello gets banned from Saturday Night Live when he abruptly halts his performance of "Less Than Zero" and plays the searing "Radio Radio" instead.More

November 20, 1976 Paul Simon opens Saturday Night Live dressed as a turkey (in honor of Thanksgiving).More

November 20, 1976 George Harrison and Paul Simon share the stage on Saturday Night Live to perform "Homeward Bound" and "Here Comes The Sun." Earlier in the year, the show's producer Lorne Michaels offered The Beatles $3000 to reunite. In the opening sketch, he is seen arguing with Harrison over how much of that money he should get.

April 24, 1976 With rumors of a Beatles reunion swirling, Saturday Night Live executive producer Lorne Michaels goes on camera to offer the guys $3,000 (union scale) to reunite on the show. Paul McCartney and John Lennon are watching at Lennon's New York City apartment and consider showing up on a lark, but pass up the opportunity.

October 18, 1975 Saturday Night Live airs its second episode, hosted by Paul Simon, who gets most of the airtime.More

October 11, 1975 Saturday Night - a title later changed to Saturday Night Live - makes its debut on NBC. Music is a big part of the show, and the first episode features two musical guests performing two songs each: Janis Ian doing "At Seventeen" and "In the Winter," and Billy Preston playing "Nothing from Nothing" and "Fancy Lady."More

December 3, 2022 SZA performs two cuts from her album SOS on Saturday Night Live, but it's a song called "Cuffing Season" in the skit "Big Boys" - a celebration of hefty boyfriends - that takes off of TikTok.

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