Musical Guests have been a part of Saturday Night Live since the very beginning and there have been many memorable music moments on the show. Some are infamous, some are funny, and some are just amazing performances by legendary artists. Here is our list of 32 of the most memorable, from the great to the not-so-great.
Sinead O'Connor (1992)
Probably the most infamous moment in SNL music history is Sinead O’Connor’s appearance in 1992. For the Irish rabble-rouser's second song, she performed an acapella version of Bob Marley’s “War” and at the end, pulled out a photo of Pope John Paul II and tore it to shreds while saying, “Fight the real enemy.” To say the moment was explosive doesn’t even begin to explain the reaction. The audience sat in stunned silence as the show rushed to commercial break. The media firestorm that followed lasted for weeks and completely curtailed O’Connor’s career, though it would recover somewhat. O’Connor’s goal was to expose abuses by the Catholic Church and in many ways, her protest was redeemed years later when more and more abuses came to light.
Taylor Swift (2021)
In a surprise move, when Taylor Swift performed on SNL in 2021, she chose to do the full ten-minute rendition of “All Too Well” from Red (Taylor’s Version). It’s not at all what you would expect from a TV appearance by a pop star, but Swift (a member of the musical guest five-timers club) is a master at doing the unpredictable. It’s an incredible performance that has Swift holding millions of the TV audience in her hand for the whole 10 minutes.
Elvis Costello (1977)
Another of the most infamous moments came when Elvis Costello and the Attractions played SNL in 1977. Ever the iconoclast, Costello was pressured by his record company to play his latest single “Less Than Zero” but famous just seconds into the performance, he stopped the band and they started up his song “Radio, Radio.” It was a move that got him banned from the show but he turned up 14 years later with the Beastie Boys and mocked the original appearance.
Kanye West (2013)
2013 found Kanye West perhaps at his creative peak and that is on full display in his intense, incredible performance of “Black Skinhead” on SNL. It’s as powerful a performance as any artist has ever done in the show's long history.
Simon and Garfunkel (1975)
Paul Simon has been a stalwart on SNL since the show’s first season. He’s hosted numerous times and has been the musical guest more times than anyone else, 15 at last count. His performance in 1975 was notable because, for the first time since their breakup in 1970, Simon played live with Art Garfunkel.
The Replacements (1986)
Minneapolis post-punk legends The Replacements were notorious for their rowdy behavior on and off stage and their appearance on SNL was no exception. After spending most of the show drinking backing stage, they came out for their last number and almost got into a fistfight with each other. That kind of thing happened at their shows a lot, but when it’s on national television, it takes it to a new level.
Neil Young (1989)
Sometimes people forget that the 1980s was a lean decade for rock legend Neil Young. He didn’t have many hits and felt disillusioned with the whole industry, as he made clear in some of his songs from the era. In 1989, however, Young was reborn and recaptured what had made him great with a sizzling performance of “Rockin’ In The Free World” on Saturday Night Live. It’s a performance that would reignite his whole career.
Miley Cyrus (2020)
During the Covid lockdown, SNL struggled to adjust and produced a number of “at home” shows with mixed success. One of the true highlights of those shows was Miley Cyrus performing an incredible version of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.” It was a sentiment everyone felt at the time as millions of people felt the isolation of the lockdown and Cyrus’ passionate performance was one that will not soon be forgotten.
Funky 4 + 1 (1981)
In 1981 hip-hop was still years away from making the global impact it would eventually usher in. Rap, even in New York City where it was born, was still far from mainstream. Blondie singer Debbie Harry was an early acolyte of the music and when she hosted the show in 1981, she insisted that an early rap crew, Funky 4 + 1, play the show. It was quite literally the first time many in America first heard the genre.
Fear (1981)
By far the most chaotic musical guest in the show’s history was when the DC Punk band Fear played on Halloween night, 1981. John Belushi was an early fan of the band and got them the gig and he also made sure some of their fans from Washington DC came up for the show. Absolute punk madness occurred when the band took the stage with fans moshing and straight-up fighting with local NYC punks and a few minutes into the performance the show cut and went to commercial.
Prince (1981)
By the time Prince first played SNL in 1981, he was already on his way to superstardom. It was his performance of “Partyup” on the show, however, when most of America experienced his jaw-dropping live show for the first time. It’s a scintillating performance, as only Prince could do.
The Rolling Stones (1978)
The Rolling Stones were having a huge career revival in 1978 as they promoted their seminal Some Girls album. That included taking over Saturday Night Live for three songs in October. They played “Beast Of Burden,” “Respectable,” and “Shattered” on the show and the most infamous moment came during “Respectable” when Mick Jagger leaned over to Ron Wood and licked his face. The look on Wood’s face when he realizes what is happening is absolutely priceless.
Rage Against The Machine (1996)
Political protests are rare, though not unheard of, on SNL. In 1996, when the show booked Rage Against The Machine on the show with host Steve Forbes, they should’ve expected something. Just before the band hit the stage for “Bulls on Parade” a crew member noticed an American flag hung upside down on the band’s amps. He took the flag down before the band went live, but it was still enough to reportedly get them banned from the show and they did play their planned second song of the night.
Paul McCartney With Nirvana (2012)
If there is anyone who could get the members of Nirvana to reunite, it’s rock and roll royalty, Paul McCartney. The former Beatle convinced Dave Groehl, Krist Novoselic, and Pat Smear to write and record the song “Cut Me Some Slack,” their first together since the death of Kurt Cobain. They performed it on SNL in 2012.
Radiohead (2000)
Radiohead was on top of the world in 2000 and when they performed “The National Anthem” from their album Kid A on the show, it completely brought the house down. Joined by a horn section, Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and the rest of the band completely owned the moment and it will forever be one of the best performances in the show’s history.
Billy Preston (1975)
The late Billy Preston has two tidbits of music history that only he will ever be associated with. First, he’s the only guest musician to play on both a Rolling Stones album and a Beatles album. Second, he was the first musical guest to ever play on SNL, performing “Nothing from Nothing” on the show's debut episode in 1975.
Mariah Carey (1990)
The first time America was exposed to Mariah Carey was in the summer of 1990 when she performed “America The Beautiful” at the NBA Finals. The first time we all saw her perform one of her own songs was on SNL later that fall. The rest, as they say, is history.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1994)
Tom Petty played Saturday Night Live a lot, but his most memorable appearance came in 1994 when he was joined by Dave Grohl on drums. It was the first time Grohl played publicly after the death of Kurt Cobain and the first time Petty had played without Stan Lynch, his longtime drummer whom he’d just fired.
Lizzo (2019)
This one isn’t one here for anything groundbreaking and certainly not for any notorious reasons, it’s just an all-time banger of a performance by Lizzo in the show in 2019. Lizzo was in the process of achieving superstar status on the strength of her third album, Cuz I Love You, and this appearance cemented it.
Nirvana (1992)
In the fall of 1991 Nirvana literally broke music. The grunge sound they pioneered with other bands from the Northwest changed everything about rock music and in January of 1992 the band appeared on SNL and played raucous versions of their hit “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and a deep cut from Nevermind, “Territorial Pissings” which ended with the band destroying their instruments on stage.
Frank Zappa (1976)
In 1978 Frank Zappa, who famously later showed up on Miami Vice also on NBC, hosted SNL in a disastrous appearance that got him banned from the show. Two years earlier, however, he and his band had a triumphant appearance on the show, playing their song “I Am The Slime” with the show’s announcer Don Pardo doing an amazing voice-over during the scorching performance.
Joe Cocker (1976)
The early days of SNL were great partly because they were so unpredictable. Take, for example, Joe Cocker’s appearance in 1976 when he was joined on stage by SNL cast member John Belushi doing a spot-on and hilarious impression of the quirky singer. It’s the kind of stuff that made the show so legendary in the early days.
Ashlee Simpson (2004)
Certainly one of the most notorious musical moments on the show came when Ashlee Simpson was caught lip-syncing during her first (and only) appearance as a guest. The singer lost her voice the morning of the show and the band had done even a rehearsal with a backing track, Still, her label convinced her to do the show with the backing track, and predictably things went sideways, It took years for the singer to overcome the debacle, and that really wasn’t fair. Plenty of singers lip-sync and have for years.
Sun Ra (1978)
Free jazz musician Sun Ra and his Arkestra are absolute legends among many jazz musicians. They are not, however, easy to digest, and watching them play some of the freakiest music ever played on American television is really something else. It’s bizarre and wonderful and wild.
Paul Simon (1976)
Back in the early days, there were no rules for the show, and in 1976, during his monologue, Paul Simon legendarily performed his song “Still Crazy After All These Years” in a turkey suit. Though it’s not technically a performance by a music guest (Simon was the host), there’s no way to leave it off this list.
Patti Smith (1975)
Quite possibly the first time America was exposed to what was happening in the East Village of New York came with Patti Smith’s performance in 1975, playing her song “Gloria.” It’s a jaw-dropping performance by the first lady of punk rock who brought the underground CBGB’s sound to the rest of the country.
Devo (1978)
No one had ever seen anything like Devo in 1978. The art rockers were busy playing small clubs and theaters when they were booked to play SNL and their performance of The Stones’ “Satisfaction” completely changed the trajectory of their career. Mark Mothersbaugh has become one of the most interesting film composers of the 21st Century and his theatrical nature was on full display almost five decades ago.
David Bowie (1979)
Rock god David Bowie first played SNL in 1979 and proved why he was the reigning king of glam rock with his performances of “The Man Who Sold The World” and “Boys Keep Swinging.” It’s everything anyone could ever want from Bowie.
Adele (2008) snl
Here’s a good trivia question, how is former Vice Presidental candidate Sarah Palin partly responsible for Adele’s biggest break in America? Well, Palin was announced as a special guest on SNL in October of 2008 ahead of the election that year and viewers turned out in droves to see it. Adele, who was somewhat unknown in the U.S. at that point just happened to be the musical guest. Of course, she absolutely killed it in her appearance and the exposure helped launch her career to the next level.
Pearl Jam (1992)
Since their very beginning, Pearl Jam has been known for their powerhouse live shows. The first time most of America got to see that was when they appeared on SNL in early 1992 just as “Jeremy” was breaking as the Seattle band’s first major hit. It’s raw and commanding, and simply put, incredible.
David Byrne (2020)
David Byrne has been known for his theatrical performances all the way back to his early years in Talking Heads and his 2000 performance on SNL could be his peak. It features the musicians that would make his Broadway show, American Utopia, a hit and it’s an amazing performance.
Paul Simon And George Harrison (1976)
If you ever needed proof that Saturday Night Live was the coolest thing to hit TV, maybe ever, in those early days, just look at how they could book a Beatle and Paul Simon to perform “Here Comes The Sun” and “Homeward Bound” together. That is no other show in TV history that could have pulled that off, much like many of the unforgettable performances on this list.
