What was the greatest musical performance in history of SNL?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Scott S., May 27, 2018.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Saint Johnny

    Saint Johnny Forum Resident

    Location:
    Asbury Park
    And while not really a 'musical performance', exactly. As Paul only gets through a bit of the beginning of Still Crazy After All These Years.

    Not one mention in this thread yet, of Paul Simon in the 'turkey suit'. Which to me, was maybe one of the greatest of ALL SNL bits, musical or otherwise, EVER!!
     
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2018
    Terrapin Station and linclink like this.
  2. x2zero

    x2zero Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn USA
    Has to be Patti Smith
     
    linclink likes this.
  3. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    yes that was special...LOL
     
  4. wes4usc

    wes4usc Forum Resident

    I liked Paul Simon w/ Lady Smith Black Mambazo performing "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" ("A-Wah, A-Wah").
     
    Sean Murdock, linclink and ultron9 like this.
  5. Holy Diver

    Holy Diver Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Well the funniest. :)

     
    Dodoz and Isamet like this.
  6. Neil Anderson

    Neil Anderson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    I read an interview with Costello where he said that it prompted because the cast behaved badly to him and the Attractions, at one point Dan Aykroyd apparently dressed up as a stagehand or janitor or something, and then engaged them in a conversation that was supposed to be a big joke on Elvis because he didn't know who Aykroyd was.
     
    Dodoz likes this.
  7. Paul Simon & George Harrison!!!

    Paul Simon has the most number of memorable performances of anyone I can think of & that tops them all...

    So many other greats already mentioned...
    St. Vincent
    Patti Smith
    David Bowie
    Neil Young
    The Replacements
    Elvis Costello & The Attractions
    Sun Ra
    Peter Tosh & Mick Jagger
    Wilco
    The Grateful Dead
    The Band
    Captain Beefheart
    Rickie Lee Jones
    Sinead O'Connor
     
    Beamish13 and BGLeduc like this.
  8. Isamet

    Isamet Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    I liked Bruce with the “Other Band.” Also The Stones performance of Beast of Burden in the late 70’s
     
  9. PopularChuck

    PopularChuck Senior Member

    Location:
    Bay Area
    There doesn't appear to be a clip online, but Squeeze playing Pulling Mussels from the Shell in 1982...
     
    Gavinyl likes this.
  10. Imperious Leader

    Imperious Leader Forum Resident

    Ashlee Simpson
     
  11. Beamish13

    Beamish13 Forum Resident

    Devo’s SNL appearance isn’t quite as amazing as the production they put on for the similar show FRIDAYS in 1981, where they performed “Workin’ in a Coal Mine” with an insane amount of dry ice fog
     
    hutlock likes this.
  12. Beamish13

    Beamish13 Forum Resident

    I’m surprised no one mentioned Ginger Baker’s Air Force. It was great when the show didn’t rely on top 40 acts
     
    majorlance likes this.
  13. PRW94

    PRW94 Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Southeast
    Radio Radio
    Rockin in the Free World
    The Shiny Happy People rehearsal ... I'm sorry, I like that song, sue me
    Zappa and the Slime
    Spanic Boys (they were on the Andrew Dice Clay show, right?)
    All of Leon Redbone's appearances
    The Band before the Last Waltz (especially Life is a Carnival)

    And I'm going to toss one out there that is not a joke, I'm damn serious about it ... Desi Arnaz doing "Babalu" when he hosted the show backed by the SNL Band and Desi Jr. on percussion. (It was a pretty good show, the books about SNL all say that Desi, being a very perceptive/talented/innovative man who understood comedy, absolutely got what SNL was about and jumped right into it and the cast and writers all loved him.)

    Desi was only about 60 but looked 90 ... he lived HARD ... but he absolutely went for it in that performance like a rock and roller. Bill Murray said later they all thought he was going to die of a heart attack on camera, his lips literally were turning blue, but he didn't back off a bit, and if you remember that show the entire cast was in a raucous and joyous conga line as the credits rolled.
     
    Last edited: Jul 9, 2018
  14. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    As far as I can tell, GBAF ceased to exist in 1971.

    I looked over a list of musical guests and saw no evidence they ever played "SNL".

    Maybe that's why no one mentioned them? :shrug:
     
    rgutter and Beamish13 like this.
  15. Fender Relic

    Fender Relic Forum Resident

    Location:
    PennsylBama
    Lots of good ones but The Band before The Last Waltz and the first Leon Redbone appearance was awesome and changed my guitar playing trajectory.
     
    fallbreaks likes this.
  16. PRW94

    PRW94 Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Southeast
    Dang I had to go back and add those to my list ...
     
  17. spinyn

    spinyn Senior Member

    Location:
    New Orleans
    Another vote for Paul Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo doing "Diamonds On The Souls Of Her Shoes." I was astonished when I saw it and, having just read Robert Hilburn's book about Paul, pulled it up again recently and it still is great!
     
    rogertheshrubber likes this.
  18. Defrance

    Defrance A Northern Soul

    Location:
    Calgary, AB
    Two of my faves are Rick James - "Super Freak" (1981) and Stevie Nicks - "Stand Back" (1983). The latter also sports Waddy Wachtel on guitar as seen in the Keef Richards video on this thread:
     
  19. Taxman

    Taxman Senior Member

    Location:
    Fayetteville, NY
    Oh yes, for sure. I did not see this performance when it was on SNL and had not seen it until it was featured in the Bowie exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum a couple months ago. I was transfixed. I had to watch it twice.
     
    violetvinyl and Hymie the Robot like this.
  20. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Bowie also did "Boys Keep Swinging" on "SNL" in 1979 - the only new song of his set!

     
  21. Maranatha5585

    Maranatha5585 BELLA + RIP In Memoriam

    Location:
    Down South
    Talking Heads come to mind immediately, but I know there are so many more...
     
  22. Roland Stone

    Roland Stone Offending Member

    A DVD of the performances checked on this thread would be an automatic purchase for me. And a licensing nightmare, I'm sure.
     
  23. FredV

    FredV Senior Member

    ianuaditis likes this.
  24. keef00

    keef00 Senior Member

    My top 5:

    Patti Smith
    Neil Young (Rockin' in the Free World)
    Sturgill Simpson (Call to Arms)
    The Replacements (bonus points for being introduced by Repo Man himself, Harry Dean Stanton)
    Elvis Costello (Radio Radio)
     
    lucan_g likes this.
  25. bamaaudio

    bamaaudio Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    Most riveting: Nirvana and Radiohead
    Most idiotic: Sinead and Ashlee Simpson
     
    Paully likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine