Live, From New York! The 10 Best 'SNL' Musical Performances Ever

Saturday Night Live is celebrating its 40th anniversary this weekend, which is impressive. But SNL doesn’t always bring out the best in people. Comics fumble. Musicians freak. Politicians wear mom jeans (that’s you, Mr. McCain). And sometimes a performance so good, so bad, or so bizarre happens that you’re left wondering if they planned it that way all along.

Ashlee Simpson’s 2004 appearance ranks as the all-time worst, made ever more so by her decision to blame other people for her screw-up during the closing theme. Bad enough, everyone learned she was lip-synching, but her gracelessness under pressure finished her off for good.

Lana Del Rey’s deer-in-floodlights 2012 performance of “Video Games” fascinates me so much that it just missed this list. She may have looked freaked-out, but it gave her performance an otherworldly vibe that’s eminently more entertaining than multiple Tom Petty appearances. 

Prince has kicked serious derriere during his performances, and his inclusion of incredibly talented and telegenic female musicians makes it a farce when other bands keep loading up with dull-looking dudes. Now, if only Prince would play the songs people want to hear.

Chronic malcontent Kanye West will feel slighted by this list. His “Black Skinhead” performance just missed, along with his new arch-nemesis Beck, whose puppet-play nearly snagged him a spot.

However, I admit, wholeheartedly, that I am largely a rock ‘n’ roll fan. Nothing against divas and hip-hoppers, but the live medium was made for loud guitars and tight rhythm sections, not pre-recorded computer programs. So, while such old-fashioned “dad-rockers” rarely make great records anymore, they still come blasting out of the TV speakers. All seven of them.

That’s my bias and I’m sticking to it.

10. U2 (2004)

The standard performance was OK. But their decision to kick into “I Will Follow” during the closing credits when people usually stand around awkwardly turned out to be a tour de force. You couldn’t scrape Amy Poehler off Bono and that’s how G-d (Bono) intended it. In terms of giving fans the ultimate thrill, U2 used their “we can do anything we want” status for goodwill. WATCH IT HERE.

9. The Rolling Stones (1978)

I chose this very performance in 1978 as one of SNL's worst musical moments, too. John Belushi and crew definitely partied too hard with the band, and Mick Jagger lost his voice for the broadcast. I described “Beast of Burden” as sounding “like a ballad being sung to you by a construction foreman.” It’s still true and Jagger did present in better form in 2012 when he appeared with Foo Fighters, Arcade Fire, and Jeff Beck, but the ‘78 show is an honest look at a legendary band without the post-production touch-ups that have become part of the actual production in modern times. It was real, folks. WATCH IT HERE.

8. Kate Bush (1978)

So many performances these days feel micro-managed. But SNL in its earliest days had no budget to cover up its blemishes. People responded to the rawness. Dozens of musical guests have graced the stage over the years. Even Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band debuted on national TV with SNL. Kate Bush did, too. Working an impressive gold jumpsuit, she relaxed on a piano (being played by none other than Paul Shaffer), making bird-like gestures as she sang through “The Man With the Child in His Eyes.” It turned out to be a divisive moment, determining who would be her fans forever and who would shun her Britishness and wait 13 years for Tori Amos.

7. Pearl Jam (1994)

Kurt Cobain killed himself, ending his life and his bizarre feud with Pearl Jam, who Cobain felt at some point were not truly “alternative.” None of that mattered as Eddie Vedder and company blasted through a performance of “Not for You,” which was not yet released at the time and seemed to be directed somehow right at Kurt and his audience. “Restless soul, enjoy your youth” certainly could be misheard as “Rest his soul…”

6. Nirvana (1992)

Too much is made of the rather dull “equipment destruction” at the end of “Territorial Pissings.” Look carefully and it sure seems the speaker cabinets Kurt assaults are the ones without speakers. In any case, it was their performance of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” that felt entirely surreal. Just weeks prior to their performance, grunge and all alternative music made little impact on the modern world (nless one happened upon Lorne Michaels’s unexpected late-night NBC show Night Music from 1988-1990 to catch Sonic Youth playing “I Wanna Be Your Dog” with Hiram Bullock and the Indigo Girls). Anyhow, Nirvana members kissing each other at the end was a nice gesture tweaking homophobes.

5. The Replacements (1986)

People still argue about this night. I saw nothing then that looked worth arguing about. I still don’t. Do bad words make it over the air? By today’s standards, it’s nothing, unless the F-word is somehow shocking to someone. What I heard was a great, loose rock ‘n’ roll band being themselves, exchanging clothes and smiles and nailing “Bastards of Young” just as I’d dreamed. (Paul Westerberg’s wink during the line “the ones who love us least are the ones we’ll die to please” felt reassuring.)

4. Marianne Faithfull (1980)

Another performance I’ve put on my “worst” list belongs on the best list too, because if ever a singer showed resilience, it’s all right here. Take a look at this, Miss Ashleem to see how it’s done. Marianne says she was looking for a well-known drug to calm her nerves and was instead steered by one of her backup singers to someone who gave her something that numbed her vocal cords. I still can’t figure out which backup singer looks too pleased with herself. In any case, you can’t help but root for Ms. Faithfull, as she clearly is trying with all her might to make the notes hit their targets. It is “Broken English” in the most literal sense! WATCH IT HERE.

3. Sinead O’Connor (1992)

"Fight the real enemy" turned out to be quite prophetic. But Sinead’s decision to rip up a picture of the Pope didn’t go over well at the time with the studio or at home audiences, who had yet to learn definitively of the many cover-ups concerning pedophilia and the Catholic church. Her musical performance, an a cappella version of Bob Marley’s "War," however, was nothing short of brilliant. Her voice has always been an emotive wonder, and Marley’s words for humanity came directly from her heart and out her oversized eyeballs.

2. Fear (1981)

Ratings were down after the original SNL cast departed along with the show’s creator, Lorne Michaels. John Belushi agreed to make an appearance for SNL's Halloween show if they agreed to book the L.A. hardcore band Fear. Then-show chief Dick Ebersol signed off, and all hell broke loose while Lee Ving and company ran through a couple snazzy numbers, including “New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones.” Minor Threat's Ian MacKaye screamed the ever-controversial F-word into a microphone and America, where punk had already not connected, decided punk rock was still not of interest to them — and the entertainment business continued looking down upon all bands associated with the word “punk.” Sorry, X.

1. Elvis Costello and the Attractions (1977) / Beastie Boys (1999)

The 1977 performance banned Elvis Costello from SNL for life. Well, until 1989, to be exact, when Elvis showed up with a beard and a lackluster song. However, everyone knew that the first appearance was what counted. Costello had begun playing “Less Than Zero,” the song his label and SNL agreed he would perform, when young Elvis felt the controversial “Radio Radio” was a better fit and stopped the band to apologize to the audience, saying there was “no reason” for them to be performing “Zero” that night, and then proceeded to nail “Radio Radio.”

When it came time for SNL's 25th anniversary show, a no-longer-mad Lorne Michaels allowed Costello to reprise his role and “interrupt” the Beastie Boys for another butt-kicking version of “Radio Radio” — a song, it should be pointed out, that remains sadly relevant to this day.