Master music curator Questlove is the lead executive producer on an “SNL” music special coming next year to mark the show’s 50th anniversary.
Announced last week, the show -- for which Questlove (aka Ahmir Thompson) is both producer and director -- focuses on the music and performers who appeared on “SNL” over its 50 years.
It is a formidable list that includes, well, just about everyone -- Madonna, Prince, Run DMC, Elvis Costello, Blondie, Miley Cyrus, Neil Young, Beastie Boys, Paul Simon, Cheryl Crow and so many others that any attempt to try and write a comprehensive list here would be an exercise in futility.
Just as futile would be an attempt to summarize the biography of Questlove, who works for NBC as music director for “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” with his longtime group The Roots.
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Questlove is a dominant figure in pop music today as a producer, songwriter, documentary filmmaker and much more.
A documentary he directed, “Summer Of Soul (… Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” won an Oscar.
Based on all this, NBC went in-house to find its curator for “Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music,” airing January 27.
“Everyone knows the most famous ‘SNL’ appearances, whether it’s Elvis Costello or Prince or the Beastie Boys, but they’re the tip of a huge iceberg,” Questlove said.
“The process of going back through the incredible archival footage was like being in a time machine,” he said. “I’m so happy I went on the trip and happy I now get to share it with everyone.”
“Saturday Night Live” premiered in October 1975 with guest host George Carlin. The musical guest was keyboard master Billy Preston. The current 2024-25 season is the show’s 50th.
Another exercise in futility, along with the others cited above, is writing about “SNL” and its cultural impact, its comedic and musical history, its A-list guest hosts, its surprise guests and perhaps most impressively, the long list of cast members who became movie and TV superstars, all under the management and supervision of the man behind the curtain, Lorne Michaels, 80.
Everyone already knows all that, anyway. And much of it will be gone over in the coming weeks as NBC celebrates this phenomenal show.
A few weeks after the Questlove music special, the anniversary’s centerpiece will air on February 16 -- a three-hour, prime-time special. It will air on NBC and Peacock.
The NBCU streamer will also have a four-part “SNL” docuseries, “SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night” starting January 16.
The four parts include Part 1, titled “Five Minutes.” It is a look at the “SNL” audition process with never-before-seen footage and stories of their own auditions from some of the show’s cast.
Episode 2 is “Written By: A Week Inside the SNL Writers Room.” Part 3 is “More Cowbell,” a dissection of the show’s “More Cowbell” sketches; and Part 4 is “Season 11: The Weird Year.”
Part 4 positions the show’s 11th season as a “pivotal year that reset the show’s direction and cemented its enduring DNA with Lorne Michaels as the helm.”