SNL50 Documentary Reveals The Full Story of a Classic Sketch

Try as it might, science has yet been able to answer one of humankind’s most pressing questions: What is the best Saturday Night Live sketch of all time?

Even the most ardent SNL fans will acknowledge that the long-running TV institution has turned in more dud sketches than classics over the years. That’s just to be expected from a show that churns out around 200 sketches a season for 50 seasons. Still, when a good SNL sketch hits, it really hits. And among those good sketches deemed classics, one has to stand out as the best of the best. In the third episode of the new Peacock docuseries SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, producers decide to hone in on one candidate.

Folks, I have a fever. And the only prescription is you watching the “More Cowbell” sketch right now.

First airing on April 8, 2000 as part of season 25 episode 16 “Christopher Walken/Christina Aguilera,” the sketch that came to be known as “More Cowbell” depicts a fictional version of the band Blue Öyster Cult as they struggle to incorporate the correct amount of cowbell into their hit song “Don’t Fear the Reaper.” The sketch not only proved itself to be an immediate hit but also achieved an impressive staying power years later, with fans constantly annoying host Christopher Walken by requesting more cowbell.

Featuring interviews with the involved cast members (with one notable Horatio Sanz-sized exception), SNL employees, and even members of Blue Öyster Cult, SNL: Beyond Saturday Night episode 3 “More Cowbell” presents one of the deepest looks at an SNL sketch ever presented. In the process we learn quite a bit about what goes into the making of a classic. Here are the most important things to know about “More Cowbell.”

The Idea Had Been With Will Ferrell Since Childhood

“More Cowbell” made it all but impossible to listen to the song “Don’t Fear the Reaper” without hearing the consistent percussion rumbling away in the background. The writer and star of the sketch, however, picked it up early on. In SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, Will Ferrell describes his memories of listening to the song as a kid on the car radio and being struck by the cowbell. “It’s the perfect calibration of loud enough but not too loud. It’s really kind of impotent in the background. I had the thought, even as a kid, ‘what is the life of the guy playing the cowbell?”

That memory led him to place “Don’t Fear the Reaper” on an idea board in his SNL office and eventually develop the final concept. An early version of the sketch was intended to be performed as part of an episode hosted by Norm Macdonald but it was eventually cut. It got a second chance during the April 8, 2000 episode that featured Christopher Walken’s fourth time hosting.

The Original Name of the Sketch Was “Recording Session”

Longtime SNL aficionados (and regular listeners of The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast) know that SNL sketches are often given deliberately boring names. That’s because, before the writer of a sketch gets the opportunity to make an audience laugh, they have to make their writing peers laugh at the table-read. Spoiling the joke in the title is antithetical to that mission. That’s why the sketch we now know as “More Cowbell” is technically officially titled “Recording Session.”

The Cowbell Was Almost a Woodblock

In addition to receiving a fake-out name, the early drafts of “More Cowbell” had one major difference…there was no cowbell to be seen or heard! Instead, the instrument played by Will Ferrell’s Gene Frenkle was a woodblock as that’s what Ferrell originally interpreted it as. And funnily enough, he may have had it right the first time. No one involved in the recording of the Blue Öyster Cult song can remember for sure who played the instrument on the track and their opinions differ on whether it was a cowbell or a woodblock.

Gene Frenkle Isn’t Real But Bruce Dickinson Is

Speaking of Blue Öyster Cult, the band does not have a dedicated cowbell/woodblock player named “Gene Frenkle.” While that is purely a Will Ferrell invention, his Gene Frenkle does look like BÖC lead vocalist Eric Bloom. In fact, all of the cast resembles actual Blue Öyster Cult members as seen on the cover of a compilation album, just playing the wrong instruments. Chris Kattan is playing lead guitar like Buck Dharma but is dressed like drummer Albert Bouchard. Jimmy Fallon is playing drums like Bouchard but is dressed like guitarist/keyboardist Allen Lanier.

Similarly, Christopher Walken’s producer character, Bruce Dickinson is a real person, but he had nothing to do with the original production of “Don’t Fear the Reaper.” Instead, he was a manager at Columbia Records whose name was listed as “reissue producer” on Blue Öyster Cult’s greatest hits compilation. “It’s kind of a funny-sounding name. That was the extent of my research: the back of a CD cover,” Ferrell says in the doc.

The Dress Rehearsal Version Was Flat

Before the final version of the show airs live on Saturday night, SNL does a dress rehearsal of its planned sketches in front of a live test audience. The dress rehearsal for “More Cowbell” didn’t indicate in any way that the sketch would go on to become a hit. “I think it was kind of…fine,” Ferrell says with a grimace in the doc. Walken opted for a more subdued Bruce Dickinson performance in the dress rehearsal, undoubtedly saving his energy for the aired show. Ferrell was also noticeably less physical.

Additionally, the sketch was slotted for “Stage 1” in Studio 8H, which is known among the cast as “Shit-Can Alley,” “The Death Corner,” and “Coffin Corner” due to its positioning to the far left of the audience’s eyeline. All in all, it was looking fairly bleak for “More Cowbell.” But the end restful was an instant classic, due in no small part to Walken’s amped up performance. “Christopher Walken, for air, upped his game. It was almost like he was doing an impersonation of Christopher Walken,” Jimmy Fallon says.

The Best of Will Ferrell DVD Gave Cowbell (and Cowbells) a Second Life

It’s hard to even conceive of it now, but back in 2000 Saturday Night Live faced the same predicament that most television did. Outside of the lucky few who taped it live, it was impossible to rewatch an episode on-demand. That’s why the “More Cowbell” sketch didn’t fully take off until the release of Saturday Night Live: The Best of Will Ferrell DVD in 2002. Indeed that’s where I first watched it.

In the doc, Ferrell and the rest of the cast discuss the explosion of popularity of the sketch following the release of the DVD. The sketch played on the video board before Mississippi State football games and Ferrell got to play cowbell live with bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Queens of the Stone Age. The biggest fan of “More Cowbell,” however, may have been cowbells themselves. SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night catches up with Ranco Cowbells owner John Karpi to discuss his pride at the company’s product being used as the featured cowboy in the sketch. “To be a manufacturer of cowbells at that time. Wow, we were superstars.”

All four episodes of SNL: Beyond Saturday Night are available to stream on Peacock now.

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