Original air date April 8, 2000 | Guests Christopher Walken | |
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Written by Will Ferrell
Donnell Campbell Cast Jimmy Fallon
Will Ferrell
Chris Kattan
Chris Parnell
Horatio Sanz | ||
"Recording Session", often known as the "Cowbell" or "More Cowbell" sketch, is a sketch that aired on Saturday Night Live (SNL) on April 8, 2000, during the show hosted by Christopher Walken with musical guest Christina Aguilera. The sketch is presented as an episode of VH1's documentary series Behind the Music focusing on the rock band Blue Öyster Cult. In it, the group—Chris Parnell as Eric Bloom, Jimmy Fallon as Albert Bouchard, Chris Kattan as Buck Dharma and Horatio Sanz as Joe Bouchard, respectively—attempt to record their song "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", but are constantly interrupted by an overzealous cowbell player, portrayed by Will Ferrell.
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The sketch, mainly its repeated use of the phrase "more cowbell", became widespread. The sketch is often considered one of the greatest SNL sketches ever made, and in many "best of" lists regarding SNL sketches, it is often placed in the top ten, being ranked number nine by Rolling Stone.
Synopsis
An episode of VH1's Behind the Music documenting the band Blue Öyster Cult showcases footage of the group from a 1976 recording session that produced the band's biggest hit, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper". The producer (played by Christopher Walken) introduces himself as "The Bruce Dickinson" and tells the band they have "what appears to be a dynamite sound". The first take seems to go well but the band stops playing because the cowbell part is rather loud and distracting. Dickinson, to the surprise of most of the band, asks for "a little more cowbell" and suggests that the cowbell player, Gene Frenkle (Will Ferrell), "really explore the studio space this time". Frenkle's exuberance in following this advice causes him to bump into his bandmates as he dances around the cramped studio, thrusting his pelvis wildly in all directions, and the band aborts another take.
Frenkle sheepishly agrees to tone down his performance in the spirit of cooperation. He passive-aggressively plays the cowbell very close to Eric Bloom (Chris Parnell)'s ear and fails to keep time with the rest of the band. The rest of the band expresses frustration with Frenkle, but Dickinson remains focused only on getting more cowbell onto the track. Frenkle makes an impromptu speech to the rest of the band, declaring that Dickinson's stature lends a great deal of weight to his opinion about the cowbell part and that the last time he (Frenkle) checked, they didn't have "a whole lot of songs that feature the cowbell" and therefore he would be "doing himself a disservice, and every member of the band" if he "didn't perform the hell out of this". In the end, the band agrees to let Frenkle play the cowbell part his way. The sketch ends with a freeze frame on Frenkle with the superimposed message: "In Memoriam: Gene Frenkle: 1950–2000".
Cast
Production
Will Ferrell's idea for the sketch came from hearing "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" over the years: "Every time I heard [the song], I would hear the faint cowbell in the background and wonder, 'What is that guy's life like?'" He co-wrote the sketch with friend and playwright Donnell Campbell. Ferrell first submitted it for the episode with Norm MacDonald as host, which aired on October 23, 1999. SNL creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels was unsure about the premise, though the sketch played well among crew at the table read. According to Seth Meyers, who served as head writer several seasons later, the sketch was submitted over seven times before making the show. Ferrell re-wrote the sketch when Christopher Walken was scheduled to host, to fit the actor's rhythm. The sketch was put near the end of the episode, where more offbeat/odd sketches are often aired.
The actors who appeared in the sketch had trouble keeping straight faces. They found Ferrell's acting, along with Walken's stone-faced performance, so funny that they were all on the verge of breaking up laughing and ruining the sketch several times. On "Take Two", Walken can be seen through the booth glass, laughing, as Ferrell's too-tight shirt rides up, exposing Ferrell's stomach while he is dancing and playing the cowbell. Even Ferrell at one point could be seen laughing for a moment soon after Jimmy Fallon breaks into laughter for the first time in the sketch. According to Jimmy Fallon, Ferrell wore a tighter shirt in the live sketch than he wore at dress rehearsal to allow his gut to hang out, in turn making Fallon laugh.
Comedy versus reality
The song "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult does indeed feature a cowbell playing throughout the song. According to Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, the lead singer and author-composer of the song, the sketch accurately portrays the look of the band during the 1970s, but it inaccurately portrays some of the details of the actual recording:
Reception
The sketch's offbeat nature, as well as the actors breaking character, made the sketch an immediate fan favorite. Marc Spitz called it "one of the first super-memes of the new century" in the New York Times. Walken continued to hear from fans about the sketch in years afterward: "I hear about it everywhere I go. It's been YEARS, and all anybody brings up is 'COW-bell.' I guess you never know what's gonna click."
Members of Blue Öyster Cult were positive regarding the sketch. Though the song was previously well-known for its creepy tone, co-vocalist Buck Dharma said that "Ferrell pretty much sabotaged that."
In popular culture
The sketch was referenced on various episodes of SNL in years to come. On May 14, 2005, on an episode that Will Ferrell hosted, the Gene Frenkle character made a reappearance on the set of Saturday Night Live as musical guest Queens of the Stone Age played their first song of the night, "Little Sister" – which features a jam block, an instrument similar to a cowbell. In his Gene Frenkle costume, Ferrell played the song's jam block part using a large cowbell along with the band, drawing much applause. Promotions for the April 5, 2008 Christopher Walken/Panic! at the Disco episode of Saturday Night Live referenced the "More Cowbell" sketch. The cowbell did not appear during the actual episode. At the end of the May 16, 2009 Will Ferrell/Green Day episode, Green Day performed "East Jesus Nowhere" with Ferrell on the cowbell. Ferrell's appearance was unrehearsed and it was unknown to Green Day that Ferrell would appear. Additionally, Ferrell was unfamiliar with the song and not aware of the sound-break near its end. As the sound-break continued, Ferrell elaborately played single "final" cowbell beats, expecting the lights to fade, then began to leave the stage. Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong called him back, saying, "Wait, god damn it!" and began his vocal. Ferrell came to the microphone and asked, "Wait, is this song still going on?" and Armstrong answered, "Yes", laughing.
Ferrell guest-starred on the final episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, playing cowbell in reference to the sketch. Ferrell appeared in the 2011 video for "Make Some Noise" by the Beastie Boys, in the front of a limo, playing a cowbell. Ferrell and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith appeared on the May 22, 2014 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for a charity drum-off battle. Despite Smith clearly giving the better performance, Ferrell was named the winner and awarded a giant gold cowbell. Both were joined by Smith's Chili Peppers bandmates for a performance of "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" with Ferrell playing cowbell.