Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music

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Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music
Directed by
Production
companies
Distributed by NBC
Release date
  • January 27, 2025 (2025-01-27)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music is a 2025 American documentary film, directed by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and Oz Rodriguez. The film focuses on the late-night sketch show Saturday Night Live and its half-century of musical performances. The film premiered on NBC on January 27, 2025, and began streaming on Peacock the next day, as part of the lead up to the show's 50th anniversary special. [1] [2]

Contents

Premise

The documentary examines the late-night sketch program Saturday Night Live and its musical guests across its 50-year run. Dozens of cast and crew members are interviewed as well as musical guests and the show's house band. The film examines the show's relationship to the New York music scene, as well as changing and evolving popular styles. It dives deep into its musical history in its sketches, with segments on impressions, Adam Sandler, the origin of the Blues Brothers [3] and The Lonely Island's rise to prominence. [4]

The film also explores key musical performances and moments throughout the show's half-century run, including:

Production

Thompson was first approached about making the documentary in 2021, following the release of his first film, Summer of Soul . [16] An SNL obsessive, Thompson had long been a fan of the show since his childhood, viewing it as a paradigm-shifting program like Soul Train . [17] When he became a member of the house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2009, he began working just two floors down from the show's studio. "When I first got to 30 Rock in 2009, I purposely waited six months to figure out how I was going to infiltrate the SNL ecosystem," he joked. "Who am I going to be friends with so I can see how it works?" Directing the feature required that Thompson view every episode of SNL—900 by the time of its creation—which was a daunting task. [18] To prepare, he watched between three and seven episodes daily. [14]

Reception

Jem Aswad of Variety extolled the film as "definitive," writing that "Even though the doc is three hours long and loaded with interviews [...] it never falls into hubristic self-congratulation." [19] Late-night commentator Bill Carter, author of The Late Shift , called it "fascinating and engrossing." [4] Jen Chaney from Vulture viewed it as "throroughtly spectacular," commenting, "the documentary offers a comprehensive, dynamic, and genuinely exciting tour through five decades of rock, hip-hop, punk, and other genres as manifested within the walls of 30 Rock." [20] Many critics heaped praise on Questlove's "mega mix" cold open. [20] [21] [22] [23]

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References

  1. ↑ Kaufman, Gil (January 24, 2025). "'Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music' Trailer Features Mick Jagger, Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa and More: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  2. ↑ Rosenbloom, Alli (January 26, 2025). "Questlove says upcoming 'SNL' special is 'love letter' to show's 50 years of musical performances". CNN. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Deggans, Eric (January 27, 2025). "8 revelations from Questlove's new doc about SNL's music". NPR. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Carter, Bill (January 27, 2025). "Questlove's Love Letter to SNL's Musical Legacy Is a Must-See". LateNighter. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  5. ↑ Miller, Liz Shannon (January 27, 2025). "The 12 Biggest Revelations from Questlove's SNL Music Documentary". Yahoo Entertainment. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  6. ↑ Kaufman, Spencer; Miller, Liz Shannon (January 28, 2025). "Lorne Michaels: SNL has "never banned" any music acts". Consequence. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  7. ↑ Riccardo, Nick (January 27, 2025). "Watch Funky 4 Plus One More's History-Making 'SNL' Appearance". LateNighter. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  8. ↑ Ryan, Mike (January 22, 2025). "Questlove Breaks Down His 'SNL' Music Doc: Eddie Murphy, Fear, Ashlee Simpson, and More Infamous Moments". IndieWire. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  9. ↑ White, Peter (January 24, 2025). "The Real Story Behind Punk Rock Band Fear's Anarchic Turn On 'SNL'". Deadline. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  10. ↑ Sederholm, Jillian (January 28, 2025). "Dave Grohl says mishap in Nirvana's first 'SNL' performance was nearly 'Titanic-level disaster'". EW.com. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  11. ↑ Paul, Larisha (January 23, 2025). "Dua Lipa, Mick Jagger, Miley Cyrus Relive Late-Night Pressure in '50 Years of SNL Music' Trailer". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  12. ↑ Ruggieri, Melissa (January 27, 2025). "'SNL' music documentary guided expertly by Questlove". USA TODAY. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  13. ↑ Kaufman, Spencer; Miller, Liz Shannon (January 27, 2025). "Tom Morello: RATM were locked down by Secret Service after SNL performance". Consequence. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  14. 1 2 Newman, Jason (January 25, 2025). "How Did Questlove Make His New 'SNL' Doc? Step One: Watch 900 Episodes". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  15. ↑ Boykin-Patterson, Eboni (January 27, 2025). "New Details About Kanye's Unhinged MAGA 'SNL' Rant Revealed". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  16. ↑ Fekadu, Mesfin (January 23, 2025). "Questlove on Flourishing In His Directing Era and Tackling Controversial Music Moments in 'SNL' Doc". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  17. ↑ White, Peter (January 27, 2025). "Questlove Goes Deep Into '50 Years Of SNL Music' – Q&A". Deadline. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  18. ↑ Light, Alan (January 22, 2025). "Questlove on Parsing 50 Years of Music for His 'S.N.L.' Documentary". The New York Times. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  19. ↑ Aswad, Jem (January 27, 2025). "'Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music' Is a Spectacular, Definitive History of the Most Influential Music Stage in America: TV Review". Variety. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  20. 1 2 Chaney, Jen (January 30, 2025). "Five Reasons You Need to Watch 50 Years of SNL Music". Vulture. Retrieved February 2, 2025.
  21. ↑ Pearis, Bill (January 31, 2025). "Watch the amazing mashup opening montage from Questlove's great 'Ladies and Gentlemen...50 Years of SNL Music' documentary". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved February 2, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Ladies & Gentleman… 50 Years of SNL music in less than eight minutes". AV Club. January 28, 2025. Retrieved February 2, 2025.
  23. ↑ Ivie, Devon (January 30, 2025). "Questlove's Insane SNL Music Montage Took a Year to Complete". Vulture. Retrieved February 2, 2025.
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