SNL 40

SNL 40

Saturday Night Live anniversary special

February 15, 2015

by Live Music Head

Saturday Night Live just celebrated four decades on television 

with a 3-and-a-half-hour 40th Anniversary Special.
And it seemed that anyone who is anyone was there,
in NBC’s Studio 8H.
I watched the whole thing,
including the red carpet special that preceded it,
and there was much that made me laugh, and cry...
The two Paul's (McCartney and Simon) breaking out

“I’ve Just Seen a Face” during the opening monologue;
that ignorant slut Jane Curtin’s return to Weekend Update
with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler;
Bill Murray and Paul Shaffer performing the “theme” from Jaws;
Chris Rock reminiscing over the greatness that is Eddie Murphy
and what he brought to the show back in the eighties;
and the Mom Jeans ad.
But being someone who grew up on the early days of the show,
I particularly liked Jack Nicholson’s appearance and comment
on what the climate was like in 1975 when the show first aired,
and that being what made SNL socially and politically necessary,
and important.
Why satire is necessary and important.
It was a time when respect for authority was at an all-time low.
And no one made us think, and laugh about it as much as
Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase,
Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman,

and Gilda Radner.
The Not Ready for Prime Time Players.
Oh, and Don Novello as Father Guido Sarducci too.
George Carlin was the first host.
1970s genius made more brilliant with the arrival of Bill Murray 

in the 1980s.
The show changed television as we knew it back then,
and suddenly everyone wanted to stay home on Saturday night.
We couldn’t get enough of Roseanne Roseannadanna,
those Two Wild and Crazy Guys,
The Blues Brothers,
Steve Martin as King Tut,
and the Coneheads.
All brought to us live from the great city of New York 

with more cowbell,
and cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger!
Great characters brought to us by great actors, 

great comedians, 

and cocaine.
The program also saw some of the most important,
and politically necessary musicians grace its stage.
Most notable: George Harrison and Paul Simon’s duet 

of Here Comes the Sun and Homeward Bound.
I don’t really watch Saturday Night Live anymore.
I lost interest after the first twenty years or so,
but I still tune in from time to time.
And because he was born on this day,
I’d like to mention the late Chris Farley,
and that time I tuned in to see 

a very funny mock interview he did with Paul McCartney.
Other highlites from the 40th Anniversary Special
were Paul Simon’s performance 

of Still Crazy After All These Years,
and the In Memoriam segment reminding me that Don Pardo,
the show’s announcer and voice now ingrained in popular culture,
recently passed away.
May he and Mr Farley rest in peace.
Oh, and Louis CK reminiscing on SNL’s short films,
the unlive parts, reminding me of two of my favourites:
Eddie Murphy in White Like Me
and John Belushi dancing on the graves 

of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players 

in Don’t Look Back in Anger.
Thought-provoking, hilarious, honest, 

and completely unforgettable.
Thank you Lorne Michaels.


Saturday Night Live on NBC...
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live

Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis
by Live Music Head

On this day, Jerry Lewis turns 88.
And so I remember growing up
watching the Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Telethon
that he hosted and founded over fifty years ago;

a program that entertained us for two days straight 

while raising money for charity and marked the end of summer; 

a program that warmed our hearts, 

and saw us off into a brand new school year, 

for years. 

It was also a program that, 

if memory serves, 

was my first exposure to Jerry Lewis. 

Years later, I was fascinated to see him play 

opposite Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese’s 1982 film 

The King of Comedy. 

What an amazing little film that is. 

I was also fascinated to read the interview he did 

with Amy Wallace in GQ Magazine in 2011. 

Look it up. 

It’s a great read. 

Also a great read is 

We’ll Be Here for The Rest of Our Lives, 

a book written by Paul Shaffer (Letterman’s sidekick) in 2009. 

Shaffer grew up watching the Telethon as well, 

and counts Jerry Lewis as a major idol. 

Shaffer told the story in the book 

of how excited he got to meet his idol, 

over brunch with their mutual friend Richard Belzer 

(stand-up comedian aka Det. Munch on Law & Order), 

and his disappointment over not impressing his idol 

when he interjected their conversation 

with tidbits from his life-long accumulation 

of Jerry Lewis minutiae. 

No matter how much Shaffer tried, 

all Lewis wanted to talk about was 

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, 

of which he guest-starred in 2006 

and gave an absolutely brilliant performance 

as a depressed, homeless man caught up in 

the investigation of a brutal rape. 

The dramatic work of Jerry Lewis is amazing. 

But Lewis is best known as a genius slapstick comedian. 

And it will likely be his work 

as a genius slapstick comedian in a duo with Dean Martin 

that will be widely remembered.

For theirs was one of the most popular comedy duos in history, 

beginning in 1946 and ending, 

not on the best of terms, 

ten years later. 

I also grew up with The Rat Pack. 

So when Frank Sinatra instigated a reunion between 

Jerry and Dean

on the Telethon in 1976, 

it was a big moment in television...

12.12.12: The Concert for Sandy Relief

12.12.12: The Concert for Sandy Relief
a documentary, tiff. screening
Toronto International Film Festival
Winter Garden Theatre, Toronto
September 8, 2013
by Live Music Head

Many will remember the opening performance
by Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, 

Adam Sandler and Paul Shaffer’s absolutely hilarious
rendition of Hallelujah,
Sandy, Screw Ya!

and the finale performance by Paul McCartney
(with members of Nirvana)

when this concert,
held at New York City's Madison Square Garden,
was broadcast all over the world, last year. 

Actually McCartney,
an executive producer on the film, 

was supposed to attend last night’s screening 

at Toronto's Winter Garden Theatre,
but had to cancel at the last moment
due to a family commitment. 

Woulda been waaaay cool
to be sitting under the same roof with a Beatle, 

watching this highly emotional film
(I cried my eyes out); 

a fantastic look at all that went into
putting The Concert for Sandy Relief together
(raising money to benefit the victims impacted
by Hurricane Sandy,
particularly those in New York and New Jersey), 

with truly great, great, great back stage scenes
of all our favourite artists.
Attending this tiff. screening
moved me considerably,

and I rate it as a top-five documentary of all time.

I was also very happy to be there for the Q&A 

with the men,
the entertainment giants,
responsible for making the concert happen: 

James L. Dolan 

(president/CEO, Cablevision Systems; 

executive chairman, Madison Square Garden), 

John Sykes 

(American co-founder, MTV & VH1; 

president, entertainment enterprises- Clear Channel); 

and Harvey Weinstein 

(American film producer, studio executive;
co-founder, Miramax Films;
co-chairman Weinstein Company), 

moderated by our very own George Stroumboulopoulos
(television/radio personality,  
George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight).

Harvey Weinstein, James L Nolan, John Sykes

A great chat,
with the most memorable story being told
after an audience member asked Mr Weinstein 

why he didn’t manage to get Led Zeppelin
to re-form for the show, 

being that every other important British rocker was there 

(McCartney, The Rolling Stones, The Who,
Roger Waters, Eric Clapton).

Weinstein said that Jimmy Page,
John Paul Jones and Robert Plant had agreed to do it

until Page’s lawyer got involved. 

Apparently he’s a very disagreeable lawyer. 

So when Weinstein just happened to be talking
with his friend Hilary Clinton, 

he asked if she would try and persuade Page to do it, 

after all it meant something like
an additional 30 million dollars in donations 

for the hurricane victims. 

Hilary said, “I’m not good at that type of thing, but Bill is.” 

But when Bill Clinton tried to convince Page to do it, 

he was turned down flat. 

Weinstein then,
with his considerable influence, 

put a call into The White House
and persuaded President Barack Obama
to put in a call to Page. 

After all,
Led Zeppelin were being honoured by the Kennedy Centre. 

Page even turned down the President of the United States. 

No reason was given.

Every performance at 12.12.12 was completely amazing,

but for me, this was truly the best bit:

Adam Sandler (who was born on this day back in 1966)

and Paul Shaffer’s Hallelujah (Sandy, Screw Ya!)...

The official website for 12.12.12: The Concert for Sandy Relief...
http://www.121212concert.org/

Gettin' Down with James Brown

Gettin' Down with James Brown
by Live Music Head

Incredibly grateful am I

to have seen him in concert not once,

but twice:

in 1992 on the revolving stage of Toronto’s Ontario Place Forum

where my outstretched arms tried to reach him

in a crowd that surged forward in a crush,

when he came running along the boards.

I paid a mere twenty bucks for that.

And my friend got to high-five him!

Then again at the same location some ten years later,

but after Molson claimed to be “what music’s all about”

and the name was changed to the Amphitheatre.

I was on the lawn for that one which sucked,

but not really because even from a distance,

seeing even three seconds of even just one 

of the man’s shaky legs

was worth the whopping ten whole dollars I paid. 

My god!

Ya know, today, right now,

there’s a big name rock and roll band about to head out on tour

and they’re having trouble selling their $250-$600 tickets apparently.

Imagine that.

I won’t be helping them out,

but ya know,

I’da paid handsomely to have been there in person

for even five of the thirteen minutes

of The Godfather of Soul’s performance on 

Late Night with David Letterman.

Uh no, I wouldn’t have had any problem whatsoever

whipping out the ol’ credit card 

and booking a flight to New York for that.

After all, this is the Sex Machine who

blew that same $250-$600 ticket-priced 

rock and roll headlining band

off the T.A.M.I. stage back in 1964.

But wait,

tickets for the Letterman show are free.

So imagine being in the NBC studio, at no cost,

when the one-and-only James Brown bumped another guest

to take over for a quarter of a one-hour talk show.

Of all the great musical guests Dave’s had on over the years,

this one rests at the very top of the Top 5.

For it’s James Brown.

Jaaaaammmmmmes Brown!!!

James Brown makes your bladder splatter.

He makes your liver quiver.

And from the second he took the stage,

it only got more exciting with each passing minute.

Paul Shaffer said in his book:

“I won’t wash my hands for a week!”

after Brown played a keyboard solo beside him during the show

and then slapped him ten.

In his Swingin’ Showbiz Saga,

Shaffer also said:
“It’s the singing, yes: the pitch perfect screams

that penetrate your heart and freeze your blood.

It’s the dancing, of course:

the spins, the splits, the grace, and the grit.

It’s the band:

tighter and righter than any orchestra 

in the proud history of soul.

It’s the songs:

the social messages, the sexual subtexts,

the self-assertive anthems of a free black man 

in a white world.

It’s everything.

James Brown is everything I love about music.”

The credits were rolling and Brown was still gettin’ down.

What’s even more amazing is 

this Letterman taping took place in 1982,

when The Hardest Working Man in Show Business

was just shy of fifty years old.

But Brown’s got more soul in his baby toe

than most people have in their whole body and then some,

times ten. 

Jesus.

Times a hundred!

Born in Barnwell, South Carolina on May 3, 1933,

and raised in Augusta, Georgia,

James Brown woulda been turning 80 as I write this,

had not congestive heart failure taken him on Christmas Day 2006.

Thank god for Youtube!

For ladies and gentleman,

it’s time to watch the clip!

And I bet you can’t stay seated.

For it’s Mr Dynamite and he’s outta sight!

The Minister of The New New Super Heavy Funk!

Mister Soul Brother Number One!

Jaaaaaaaaaammmmmmees Brown!

Jaaaaaaaaaammmmmmees Brown!!

Jaaaaaaaaaammmmmmees Brown!!!

Get down!

James Brown's outstanding performance on

Late Night with David Letterman...