Blue Öyster Cult might be the most underrated successful rock band of the 1970s. Go back and listen to the group's self-titled 1971 debut album, Secret Treaties, or Agents of Fortune, and you'll hear top-tier hard rock musicianship that melodically popped without being afraid to venture into psychedelic and occasionally dark territory.
But that run of killer early '70s music will never be Blue Öyster Cult's entire legacy.
Because Will Ferrell vigorously hit a cowbell once.
On an April 2000 episode of Saturday Night Live one of the show's all-time best sketches was birthed, and it revolved around Blue Öyster Cult. Presented as a spoof on VH1's Behind the Music band biography series, "More Cowbell" was a sketch about the band recording their biggest hit, "Don't Fear the Reaper." The song features prominent cowbell percussion... and that's the whole joke of the sketch. Ferrell portrayed the band's too-tight-shirt-wearing cowbell player, who played with enthusiastic zeal, much to the dismay of his increasingly annoyed bandmates. Guest host Christopher Walken added kerosene to the fire by playing the producer (yes, the Bruce Dickinson) who "has a fever... and the only prescription... is more cowbell!" The results are pure comedic alchemy — just absolute heightened absurdity — a somehow perfect sketch even greater than the amazing sum of its parts. With quotable lines a plenty, "More Cowbell" became a pop culture touchstone — one that now outsizes the legacy of the actual band at its center.
Since it's futile to overturn Blue Öyster Cult's perception, we might as well lean into the joke of it all and talk about other musical artists touched by comedic grace. For this exercise, we're looking at some of the best sketches ever crafted about or featuring actual famed musical acts. So the star-free Monty Python's "Lumberjack Sketch" doesn't qualify, nor does Saturday Night Live's "Dick in a Box," because while it was a parody of Color Me Badd featuring Justin Timberlake, Timberlake wasn't playing himself and the group wasn't actually supposed to be Color Me Badd. The following comedic gems, however, more than qualify.
AIN'T TOO PROUD TO BEG: THE MUSICAL
(COMEDY BANG! BANG!, 2015)
This mock advertisement for then CBB bandleader Kid Cudi's new jukebox musical about The Temptations has one minor issue — the show only secured rights to "Just My Imagination (Running Away From Me)." Seeing every intentionally hammy scene give way to the exact same song somehow manages to be a hoot each time.BUDDY RICH VERSUS ANIMAL DRUM BATTLE
(THE MUPPET SHOW, 1981)
While The Muppet Show had loads of musician co-hosts who often did Muppet-infused versions of their hits, many of them end up being fairly straightforward and sincere takes. On the other hand, Animal trying to duel legendary drummer Buddy Rich, only to end up mouth-agape at the jazzman's skills is both impressive and universally amusing.CHARLIE MURPHY'S TRUE HOLLYWOOD STORIES: RICK JAMES
(CHAPPELLE'S SHOW, 2004)
If you were a high school boy in 2004, odds are some of the blue lines from this classic became embedded in your lexicon. Charlie Murphy's colorful retelling of his encounters with R&B singer Rick James (with cuts to James on camera to verify their validity) practically bubbles over with comedic color as the two grow pals get adversarial leading to drugged-up fights, debaucherous reconciliation, and the destruction of at least one couch. "Cocaine is a hell of a drug," indeed.CHARLIE MURPHY'S TRUE HOLLYWOOD STORIES: PRINCE
(CHAPPELLE'S SHOW, 2004)
Do you realize that these two iconic Chappelle's Show sketches debuted on back-to-back weeks? What an embarrassment of riches! While the Rick James segment is more famous, the Prince one actually might edge it out based on the sheer absurdity of all elements: Chappelle's steely demeanor as Prince, wild attire, a basketball beatdown, and pancakes.THE CHRIS FARLEY SHOW: PAUL MCCARTNEY
(SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, 1993)
While Chris Farley was a boisterous personality, the nervous energy he brought to his "The Chris Farley Show" segments was a sweet delight. His twitchy frustrated heavy-breathing anxiety when interviewing the Beatles icon is probably akin to how many Beatlemanics would react around Sir Paul. "You remember when you were with the Beatles? ... That was awesome." The segment is both hilarious and a heartfelt encapsulation of fandom.DRIVERS LICENSE
(SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, 2021)
A dude's night at the pool hall goes off the rails when guest host Regé-Jean Page puts "his song" on the jukebox. That song? Olivia Rodrigo's "Drivers Licence." While the other guys act tough and like they don't know the song at the start, they all soon cave and begin deeply analyzing song specifics and letting their false facades of tough masculinity fade away to let their over-the-top emotions and inner high school girls pour out.GORDON LIGHTFOOT SINGS EVERY SONG EVER WRITTEN
(SCTV, 1981)
Perhaps one of the most Canadian things of all-time, this SCTV sketch is a mock advertisement for a 379-album set of Canadian singer-songwriter legend Gordon Lightfoot doing his own renditions of every song. Rick Moranis' hilarious impression of Lightfoot's demur singing style is uproarious whether singing "Happy Birthday," Christmas tunes, or Broadway staples.JACK SPARROW (FEAT. MICHAEL BOLTON)
(SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, 2011)
When the Lonely Island brings a soft pop singer into the studio to record a "big sexy hook" for their latest club-ready hip-hop track there's just one problem — he was watching a Pirates of the Caribbean marathon as he was writing it. The resulting clash between the swaggy raps and chorus about pirate captain Jack Sparrow — and the Lonely Island's futile attempts to get him back on track — leads to A+ reaction shots and confused comedy bliss. There's a strong case that this is SNL's best digital short ever.SMASH MOUTH
(SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, 2010)
Most children have fears of the monsters living under their beds or in their closets. But young Cecilia's nighttime boogeymen are entirely different — they're the band Smash Mouth. While her parents claim it's all in her imagination, everytime they leave the room the band pops up and starts playing "All Star." While I will defend that song to my death, the thought of earworm pop rockers being the ultimate nightmare hits the mark.TRAPPED IN THE CUPBOARD
(MAD TV, 2004)
R. Kelly's musical soap opera "Trapped in the Closet" was one of the easiest-to-parody songs of the 21st century, and Mad TV took a crack at it with Jordan Peele playing the felonious singer. This sketch has him waking up hungry only to devolve into a gun-toting rage over the fact that he's out of Cheerios.WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY
(FUNNY OR DIE, 2010)
Before it was an Emmy and Critic's Choice winning actual movie, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story was merely a hilarious star-studded internet trailer for a fake Weird Al biopic. Mocking the gritty seriousness of awards bait musical biopics, Aaron Paul plays the famed clean-cut parodist as a drunken wild man who has a torrid affair with Madonna (Olivia Wilde). It's note perfect and led to the best sketch to film adaptation... ever?WHEN THE PARTY DON'T STOP (BUT YOU WISH IT WOULD)
(KEY & PEELE, 2012)
Well before Jordan Peele rebooted The Twilight Zone, this Key & Peele sketch took a twisted, mildly supernatural aim at the vacuous non-stop party pop of LMFAO. While the musical duo starts off having a blast, they soon realize the party literally cannot stop — they grow increasingly panicked as they realize they're trapped in some sort of hellish neon club purgatory with no escape possible.WHITE WHITE BABY
(IN LIVING COLOR, 1991)
In Living Color did a lot of musical sketches where it was presented as the artists doing a parody version of their own songs, but in terms of comedic physicality, it's hard to top Jim Carrey as Vanilla Ice in full culture vulture mode ("I'm white, and I'm capitalizin' / On a trend that's currently risin'"). Why You'll Never Get That Outkast Reunion (Key & Peele, 2015)WHY YOU'LL NEVER GET THAT OUTKAST REUNION
(KEY & PEELE, 2015)
While it has proven to be untrue, when shot in 2015 this sketch underscored how hopeless the prospect of an Outkast reunion seemed because of the wildly different personas of Big Boi and André 3000. The demure Big Boi (Peele) ducks into a coffee shop only to have the flamboyant André 3000 (Key) saunter in and begin being a total freakin' weirdo. It's a classic clash of the eccentric clown and the stoic straight man. ♦Blue Öyster Cult • Sat, March 16 at 8 pm • $58-$68 • All ages • Spokane Tribe Casino • 14300 US-2, Airway Heights • spokanetribecasino.com
