Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. Learn More
Continue in Browser
Get hyperlocal forecasts, radar and weather alerts.
Please enter a valid zipcode.
Save
CLEVELAND — The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is celebrating one of the longest-running programs in television history for its contributions to music history with the new “SNL: Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of Music” exhibit.
“In 50 years there’s been all these generations of viewers, generations of musical artists,” said Rock Hall President and CEO Greg Harris.
Since 1975, viewers tune into “Saturday Night Live” each week for the variety show’s sketch comedy and to see performances from some of the biggest stars in the music industry.
“Grew up watching it, and you felt like you were part of a club,” Harris said. “That all your neighbors were asleep at 11:30 at night, and you were watching TV. And you’d see Elvis Costello, and you’d see Patti Smith and the Replacements. Just, it was a blast and still is a blast.”
The exhibit guides guests through a full taping experience from the open to end credits, complete with a recreation of the Studio 8H facade and main stage.
“We wanted the visitors to have a chance to feel like the hosts themselves, you know?” said Haley Cronin, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame assistant curator. “So, that’s what’s so great about this immersive exhibit.”
On display are items from some of the show’s most memorable performances, including pieces of the photo of Pope John Paul II torn by Sinead O’Connor on stage in 1992 as a controversial protest against child abuse in the Catholic Church. Cronin said it was an unrehearsed surprise move that shocked both the audience and the show staff.
“It was just someone working at SNL right after the tearing of the picture that he quickly like, kept the pieces and gave it to (SNL creator and executive producer) Lorne Michaels for his personal archive,” she said. “So they knew in that moment how historic this would be.”
Other artifacts highlight some of the show’s song-filled skits, including Will Ferrell’s instrument from the 2000 “More Cowbell” sketch.
“Did you know that because of this sketch that the sale of cowbells went up, like, just in the, like in general, just cowbell sales just increased?” Cronin said.
Another highlight is the costumes worn by Mike Myers and Dana Carvey in recurring Wayne’s World sketches, so popular they spawned two movies.
“Come on,” Cronin said. “The ultimate musical sketch. So we were really lucky to have these pieces, and we got these from SNL’s team.”
Cronin said she and some other Rock Hall colleagues got the chance to comb through the show’s archive in New York City.
“We got to borrow a bunch of iconic pieces from them, which really helped seal the deal for this exhibit,” she said.
Harris said seeing these items triggers your collective memory.
“You’re like, ‘Oh, my God,’” he said. “And you remember it, and you remember what the living room was like where you were watching the show. If you watched it with your friends, if you watched it with your family, if you watched it alone.”
Harris said the show shares a close bond with the “house that rock built,” with about 150 Rock Hall inductees featured on the program so far.
“When we worked with NBC, with Broadway Video, Lorne Michaels, and the idea started taking momentum, it was just a no-brainer,” he said. “We had to do it, and we had to do it really well. The curators nailed it. The designers nailed it. This thing is incredible.”
“With the rebelliousness, almost, of the variety show itself, nobody believed that they could do something like this. Music just fits in so perfectly because of the rebellious nature of that,” Cronin said. “So I think it just all ties together in this way we can’t even comprehend.”
Besides the memorabilia, interactive kiosks at the exhibit give guests the chance to watch clips from every music performance in the show’s history.
“Live from Cleveland, it’s Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary, and don’t miss it,” Harris said.
The Rock Hall is hosting a special opening party for the exhibit June 14, with special activations and former SNL cast member Fred Armisen.
Rock Hall honors 50 years of SNL musical moments – spectrumnoticias.com
