“Saturday Night Live” has provided some of the best televised musical performances in its 40-year history. So it’s only natural that the show’s 40th anniversary special would be packed with musical guests.
We run down some of the many musical moments from the “Saturday Night Live” 40th Anniversary Special on Sunday, which brought Paul McCartney, Miley Cyrus and more.
Alicia Keys “Empire State of Mind”
Robert De Niro presented the segment commemorating all things New York, and “SNL” would be remiss if they didn’t include “Empire State of Mind” to soundtrack the bit. It might have been short, but it was great.
Sir Paul McCartney “Maybe I’m Amazed”
Three Beatles have graced the studio 8H stage. A somewhat-coherent Keith Richards introduced on Sunday in a funny nod to his fellow countryman. Sounding rough — though working with his limited vocal range — McCartney delighted the crowd with a rendition of the post-Beatles classic,”Maybe I’m Amazed.”
Miley Cyrus “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” (Paul Simon Cover)
When she’s not freeing the nipple or entering videos into the , is actually a talented performer. Cyrus covered Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”, giving the entire audience a good case of the feels. Where have you been hiding this all along, Miley?
Kanye West Medley
The award for making most efficient use of stage time on Sunday goes to the villainous . West appeared trapped in his bit of performance art that started as a trio of songs that started with a tame take of “Jesus Walks” that led into the Paul McCartney collaboration of “Only One.” It’s not until Yeezy shared the stage with Vic Mensa and Sia that things became interesting. The three teamed up for a performance of Kanye’s latest single, “Wolves.” Despite Sia’s silly quirkiness, her vocals won Sunday’s performance and saved an otherwise forgettable take on new material for West. Did anybody get freaked out by those crazy contact lens that Kanye was wearing?
Paul Simon – “Still Crazy After All These Years”
fingerprints were over last night show. As one of the most celebrated New York musicians, everyone looked to Simon to give one of his most memorable contributions since the HBO special, “The Concert in Central Park.” The best part is that Simon didn’t make it about himself. Garfunkel’s better half shared the spotlight with the unsung musical heroes of “Saturday Night Live”, the backing band.
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Julio Enriquez is a Denver writer and photographer, editor of the Cause=Time blog and a regular contributor to Reverb
