10 Glaring Omissions ‘SNL’s’ Sprawling Music Documentary

Ladies & Gentlemen….50 Years of SNL Music is a delightful reminder of why the show has endured for—if you haven’t heard—half a century. With over 1,800 musical performances to choose from, directors Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Oz Rodriguez were forced to make hard choices in this jam-packed two hours.

Expected highlights from Blues Brothers to Beyoncé pop up, but some classics never materialized. “More Cowbell”—an epic look at the making of Blue Öyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper”—was absent from this doc, but the four-part docuseries SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night devoted an entire episode to the Will Ferrell/Christopher Walken sketch.

It’s possible other numbers are being saved for the upcoming SNL50: The Homecoming Concert at Radio City Music Hall (streaming on Peacock Friday, Feb. 14) or the big primetime 50th anniversary special (airing live on NBC Sunday, Feb. 16).

In the meantime, here are 10 overlooked SNL musical moments in the documentary that are pop culture standouts—or personal favorites.

1. Where was Steve Martin’s “King Tut”? This song was inescapable in the late 70s, peaking at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. Martin is set to appear on the NBC special so the Pharaoh outfit might be at the dry cleaners—just as it did for the show’s 40th anniversary special in 2015.

1. In the doc, Justin Timberlake is asked to name his favorite musical impersonations and when he didn’t mention Robin Gibb, I screamed at my TV. Along with Jimmy Fallon playing brother Barry, “The Barry Gibb Talk Show,” has an unforgettable theme song to the tune of “Knights of Broadway,” explaining that the show will be “talkin’ bout politics…and the issues of the day-ay.”

1. There was an appropriately respectful chunk of time devoted to The Lonely Island and their digital shorts. “D--k in a Box” received a lot of love, but the medley didn’t include the exceptionally funny and catchy “3 Way (The Golden Rule.)” Starring Andy Samberg, Timberlake and Lady Gaga, the chorus features Sondheim-level lyrics: It’s okay when it’s in a three-way/It’s not gay when it’s in a 3-way/With a honey in the middle, there’s some leeway. Plus, “helicopter d--k” deserved its due.

1. “Domingo” (to the tune of Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” and featuring Ariana Grande singing off key) has already racked up 16 million views online since dropping in October, 2024. The sketch probably came out too late to make the cut, but just three seconds of Marcello Hernández announcing, “I am here!” would have scored.

1. “The Voice” is a deep cut. Shot like a horror movie, the film by Gary Weis stars original cast member Laraine Newman, who hears an unsettling operatic voice detailing her day and obsessing about a red dress. It says a lot about this short film that I watched it when it aired 37 years ago and I still think about it all the time.

1. Taylor Swift appears briefly in the doc, but it would have been nice to hear a bit of her hilarious opening monologue (“La La La Song”) from 2009. A fun ending to the Kanye West section would have been Swift singing: You might be expecting me to say/Something bad about Kanye/And how he ran up on the stage/And ruined my VMA monologue/ But there’s nothing more to say/ ‘Cause everything’s okay/ I’ve got security lining this stage/This is my SNL monologue.

1. Kate McKinnon sitting at the piano, dressed as Hillary Clinton and singing “Hallelujah” on the Saturday after the 2016 election was transcendent. This sparse and moving tribute acknowledged the multiple deaths of Clinton’s campaign, the dream of feminism, and the singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen, who died earlier that week. “Thank god Leonard Cohen died,” Michaels said to himself at the beginning of that week, according to a new biography of the show’s creator.

1. A section devoted to dance would have been a lovely way to feature Gilda Radnor and Steve Martin performing “Dancing in the Dark,” Mike Myers’ German talk show “Sprockets,” Kristen Wiig’s Liza Minelli trying to turn off a lamp a la Bob Fosse, John Mulaney’s Cha Cha Slide at Ego Nwodim’s family reunion, Will Forte as a weirdo coach dancing in a football locker room, and Patrick Swayze and Chris Farley going head-to-head in Chippendales Audition.

1. Lounge singers The Sweeney Sisters—played by Jan Hooks and Nora Dunne and accompanied by pianist Marc Shaiman—appeared 10 times on the show and were so popular that the sisters popped over from the Pasadena Holiday Inn to open the 40th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1988. The sketch lasted almost eight minutes (!) and included lounge versions of theme songs, including Three’s Company and Bonanza. (Long, trailing sigh.)

1. The doc features Eddie Murphy impersonating Stevie Wonder and performing with Joe Piscopo as Frank Sinatra. But the show conveniently forgets about Billy Crystal’s take on Sammy Davis Jr. from the same era. During the 10th season, “Sammy” appeared multiple times and, yes, Crystal wore blackface. Instead of erasing it from history, the doc might have mentioned Crystal’s performances just to provide insight into just how much cultural norms have changed.