'SNL's 'More Cowbell' Skit Didn't Originally Feature Any Cowbell

"I got a fever...and the only prescription is more cowbell." And with those words, Christopher Walken's groovy record producer Bruce Dickinson and then-Saturday Night Live cast members Will Ferrell, Chris Parnell, Chris Kattan and Jimmy Fallon made comedy history with arguably the funniest and most iconic sketch in the series' 50-season history. Given the momentousness of the skit that would become known as "More Cowbell" (fun fact: it's actually officially titled "Recording Session"), it's not a surprise that the producers of SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night — a new four-part docuseries honoring the legacy of the NBC institution, which drops on Peacock on Thursday, January 16 — would dedicate an entire episode to the viral rock-band parody.

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The sketch, of course, finds the SNL stars playing members of the hard-rock band Blue Öyster Cult as they record their classic 1976 track "(Don't Fear) The Reaper." As the record producer, guest host Christopher Walken regularly pauses the band's recording session to give a very specific note: he's simply gotta have more cowbell. Fictional cowbell player Gene Frenkle (Ferrell) then plays the percussion instrument so energetically that it drives the other band members nuts.  Ferrell's physical comedy, coupled with a wild '70s wig and a far too-tight top, took the bit to hysterical heights. "This sketch is a great example of the kind of freedom to create something that crazy," he revealed in the doc's third episode.

However, originally, the sketch didn't feature a cowbell at all. Instead of the titular instrument, Ferrell's first "Recording Session" script initially had Gene Frenkle playing a wood block. The idea, which the SNL alum had "germinating for decades" in his head, was actually pitched for an earlier Season 25 episode hosted by Norm MacDonald but was shelved for a few months and later rewritten to fit Christopher Walken's unique vocal delivery. "We would not be talking about the sketch today if it was Christopher Walken saying, 'I need more wood block'," culture reporter Dave Itzkoff declares in the documentary.

Related: Meet the Cast of 'SNL' Season 50

Along with that legendary rewrite, "More Cowbell" successfully withstood other challenges, like being set up in a "doomed" corner of Studio 8H far from the live audience, nicknamed "Shitcan Alley" by SNL cast and crew. The sketch itself is also riddled with historical inaccuracies. (The documentary humorously includes appearances from actual members of Blue Öyster Cult to dispel those musical falsehoods.) Despite all of that, we all know how it ended: with that "Recording Session" becoming one of the most iconic moments in sketch-comedy history, and a whole world emphatically embracing the percussive greatness of the lowly cowbell.

Related: 'SNL' Reveals Next Two Hosts and Musical Guests for Season 50