“Ladies & Gentleman ... 50 Years of SNL Music” to Explore “The Tightrope Walk” of Live Television
- Special premieres Jan. 27 on NBC
Being the musical guest on “Saturday Night Live” is, to hear Miley Cyrus tell it, “the tightrope walk.
“They want to see you dangle, they don’t want to see you fall,” Cyrus says in the trailer for “Ladies & Gentleman ... 50 Years of SNL Music,” premiering Jan. 27 on NBC.
From Cyrus to Bob Dylan; from the Grateful Dead to Charli XCX; from Stevie Wonder to Sabrina Carpenter - and of course the famous (Nirvana, Funky 4 + 1) and infamous (Sinéad O’Conner, Ashlee Simpson) appearance - co-directors Oz Rodriguez and Questlove seek to pack a half-century and nearly 1,000 musicians into one three-hour reel. If the two-minutes of whiplash that are the trailer are indicative of the film, quantity will overwhelm quality.
In addition to the music, “Ladies & Gentlemen …” will explore the music makers dabbling in the show’s comedic side, which Mick Jagger said is hard work.
“You have to run from the music sketch - and you’re all covered in sweat - and change,” he says.
Read Sound Bites’ previous coverage here.
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