Band History

When comedienne Robin Duke joined Saturday Night Live in 1981, one of the first things she did was to introduce musical act Junior Walker and The All-Stars. In so doing, she was given a script to read stating that Junior Walker was the primary influence on the Saturday Night Live house band. The average viewer could have cared less, but anyone the least bit interested in R&B and soul music could readily draw parallels. Whatever the influences, the Saturday Night Live Band has remained one of the constantly top-notch elements of the program, even during the times when the show was painfully unfunny and barely watchable.

To find the true genesis of the SNL band, you have to venture north of the border to Canada. When Lorne Michaels was charged with putting together a new weekly 90-minute live comedy and variety show for NBC, he called on his old friend from the Forest Hill section of Toronto, Howard Shore, to put together the band. Among the musicians Shore tapped was another Canadian, Paul Shaffer, to play piano. The band featured a tight horn section with trumpet, trombone and three saxophones, one of whom was Lou Marini. His sax improvisations would be the centerpiece of the SNL opening theme, composed by Shore (though revised by others since, the authorship and copyright is still in Shore's name). And, unlike in most other TV bands of the time, one of "the boys in the band" was a woman, organist Cheryl Hardwick. It was like no other house band on television at the time.

During the first Lorne Michaels era, it wasn't unusual to see the musicians in some sort of costumes. The band has appeared as bees (backing John Belushi on a number called "King Bee" that predated the Blues Brothers by several years), nurses (on Lily Tomlin's first appearance, with Cheryl Hardwick sporting a fake mustache!), and ancient Egyptians (in the classic "King Tut" number from the landmark April 22, 1978 show hosted by Steve Martin). Paul Shaffer had even become a featured player in the show's cast, thanks to his funny impressions of Don Kirshner and other characters. (This visibility led to his longtime association with David Letterman.)

The show's musical directorship changed when Lorne Michaels stepped down as producer in 1980. Kenny Vance, a talented musican/conductor, fielded a band comprised of veterans of the first five years of the show, plus some new faces, including saxophonist Ronnie Cuber and pianist Leon Pendarvis. In a move that had some SNL purists up in arms, Vance introduced new opening and closing themes. However, Vance was gone by the time the show went off the air for re-tooling and Tom Malone was installed as musical director when the show returned for one final episode that season. Malone restored the original opening theme for his first episode, then introduced a totally new opening theme and restored the closing theme (which has not changed very much since it was composed in 1975) for the 1981-1982 season.

However, Malone's group was not as visible in the new series of shows. Occupying the loft above center stage, they would come down once in a while for special appearances in sketches or to accompany special musical guests like Olivia Newton John. By 1983, the band was cut to a sextet with new saxophone player Michael Brecker soloing on the theme.

When Lorne Michaels returned to produce the show in 1985, Howard Shore was asked to get the band back on track. Shore hired an almost totally new group of musicians for the 1985-1986 season, and restored the five-horn orchestration. Keeping only keyboardist Leon Pendarvis, the new players included sax player Lenny Pickett, trombonist Steve Turre, guitarist G.E. Smith, arranger/saxophonist Lew Del Gatto (actually a returnee, having played with the band in the late 70's) and bassist Tom Wolk. By mid-season, keyboardist Cheryl Hardwick (a mainstay of the show's first five seasons, and who during her SNL hiatus was musical director of Lorne's short-lived 'The New Show") returned to the band. These players would form the nucleus of the band for the next ten seasons. For 1986-1987, Shore turned over the musical reins of the show to Cheryl Hardwick and G.E. Smith, and the band for the first time was billboarded in the show's opening and was moved to the strategic center stage platform. Directors Dave Wilson and Paul Miller used shots of the band for the first time as commercial lead-in bumpers. By the middle of the season, Smith became the band's frontman.

Lenny Pickett replaced G.E. Smith as a musical director in 1995 and has added his own innovative ideas, keeping the show's musical design fresh and vibrant. The latest changes for the 2000 season were forced in part by the retirement of Cheryl Hardwick. Katrese Barnes, who had filled in during the previous season, has been named Cheryl's fulltime replacement. Also, James Genus will join the show on October 7 as the new bass player.

Even with minor personnel changes, the SNL Band endures. If you look at the Former Personnel page, you will see that some major musical talent has passed through the band over the years. One thing is certain: Studio 8H is one rockin' place twenty Saturday nights out of the year, thanks to the one and only Saturday Night Live Band.