25 Lesser-Known Facts About SNL’s ‘More Cowbell’ On Its 25th Anniversary

Few Saturday Night Live sketches are as revered and/or studied as “More Cowbell,” which first aired on the show 25 years ago today on April 8th, 2000. Over the years, it has topped multiple best sketch lists and inspired countless think pieces, knock-offs, and merch (official and otherwise). It was even the subject of its own 50-minute documentary on Peacock earlier this year.

All of which is to say that much of the history and cultural legacy of the sketch is common knowledge, at least among those who care. But amid all the talk of Will Ferrell’s shirt size, Jimmy Fallon biting on his drumsticks to avoid laughing, and earlier iterations of the sketch featuring a woodblock instead of a cowbell, there’s more obscure trivia.

So, what’s left to say after 25 years of “More Cowbell”? You’ve come to the right place.

“More Cowbell” is now older than “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper” was in 2000 when the sketch first aired on SNL.
Christopher Walken as Bruce Dickinson wasn’t the first to call himself “the cock of the walk” on SNL. Darrell Hammond delivered the same line as Sean Connery in the “Therapists” installment of “Celebrity Jeopardy” that aired two years before “More Cowbell” (Ferrell and Hammond were contributing writers to that sketch, alongside Steve Higgins and Adam McKay.)
The phrase “More Cowbell” is said six times in the sketch (four times by Christopher Walken, and twice by Will Ferrell).
While the original Cowbell used in the SNL sketch is said to still be in the possession of the show’s props department, after the sketch surged in popularity, founding Blue Öyster Cult member Buck Dharma auctioned off a cowbell that he said was played during the actual recording of “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper.” The winning bidder was Rick French, a PR executive and national trustee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum. It’s not known how much he paid for it.
Despite (multiple) reports to the contrary, there was never a “More Cowbell” movie planned. This urban myth seems to have stemmed from a 2017 post on Asher Perlman and John Sabine’s comedy blog titled “Oral History of the “More Cowbell” Movie That Never Was,” which includes quotes from Lorne Michaels and each of the performers in the sketch (except Chris Kattan, who they write they “forgot to reach out to for comment”). The post was a work of satire.
When it originally aired, the sketch was framed as a spoof of VH1’s Behind the Music. Intro and outro graphics from the music docuseries were removed when the sketch was uploaded to YouTube.
“More Cowbell” does not appear in the Peacock version of the episode in which it originally aired, nor does Christopher Walken’s monologue, in which the host sang “Saturday Night Is The Loneliest Night Of The Week.” Music rights are the likely culprit.
It’s hard to say how much (if any) of “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper”s enduring popularity 49 years after its release is attributable to SNL’s “More Cowbell” sketch, but the song was played 50,000 times on terrestrial and satellite radio in the year 2000, grossing an estimated $637,000 in revenue, not including album sales.
For the better part of the last 25 years, it had been thought that Will Ferrell co-wrote “More Cowbell” with a friend who was identified as playwright Donnell Campbell. Turns out Ferrell wrote the sketch alone, and has no friend by that name. Ferrell set the record straight in an interview with current SNL cast member Bowen Yang in late 2024, remarking to Yang, “according to Wikipedia, some playwright in Scotland or Ireland helped me. It’s so random.”
“More Cowbell” is popular, but with 29 million views on YouTube, it’s only the 27th most popular SNL sketch. The most-viewed SNL sketch on YouTube? 2015’s decidedly less classic “Porn Teacher,” which has racked up more than three times as many views.
In 2009, The White House (under then-President Barack Obama) celebrated its one millionth Twitter follower with a reference to “More Cowbell”: “A million followers? Nice,” the tweet read. “What would you like to see more of from this feed? Photos? Quotes? Cowbell? Tell us @whitehouse.” (16 years later, The White House has 1.5 million Twitter followers.)
Inspired by the 25th anniversary of “More Cowbell,” the ice hockey team the Milwaukee Admirals temporarily renamed themselves “The Milwaukee Cowbells” in late Feb 2025 as their fans broke a new world record for the most cowbells rung at the same time: 6,768.
Of the six performers in the sketch, three are named Chris (Parnell, Kattan, and Walken).
Somehow in a world where you can buy a real product named “Schweddy Balls,” actual “gold-plated diapers” have yet to be a thing. You can, however, chug a “Gold Plated Diapers” Ale at micro brewery BKS Artisan Ales in Kansas City, Missouri.
Although lore would suggest otherwise, “More Cowbell” was not an instant phenomenon. In fact, it wasn’t until after the DVD release of The Best of Will Ferrell (Vol 1) in August 2003 that cast members began noticing that the sketch was resonating with viewers. By October 2004, Walken was quoted telling the Orlando Sentinel “I hear about it everywhere I go.”
Though Will Ferrell’s cowbell-playing character Gene Frenkle in the sketch was entirely fictional, members of Blue Öyster Cult say fans frequently extend condolences for his death, which is referenced at the end of the sketch. At live shows, the band has taken to dedicating “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper” to Frenkle.
The phrase “More Cowbell” was first entered into the Urban Dictionary in July 2004. (Definition: 1. something everybody needs more of. 2. a remedy.) Dictionary.com added it 14 years later.
BustedTees claims to have sold the first “More Cowbell” shirts in August 2004. An Amazon search for clothing matching the term “More Cowbell” now yields 1,000+ results.
No, that’s not Gene Frenkle banging the cowbell at your local trade show, it’s Will Ferrell look-a-like David Babcock, who’s built a career making appearances as various Ferrell characters.
Current SNL announcer Darrell Hammond (who was still in the show’s cast in 2000) delivered the opening voiceover for “More Cowbell.”
Blue Öyster Cult lead singer Eric Bloom says the band had no advance warning about the sketch, but he happened to be watching SNL the night it aired. As he recalled in 2020, “My jaw dropped. I was a little more shocked than amused, you know?” (On repeat viewings, he says he found it to be very funny.)
Like most wardrobe worn on the show, SNL‘s costume department retains Will Ferrell’s original “More Cowbell” sweater in its New York warehouse. It was recently displayed at the NBC store at 30 Rock to help commemorate the show’s 50th anniversary.
Blue Öyster Cult, which never included a cowbell when they played “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper)” live prior to the SNL sketch, had to add it when it became a phenomenon. They also had to ban fans from bringing their own cowbells. BÖC’s Buck Dharma told Vulture in 2020, “it’s a tiny cross to bear.”
“More Cowbell” reaction videos have recently become a YouTube genre unto themselves, with several clips racking up tens and even hundreds of thousands of views.
Chris Parnell earned the nickname “The Iceman” for never breaking during sketches while at SNL, but he admits that even he cracked a smile at an opportune moment during “More Cowbell” when he happened to be off camera.