Fifty years ago, midway through the first season of what was then titled NBC’s Saturday Night, Lorne Michaels made his biggest on-camera impression to date. The young producer invited the Beatles, the most famous band in the world, to reunite on his show in exchange for the princely sum of $3,000.
The jokey offer was the start of SNL’s longest-running showbiz relationship—five decades of Beatles sketches, musical guest appearances, and—on multiple memorable occasions—members of the Fab Four themselves trying their hands at sketch comedy.
It was a mutual admiration society. Paul McCartney paid John Belushi $6,000 to imitate Joe Cocker at his birthday party in the 1970s, while later cast members like Dana Carvey, Chris Farley, and Jimmy Fallon lost their minds over the opportunity to meet a Beatle.
The fact that so many in the press anointed the original Not Ready for Primetime Players as “the Beatles of comedy” simply cemented the symbiosis. On the eve of McCartney’s return to the series as the musical guest for this weekend’s Season 51 finale, here’s a comprehensive timeline of nearly 30 SNL episodes in which generational comedy and music collided.
The Offer
April 24, 1976 (S1E18)
The rumor was that Howard Cosell, host of the original, short-lived Saturday Night Live on ABC, was desperately trying to book the Beatles for a reunion. When Michaels made his ludicrous offer to the band on live television, he was simultaneously mocking Cosell and opening the door for a reconciliation on his own show.
Knowing that at least some of the Beatles were in New York, Michaels alerted NBC security to let the band in on the slight chance they actually showed up.
Lennon and McCartney told slightly different versions of what happened next, but both indicated that they happened to be together that night and considered a late-night trip to 30 Rock. “We were watching it and almost went down to the studio just as a gag,” Lennon told Playboy.
According to Neil Levy (Lorne’s cousin and a production assistant on the show at the time), Michaels had a comic plan if Lennon and McCartney had turned up, forbidding them to go on because they didn’t bring their own guitars. “His whole thing was to have the Beatles there and not let them play,” Levy remembered in Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live.
The Deal
May 8, 1976 (S1E19)
One episode later, Scred and the Mighty Favog—of SNL’s much-maligned “Land of Gorch” Muppets troupe—negotiate with Chevy Chase, offering to deliver the Beatles in exchange for keeping their jobs on the show.
The Beatles never showed—and the Muppets were gone by Season 2.
Beatles Offer 2
May 21, 1976 (S1E21)
One month after his original offer, Lorne Michaels again addresses the nation, conceding that he’d yet to seal the deal with the lads from Liverpool.
“We’ve heard from the Monkees, Freddy and the Dreamers, Herman’s Hermits, Peter and Gordon, the Cowsills, and Lulu,” lamented Lorne. “But still no word from the Beatles.”
So he upped his offer—to $3,200.
“Pretty Chintzy”
November 20, 1976 (S2E8)
George Harrison, the first Beatle to actually appear on SNL, argues with Lorne in the cold open. Harrison wants that three grand for showing up as the week’s musical guest, but since he’s a solo act, Lorne says he can only go $750.
Nevertheless, Harrison duets with host Paul Simon on “Here Comes the Sun” and “Homeward Bound.” He also shares Eric Idle–directed short films for his new songs “Crackerbox Palace” and “This Song.”
The Beatles Accord
October 7, 1978 (S4E1)
Fresh off the Camp David Accords, Jimmy Carter (Dan Aykroyd) summons McCartney (Bill Murray) and Lennon (John Belushi) to Camp David to broker a framework for reuniting the Beatles.
One key provision of the proposed agreement: “Yoko Ono will not sing, hum, scream, talk, or make any vocal sounds on any Beatle album or during any live Beatle performance.”
Paul Is Live
May 17, 1980 (S5E19)
McCartney, with wife Linda, makes his SNL musical guest debut with a filmed performance of “Coming Up.” The show also pokes fun at Paul getting busted for marijuana possession in Japan, with Father Guido Sarducci tossing rocks at his London window in hopes of an live interview. It takes three segments, but McCartney finally appears in his bathrobe to face the music.
“John and Yoko” Join Weekend Update
November 22, 1980 (S6E2)
Charles Rocket interviews John Lennon (host Malcolm McDowell) and Yoko Ono (Denny Dillon) on “Weekend Update,” just one month before Lennon’s murder.
Rock & Roll and Then Some
February 11, 1984 (S9E12)
Eddie Murphy stars as Clarence Walker, a man claiming not only to be the fifth Beatle but to have founded the band.
“I was ripped off by the whole group, and the whole group got a behind-kicking coming to them when I see ’em!” shouted Walker.
Ringo Starr Hosts
December 8, 1984 (S10E8)
Ringo Starr becomes the first Beatle to host the show (and also the last, a surprising fact considering how many cameos and musical appearances McCartney has under his belt).
As for Beatles comedy, Starr puts himself up for auction in a band memorabilia sale during the cold open—sadly, no one bids.
“Ringo” Visits Entertainment Tonight
December 14, 1985 (S11E5)
In Tom Hanks’ hosting debut, Jon Lovitz appears as Ringo Starr during an Entertainment Tonight cold open.
Choppin’ Broccoli 3
February 14, 1987 (S12E11)
Lovitz takes a second turn as Ringo, reassuring Dana Carvey’s Derek Stevens that it’s OK to sell out his “Choppin’ Broccoli” as a Birds Eye commercial jingle.
Casey Kasem Sings the Beatles
February 20, 1988 (S13E12)
Dana Carvey channels Casey Kasem to speak-sing an unlikely compilation of the Beatles’ greatest hits.
The Five Beatles
October 15, 1988 (S14E2)
Lennon biographer Albert Goldman (Phil Hartman) is revealed to be the fifth, trombone-playing Beatle. Jon Lovitz shows up again as Ringo, alongside host Matthew Broderick as Lennon, Carvey as McCartney, and Dennis Miller as George Harrison.
Ten Beatles Classics You Kind of Know the Words To
April 15, 1989 (S14E17)
The Kind of Know the Words To Singers announce their latest CD compilation, Ten Beatles Classics You Kind of Know the Words To. A sample song:
“Penny Lane, there is a da da da da da da da… La da da da da… Da da da da da da da…
In the pouring rain! Very strange!”
Global Warming Christmas Special
December 8, 1990 (S16E8)
Carvey is McCartney—again—pleading for sanity: “The other day I said to Linda, we’re losing the bloody planet! And after the planet, what have you got? You can’t live in the sky or in the sun! There’s nowhere to stand!”
Sinead O’Connor Awards
February 23, 1991 (S16E14)
Six episodes later, Carvey’s McCartney returns. Like the disgruntled O’Connor (Jan Hooks), he worries the music industry “has gotten all mumbly-jumbly-do.”
Paul and Linda McCartney Return
February 13, 1993 (S18E13)
33 Years ago today, The Chris Farley Show on SNL with Paul McCartney.
— Danny Deraney (@DannyDeraney) February 13, 2026
😂😂pic.twitter.com/qCCdQXVOKC
Paul and Linda McCartney are host Alec Baldwin’s musical guests, performing “Get Out of My Way,” “Biker Like an Icon,” and “Hey Jude.”
McCartney also appears on an instant-classic installment of The Chris Farley Show. “You remember when you were with the Beatles?” stammered Farley. “That was awesome!”
Performing the sketch with Chris Farley “was so, so lovely,” Sir Paul later said on the Fly on the Wall podcast.
“Everyone was in a jealous rage, quietly watching that (Farley) got to hang out with you,” admitted co-host David Spade. “It was one of the highlights of his life.”
Lennon Memorial
December 5, 1998 (S24E8)
Jimmy Fallon debuts his John Lennon impression as the dead Beatle’s ghost dispenses useless wisdom.
Fried Chicken’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
February 5, 2000 (S25E11)
Host Alan Cumming is McCartney, while Fallon reprises Lennon as the lads open a chain of fried chicken restaurants, helplessly calling out: “Number nine? Number nine?”
The Platinum Lounge
November 11, 2006 (S32E5)
Forget the Five-Timers Club—host Alec Baldwin is a member of the exclusive Platinum Lounge. McCartney makes a late-sketch cameo, only to have Steve Martin mistake him for Paul Simon.
Paul and Paul
December 11, 2010 (S36E9)
McCartney works overtime as Paul Rudd’s musical guest, performing multiple songs before closing with “Get Back.”
He also appears in Rudd’s monologue, joins a “Weekend Update” desk piece, and plays an extremely tiny harmonica in “Stumblin,” a Lonely Island Digital Short.
Knights of the Realm
April 2, 2011 (S36E18)
Fred Armisen takes a turn as Ringo Starr as British superstars react to a dragon attacking London.
Holiday Pageant
December 15, 2012 (S38E10)
McCartney is game as a bungling triangle player in a sketch with host Martin Short.
When the show considered cutting the episode open with a tribute to the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting, McCartney reportedly protested. The tribute went on as scheduled.
Paul Crashes Jimmy Fallon’s Monologue
December 21, 2013 (S39E10)
It wouldn’t be an SNL holiday episode without a few big-name cameos. In 2013, McCartney joined Fallon during his monologue for a rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” with the SNL alum-turned-late-night host.
40th Anniversary Special
February 15, 2015
McCartney is one of several luminaries who interrupt Steve Martin’s monologue, performing a brief cover with Paul Simon. Later, he sings “Maybe I’m Amazed.”
Royal Baby Video
April 13, 2019 (S44E18)
Pete Davidson is the third SNL star to play Ringo—blink and you’ll miss his quick “Peace and love.”
50th Anniversary Special
February 16, 2025
McCartney closes the show with a medley of “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight,” and “The End.”
Afterward, Fred Armisen pranks Martin Short by convincing him he introduced the former Beatle as “Tony McCartney.”
McCartney Returns as Musical Guest
May 16, 2026 (S51E20)
If a certain rumor is to be believed, Paul McCartney’s return as musical guest alongside host Will Ferrell for this weekend’s Season 51 finale could include a reunion with Ringo Starr. It would not be the Beatles reunion Lorne Michaels first tried to broker in 1976—John Lennon and George Harrison are gone—but it would be a remarkable full-circle moment for one of SNL’s longest-running showbiz love affairs.
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