Everything You NEED to Know About SNL Season 1 (1975-76)

Everything You Need To Know About Saturday Night Live
Season 1 (1975-1976)

Hosts Jon Schneider and James Stephens (Saturday Night Network) explore season-by-season the cast members, sketches, characters, and backstage stories that have made Saturday Night Live a television institution.

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Everything You Need to Know About Saturday Night Live:
Executive Producers: Jon Schneider & James Stephens
Producers: Matthew Ammon, Cameron Bristow, Ellis Mitchell
Announcer: Alex Quintero
Post Production: JPS Productions
“News Theme Logo” composed by Alexander Rufire; “Broadcast News Opener” by Motionsparrow are used under license from Envato Elements Pty Ltd.

About Saturday Night Network:
The Saturday Night Network (SNN) is a podcast network that releases to thousands of SNL fans each week featuring biweekly coverage of Saturday Night Live from a team of over 25 diverse podcasters, journalists and superfans. The SNN’s rotating panels includes commentary from writers at Entertainment Weekly, Vulture, The A/V Club, and New York Magazine, in addition to industry experts who have worked with comedy troupes such The Second City, SNL archivists & record-keepers, and professional hosts.

Programming on the Saturday Night Network includes analysis of modern-day episodes, interviews with SNL cast, crew, and alumni, and promotion and red-carpet interviews for festivals like Just for Laughs & Blues Brothers Con.

The Saturday Night Network broadcasts via all major podcast listening platforms including Apple Podcasts & Spotify, as well as on video via the Saturday Night Network YouTube channel.

The purpose of this video is to offer analysis, commentary, and critique, with the commentators offering a unique and educated perspective as established historians and experts in the area of sketch comedy, music, and popular culture. The video is presented under fair use (in the United States under Section 107 of the Copyright Act in 1976, providing allowance for purposes such as commentary, criticism, research, education, and news reporting) provisions of copyright law.

Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
4:16 - George Carlin / Janis Ian, Bily Preston
6:26 - Paul Simon
6:54 - Rob Reiner
7:24 - Candice Bergen / Esther Phillips
8:18 - Robert Klein / ABBA, Loudon Wainwright III
8:25 - Lily Tomlin
8:31 - Richard Pryor / Gil Scott-Heron
8:58 - Candice Bergen / Martha Reeves, The Stylistics
9:09 - Elliott Gould / Anne Murray
9:19 - Buck Henry / Bill Withers, Toni Basil
9:45 - Peter Cook, Dudley Moore / Neil Sedaka
9:53 - Dick Cavett / Jimmy Cliff
9:58 - Peter Boyle / Al Jarreau
10:01 - Desi Arnaz
10:03 - Jill Clayburgh / Leon Redbone
10:12 - Anthony Perkins / Betty Carter
10:15 - Ron Nessen / Patti Smith Group
10:41 - Raquel Welch / Phoebe Snow, John Sebastian
11:06 - Madeline Kahn / Carly Simon
11:11 - Dyan Cannon / Leon & Mary Russell
11:13 - Buck Henry / Gordon Lightfoot
11:15 - Elliott Gould / Leon Redbone, Harlan Collins, Joyce Everson
11:53 - Louise Lasser / The Preservation Hall Jazz Band
12:03 - Kris Kristofferson / Rita Coolidge
12:18 - SNL Season 1 Summary

#snl #saturdaynightlive

[groovygod]

You didn't mention that during Michael's Beatles offer, Paul McCartney and John Lennon were at Lennon's apartment at the Dakota about 20 blocks away . They discussed going down to NBC and collecting the money that night but in the end Lennon said he was too tired

[jackiechristian-disy]

The excitement of being a teenager when this show first aired was immense. No one had seen a show of this genre before. My parents loved the fact that Saturday night ended with all the teens from school, watching the show in our rec room by ourselves. My parents knew where we would be by 10:30 every Saturday night...At home, safe and sound, having fun.

[SuperC]

I was in the audience for the premiere. I was only 21 at the time. Didn’t realize it was the beginning of an era!

[mrchopsticks]

I used to work in the SNL control room. Its always cool when they show it so I can see where I used to sit and how the backstage area changed over the years.

[randimillman-brown]

I was 15 and my Dad and I used to watch SNL - became a bonding thing for us - we loved Gilda Radner and John Belushi in particular. I also remember us laughing so hard tears were streaming down our faces. He passed away in 2003 and I will be thinking of him tonight during the 50th anniversary show.

[Cre-Art]

I worked at NBC when SNL began and was fortunate to see the rehearsals. Then my husband and I would watch the recorded versions at night. That premiere season, and cast, is still one of our favorites. BTW, for anyone who has never seen a live production turned into a TV show—what you see on stage is very different than what appears on screen. For example, in one episode there is a "crowded" disco dance floor (I think this was from Gilda Radner's "Jewish Jeans" sketch). It's just the camera close up that makes it appear crowded, when in fact, it was a small platform with maybe a dozen people on it. The wonders of imagination and good production skills. :) Thanks for this series.

[austin]

Really love your channel this is such a great idea. Really wish SNL themselves did a better job of archiving every single season of the show and providing the timeline. It's been 50 years but a lot of us younger fans have only been watching for about 25-30 and missed a lot.

[laudanum]

My late father was a big George Carlin fan so when he heard that Carlin was hosting a new comedy show called SNL he was eager to see it. I was only 10 at the time but was allowed to stay up late on Friday and Saturday nights. So we watched the first of many SNL shows together that night. I can remember quite a few sketches that my dad wasn't sure I should be watching but he never told me to leave the room. One of the things I loved about SNL was the musical guests as I loved seeing some of my favorite groups live. Thanks Dad!

[fw]

John playing Joe Cocker was brilliant. He had is mannerisms and voice down pat. These first few seasons can never be beaten.

[margaretbates]

Yes sir it changed my Saturday Night along with all my friends. We had SNL parties every weekend - laughed and laughed till we cried sometimes. Great memories.

[longlakeshore]

It was all we talked about at school the next week.VCRs were rare so we used collective memory to re-create the sketches.

[heidifedor]

A running gag for years sees production designer, Akira Yoshimura playing Sulu in all Star Trek sketches from 1976 all the way up until. The last Star Trek sketches with host Chris Pine in 2017. This included the Love Boat/the Next Generation sketch with Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard.

[jwwj]

Thank you for taking me back in time when I was only 24, so young, healthy & had my eyes wide open. Our country was way different & this funny, cutting edge show reflected our sense of humor. People would actually get together, have a small party around a TV set on a late Saturday night. Good times for sure, can’t wait to see the next few seasons.

[greenbeagle]

"Mr Bill" was my absolute favorite...!!!

[benjaminhawthorne]

Garrett Morris does NOT have the recognition of some of the other cast members, but his "For the Hearing Impaired" bit, where he does NOT use "Sign Language, " but simply cups his hands around his mouth and shouts loudly, was the funniest thing I'd seen. Seeing it again, just now, Forty-Eight (48) years later, I again, laughed out loud!

And after my disturbed sister yelled as loudly as she could into my ear...I myself, am now "Hearing Impaired." But funny is STILL funny! 😂

[woohooboy]

Give the original cast members their props. They are the foundation on which the show is built. They created the template which would allow the series to continue on, long after they left.

NO ONE could have possibly imagined (as the show is about to celebrate 50 years on the air) that this weird, quirky, off-baat late night comedy series would not only go the distance but become a national institution.

It would be responsible for being the launching ground for many careers and push the creative envelope of what could be done on network television.

[David_Barnert]

You should mention that the cast of ABC’s “Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell” (airing at 8PM) were called The “Prime Time Players.” That’s why, a month (and three and a half hours) later, Herb Sargent suggested that the NBC late night cast be called “The Not Ready For Prime Time Players.”

I'm glad to see you gave Michael O'Donoghue his due. I recently discovered his brilliant work with National Lampoon magazine and radio. He really made SNL what it was.

[speedlive]

Twenty or so freshmen including myself crowded into a tiny dorm room to watch this highly anticipated show that first time. And it did not disappoint! Hilarious! Nothing like it. I watched religiously every week for years.

[chanceotter]

I was 13 in 75 and started watching SNL with the first Robert Klein episode since he was my favorite comedian. By this time the show had buzz (sorry bee pun) at my junior high, and by the end of the season the show was must watch, and the cast were our superstars, as big to us as any band whose albums we cherished. It is hard to put into context how important the first 5 seasons were to my generation. You had to watch! No VCR, no internet. If you missed it it was gone until maybe a rerun. You would tape the audio off the TV and listen over again during week, or make a copy for a friend who missed it so they would not be left out. Very quickly it became a part of the pop culture bloodstream. SNL seasons 1-5 are as important as anything American TV has ever produced.