When Saturday Night Live arrived 50 years ago, it instantly became one of television’s biggest musical stages. While the lineup featured acts as diverse as Sun Ra, Willie Nelson, Gil Scott-Heron and the Preservation Jazz Hall Band, a close connection between rockers and the cast — especially Jim Belushi, who sat in with the Grateful Dead, befriended the Rolling Stones and even cosplayed as a bluesman in the Blues Brothers — rock ‘n’ roll dominated the lineup.
Related: 7 "Saturday Night Live" Cast Members with Ties to Greater Cleveland
Still, few fans had seen a rock ‘n’ roll band quite like DEVO, who arrived in bright-yellow hazmat suits and 3-D glasses (sans the red energy dome hats). One week after the Rolling Stones opened the fourth season, the Akron natives presented their subversive, angular and abrasive cover of “Satisfaction (I Can’t No).” If you watch the performance, which was introduced by host Fred Willard, you can hear a stunned audience pause, wonder what they just saw and then burst into applause. Rumor has it, Lorne Michael hated the Mark Mothersbaugh-led group but let the new wavers play as a negotiating tool with the band’s agent to land Neil Young (a wish not granted until 1989). DEVO bassist Gerald Casale said the audience wondered “What is this sh–?” but Mick Jagger gave the cover his seal of approval.
Related: The Case for DEVO in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Now, the band returns to the SNL stage as part of its SNL50: The Homecoming Concert from Radio Music Hall on Feb. 14 at 8 p.m.. Former cast member Jimmy Fallon hosts the show, and Peacock will livestream it. With more acts set to be announced, the lineup includes Arcade Fire, The B-52s, Backstreet Boys, Bad Bunny, David Byrne, Brandi Carlile, Miley Cyrus, DEVO, Brittany Howard, Jelly Roll, Lady Gaga, Chris Martin, Mumford & Sons, Post Malone, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Bonnie Raitt, Robyn, The Roots, Eddie Vedder and Jack White.
While DEVO held its farewell tour in late 2023 and early 2024, visiting unique venues such as the Historic Carrie Blast Furnace in Pittsburgh, the band has not ruled out continuing to play shows. In fact, the group has signed on to a few festivals this summer, including the Cruel World Festival in Pasadena, California, and a guest spot with My Chemical Romance. In honor of its 50th year last year, the band released a box set and appeared in a documentary.
Related: Mark Mothersbaugh Discusses Rock Hall and 50 Years of DEVO: Q&A
In 2022, the band received its third Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination but did not make the cut. When we asked Mothersbaugh about it, he said DEVO was supposed to be what came after rock ‘n’ roll anyway and joked that maybe he’d buy a parking spot at the Rock Hall and have himself buried there when he died.
“We’d be adjacent,” he said. “We’ll be Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-adjacent.”
The SNL appearance is cool, but if New York recognizes the band’s greatness, so should Cleveland — which is why we can’t get no satisfaction until DEVO in the Rock Hall.
Related: SNL’s Molly Kearney: Most Interesting People 2024
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