Here’s the Host & Musical Guest for Every ‘Saturday Night Live’ Season Premiere

Date: Oct. 11, 1975

Host: George Carlin

Musical guests: Billy Preston and Janis Ian

Notes: This was the only time there were two unrelated musical guests for an SNL season opener. Preston performed “Nothing From Nothing,” a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1974, and his current single “Fancy Lady.” Ian performed her classic “At Seventeen,” a No. 3 hit on the Hot 100, and “In the Winter.” Both of Ian’s songs were featured on Between the Lines, which had topped the Billboard 200 in the issue dated Sept. 20. As host, Carlin performed three monologues, including his classic “Baseball-Football” routine.

Date: Sept. 18, 1976

Host: Lily Tomlin

Musical guest: James Taylor

Notes: Taylor performed three songs – “Shower the People,” which was at its No. 22 peak on the Hot 100 at the time; a cover of Jr. Walker & the All-Stars 1966 hit “(I’m a) Road Runner” (featuring saxophonist David Sanborn); and the classic title track from his 1970 album Sweet Baby James. “Shower the People” was drawn from Taylor’s album In the Pocket, which had reached No. 16 on the Billboard 200 in August. “(I’m a) Road Runner” wound up on Taylor’s 2008 album, Covers.

Date: Sept. 24, 1977

Host: Steve Martin

Musical guest: Jackson Browne

Notes: Browne performed the title track from his upcoming album Running on Empty and the title track from his 1976 album The Pretender. The Pretender was his first album to reach the top five on the Billboard 200, hitting No. 5 in December 1976. Running on Empty reached No. 3 in March 1978. This episode marked the first appearance of the Festrunk Brothers, better known as “two wild and crazy guys,” played by Martin and Dan Aykroyd. Two months after this episode aired, Martin landed his first top 10 album on the Billboard 200, Let’s Get Small.

Date: Oct. 7, 1978

Host: The Rolling Stones

Musical guest: The Rolling Stones

Notes: The Stones performed three songs from Some Girls, a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 for two weeks in July – “Beast of Burden,” “Respectable” and “Shattered.” In addition, band members appeared in two sketches — a parody of The Tomorrow Show, in which Tom Snyder (played by Dan Aykroyd) interviews Mick Jagger; and an Olympia Cafe sketch, which featured Charlie Watts and Ron Wood.

Date: Oct. 13, 1979

Host: Steve Martin

Musical guest: Blondie

Notes: Blondie was the first act associated with the new wave scene to be booked as a season-opening musical guest. They performed their then-current hit “Dreaming” and what would become its follow-up, “The Hardest Part.” Both songs were drawn from Eat to the Beat, which would reach its No. 17 peak on the Billboard 200 in November.

Date: Nov. 15, 1980

Host: Elliott Gould

Musical guest: Kid Creole & the Coconuts

Notes: Kid Creole was a buzzy group at the time, but SNL was definitely early in giving them this kind of exposure. They had not yet cracked the Billboard 200 or the Hot 100. Kid Creole performed “Mister Softee” (from their non-charting 1980 album Off the Coast of Me) and “There But for the Grace of God Go I” (a non-album single). This was Jean Doumanian’s first episode as executive producer. She replaced Lorne Michaels, who left the show, along with the primary cast members, after five years of service. He’d be back.

Date: Oct. 3, 1981

Host: none

Musical guest: Rod Stewart

Notes: Stewart performed his current hit “Young Turks,” which would hit No. 5 on the Hot 100 in December. He also reached back a year for “She Won’t Dance With Me” and then nearly four years for “Hot Legs.” Tina Turner joined him on “Hot Legs.” (This was in the period where she was rebuilding her career before her triumphant 1984 comeback.)

Date: Sept. 25, 1982

Host: Chevy Chase

Musical guest: Queen

Notes: Queen performed “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” a No. 1 hit on the Hot 100 in early 1980, and their 1981 hit “Under Pressure” (but sans David Bowie, with whom they teamed on the record.) This was Queen’s final live performance in the U.S. with lead singer Freddie Mercury, who would die nine years later. Chase, who was the breakout cast member in SNL’s first season before leaving to pursue a film career, hosted this episode. But, weirdly, he wasn’t in New York. His segments were taped at NBC studios in Burbank, Calif.

Date: Oct. 8, 1983

Host: Brandon Tartikoff

Musical guest: John Cougar Mellencamp

Notes: Tartikoff, the head of NBC’s entertainment division, was an odd choice to be the host of a season-opener. The highly regarded executive was hardly a household name (except in households that read Variety). Tartikoff died in 1997, at age 48, from Hodgkin lymphoma. Mellencamp performed “Crumblin’ Down” and “Pink Houses.” Both songs were featured on his album Uh-Huh, which would reach No. 9 on the Billboard 200 in January 1984. Both songs became top 10 hits on the Hot 100.

Date: Oct. 6, 1984

Host: none

Musical guest: Thompson Twins

Notes: Thompson Twins performed “Hold Me Now,” a No. 3 hit on the Hot 100 in May, and their forthcoming single “The Gap.” Both songs were from their album Into the Gap, which had reached No. 10 on the Billboard 200 in May.

Date: Nov. 9, 1985

Host: Madonna

Musical guest: Simple Minds

Notes: SNL had one of the biggest music stars on the planet – as a host. Go figure. Simple Minds performed “Alive & Kicking,” which would reach No. 3 on the Hot 100 in December. It was drawn from Once Upon a Time, the band’s only top 10 album on the Billboard 200. The album would reach No. 10 in March 1986. This episode marked Lorne Michaels’ return as executive producer.

Date: Oct. 11, 1986

Host: Sigourney Weaver

Musical guest: none

Notes: While there was no official “musical guest,” Buster Poindexter appeared as a special guest and performed three songs. Weaver had starred in the summer box-office smash, Aliens. Madonna appeared in the cold open to read a mock statement from NBC about the lackluster previous season: “It was all a dream—a horrible, horrible dream.” This played off the season premiere of Dallas two weeks earlier in which all the events of the previous season were revealed to be Pam’s bad dream.

Date: Oct. 17, 1987

Host: Steve Martin

Musical guest: Sting

Notes: This was Martin’s third time hosting a season-opener. Sting performed “We’ll Be Together,” which would reach No. 7 on the Hot 100 in December, and “Little Wing.” Both songs appeared on his second solo album, …Nothing Like the Sun, which later hit No. 9 on the Billboard 200 in November and December. Sting also appeared in a sketch as James Bond villain Goldsting.

Date: Oct. 8, 1988

Host: Tom Hanks

Musical guest: Keith Richards

Notes: The Rolling Stones guitarist performed “Take It So Hard” and “Struggle” from his first solo album, Talk Is Cheap. The album would reach No. 24 on the Billboard 200 in November. Hanks’ film Punchline opened the day before this episode aired. His previous 1988 film, Big, made a bigger impression, and would bring him his first Oscar nomination for best actor.

Date: Sept. 30, 1989

Host: Bruce Willis

Musical guest: Neil Young

Notes: Young performed “Rockin’ in the Free World” and “No More” from his then-current album Freedom and “The Needle and the Damage Done” from his classic 1972 album Harvest. Harvest topped the Billboard 200 for two weeks in March 1972; Freedom would reach No. 35 on that chart in November. Willis’ hit film Look Who’s Talking – Willis was the voice of the baby – opened two weeks after this episode aired.

Date: Sept. 29, 1990

Host: Kyle MacLachlan

Musical Guest: Sinéad O’Connor

Notes: O’Connor performed “Three Babies” and “The Last Day of Our Acquaintance.” Both songs were from I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, which had spent six consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200 that spring. Writer Conan O’Brien appeared in the inevitable Twin Peaks sketch. (MacLachlan starred in that series.) 

Date: Sept. 28, 1991

Host: Michael Jordan

Musical Guest: Public Enemy

Notes: Public Enemy was the first rap act to be the musical guest in a season-opener on SNL. They performed “Can’t Truss It” and “Bring the Noise.” “Truss” appeared on their album Apocalypse 91…The Enemy Strikes Black, while “Noise” was originally released on the group’s breakthrough It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back set in 1988, but would later be memorably re-recorded along with metal band Anthrax for Apocalypse 91. The latter album would enter the Billboard 200 at No. 4 in the issue dated Oct. 19, the group’s highest ranking ever on that chart. Jordan was the first athlete to host a season-opener of SNL. This was the first time that both the host and the musical guest on a SNL season-opener were Black, a sign of change in TV.

Date: Sept. 26, 1992

Host: Nicolas Cage

Musical Guest: Bobby Brown

Notes: Brown performed “Humpin’ Around” and “Good Enough.” Both songs appeared on his album Bobby, which had entered the Billboard 200 at No. 2 in the issue dated Sept. 12, and both went top 10 on the Hot 100. Brown also appeared in the “Queen Shenequa Show” sketch. Cage was coming off the summer boxoffice hit Honeymoon in Vegas.

Date: Sept. 25, 1993

Host: Charles Barkley

Musical guest: Nirvana

Notes: Nirvana performed “Heart-Shaped Box” and “Rape Me.” Both songs appeared on In Utero, which would enter the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in the issue dated Oct. 9. A little more than six months after this appearance, Kurt Cobain took his own life. Barkley appeared in the “Charles Barkley’s Big, Tall & Black Men’s Stores” sketch.

Date: Sept. 24, 1994

Host: Steve Martin

Musical guest: Eric Clapton

Notes: Clapton performed “I’m Tore Down” and “Five Long Years.” Both songs appeared on From the Cradle, Clapton’s traditional blues album that would enter the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in the issue dated Oct. 1. At the end of the show, Clapton sat in with the SNL Band to play the closing theme.

Date: Sept. 30, 1995

Host: Mariel Hemingway

Musical guest: Blues Traveler

Notes: As mentioned in a sketch on the show, the original musical guest scheduled to appear on this episode was “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince” – as the legendary performer was cumbersomely known at the time. In his stead, Blues Traveler performed the zesty “Run-Around,” a top 10 hit on the Hot 100, and “Hook,” a top 30 hit. Both songs appeared on the album Four, which had reached its No. 8 peak on the Billboard 200 a few weeks earlier (issue dated Sept. 9). Hemingway was the star of the short-lived primetime soap Central Park West.

Date: Sept. 28, 1996

Host: Tom Hanks

Musical guest: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Notes: Petty & the Heartbreakers performed “Walls (No. 3)” and an electric version of “Angel Dream (No. 2)” The original versions of both songs appeared on Songs and Music From She’s the One, which had debuted and peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 in August. Hanks’ directorial debut, That Thing You Do!, opened the following week.

Date: Sept. 27, 1997

Host: Sylvester Stallone

Musical guest: Jamiroquai

Notes: Jamiroquai performed “Alright,” a song from their debut album, Travelling Without Moving. The album reached its No. 24 peak on the Billboard 200 on the chart dated Sept. 27.

Date: Sept. 26, 1998

Host: Cameron Diaz

Musical guest: Smashing Pumpkins

Notes: Smashing Pumpkins performed “Perfect” from their album Adore, which had entered the Billboard 200 at No. 2 a few months earlier (chart dated June 20). The band also appeared in the Roxbury Guys sketch. Jonathan Richman and Tommy Larkins, who performed musical interludes in Diaz’s summer box-office smash There’s Something About Mary, made a cameo appearance.

Date: Oct. 2, 1999

Host: Jerry Seinfeld

Musical guest: David Bowie

Notes: Bowie performed his classic “Rebel, Rebel” (from Diamond Dogs, which became his first top five album on the Billboard 200 in July 1974), and “Thursday’s Child” (from his then-current album ‘Hours…, which would debut and peak at No. 47 on the chart dated Oct. 23). Seinfeld appeared in sketches that tweaked SNL’s Point-Counterpoint franchise from the 1970s and also the jail cell setting of the finale of his landmark sitcom.

Date: Oct. 7, 2000

Host: Rob Lowe

Musical guest: Eminem

Notes: Eminem was the first solo rapper to be the musical guest on an SNL season-opener. He performed “Stan” (with Dido) and “The Real Slim Shady.” Both songs appeared on The Marshall Mathers LP, which had spent its first eight weeks on the Billboard 200 at No. 1 that spring and summer. “The Real Slim Shady” was Eminem’s first top 10 hit on that chart. (It peaked at No. 4 in June.) The rap icon also appeared during Weekend Update.

Date: Sept. 29, 2001

Host: Reese Witherspoon

Musical guest: Alicia Keys

Notes: This episode aired just 18 days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Alicia Keys performed “Fallin’” and “A Woman’s Worth.” Both songs appeared on Keys’ debut album Songs in A Minor, which had entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in July and spent a total of three weeks on top. In addition, “Fallin’” topped the Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks. “A Woman’s Worth” also made the top 10. Witherspoon was coming off her summer box-office smash Legally Blonde. This episode marked the first time that both the host and musical guest of a SNL season-opener were women.

Date: Oct. 5, 2002

Host: Matt Damon

Musical guest: Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band

Notes: Springsteen & the E Street Band performed “Lonesome Day” with Soozie Tyrell, and “You’re Missing.” Both songs appeared on Springsteen’s The Rising, which had spent its first two weeks on the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in August.

Date: Oct. 4, 2003

Host: Jack Black

Musical guest: John Mayer

Notes: Mayer performed “Bigger Than My Body” and “Clarity.” Both songs appeared on his album Heavier Things, which had entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 on the Sept. 27-dated chart. “Bigger Than My Body” cracked the top 40 on the Hot 100. Black’s hit film School of Rock opened the day before this episode aired. Kyle Gass, Black’s partner in Tenacious D, also appeared on the show.

Date: Oct. 2, 2004

Host: Ben Affleck

Musical guest: Nelly

Notes: Nelly performed “My Place” and “Na-NaNa-Na” with Jaheim. Both songs were from his album Suit, which entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in the issue dated Oct. 2. (Another Nelly album, Sweat, debuted at No. 2 that same week.) “My Place” reached No. 4 on the Hot 100.

Date: Oct. 1, 2005

Host: Steve Carrell

Musical guest: Kanye West

Notes: West performed a medley of “Gold Digger” and “Touch the Sky,” as well as “Heard ‘Em Say” with Adam Levine. All three songs were from West’s sophomore album Late Registration, which had spent its first two weeks on the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in September. “Gold Digger” logged 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100. Carrell was also red-hot, with the summer box-office smash The 40-Year Old Virgin and his sitcom The Office, which launched its second season on Sept. 20.

Date: Sept. 30, 2006

Host: Dane Cook

Musical guest: The Killers

Notes: The Killers performed “When You Were Young” and “Bones.” Both songs appeared on their sophomore album Sam’s Town, which had entered the Billboard 200 at No. 2 in the Oct. 21 issue. Lenny Pickett, Earl Gardner, and Steve Turre, members of the SNL Band, joined The Killers on “Bones.”

Date: Sept. 29, 2007

Host: LeBron James

Musical guest: Kanye West

Notes: West topped both the Billboard 200 and the Hot 100 in the same week he was the musical guest on SNL’s season-opener. Now, that’s what you call hot! West performed a medley of “Stronger” and “Good Life” and a medley of “Champion” and “Everything I Am.” All four songs appeared on his third album Graduation, which entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in the Sept. 29-dated issue. “Stronger” also topped the Hot 100 that week. “Good Life” later also made the top 10. West appeared in a 106 & Park sketch on the show.

Date: Sept. 13, 2008

Host: Michael Phelps

Musical guest: Lil Wayne

Notes: Lil Wayne performed “Got Money” and “Lollipop.” Both songs appeared on Tha Carter III, which had entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in June and spent a total of three weeks on top. “Lollipop” had topped the Hot 100 for five nonconsecutive weeks in the spring. “Got Money” also made the top 10. Phelps’ mother made a cameo appearance in the Olympic champion’s opening monologue. Phelps also starred in “The Michael Phelps Diet” sketch.

Date: Sept. 26, 2009

Host: Megan Fox

Musical guest: U2

Notes: U2 performed “Breathe” and “Moment of Surrender” from their 2009 album No Line on the Horizon and “Ultraviolet (Light My Way)” from their 1991 classic Achtung Baby. Both albums had entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1. Fox was the female lead of the summer box-office smash Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Date: Sept. 25, 2010

Host: Amy Poehler

Musical guest: Katy Perry

Notes: Perry performed “California Gurls” and “Teenage Dream”, highlights from her second Capitol album Teenage Dream, which had entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in in the issue dated Sept. 11. Both singles also topped the Hot 100. Perry also appeared in the “Bronx Beat” sketch and an SNL Digital Short. Poehler, then the star of Parks & Recreation and previously a SNL cast member from 2001-08, reprised her roles as Betty Caruso and Amber.

Date: Sept. 24, 2011

Host: Alec Baldwin

Musical guest: Radiohead

Notes: Radiohead performed “Lotus Flower” and “Staircase.” “Lotus Flower” appeared on the band’s album The King of Limbs, which had peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in April. “Staircase” was taken from the live video The King of Limbs: Live from the Basement (2011). Clive Deamer played additional drums and percussion for both of Radiohead’s performances.

Date: Sept. 15, 2012

Host: Seth MacFarlane

Musical guest: Frank Ocean

Notes: Ocean performed “Thinkin Bout You” and the single version of “Pyramids.” Both songs appeared on his album Channel Orange, which had entered the Billboard 200 at No. 2 in July. John Mayer, the 2003 musical guest, played guitar on both songs. MacFarlane was coming off the summer box-office hit Ted. In the opening monologue, MacFarlane dipped into his character voices from Family Guy and American Dad! 

Date: Sept. 28, 2013

Host: Tina Fey

Musical guest: Arcade Fire

Notes: Arcade Fire performed “Reflektor” and “Afterlife.” Both songs appeared on the band’s album Reflektor, which would enter the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in the issue dated Nov. 16. Also, Arcade Fire members Will Butler, Régine Chassagne and Win Butler appeared in the “New Cast Member or Arcade Fire” sketch. Fey, then a star of 30 Rock, had been an SNL writer and cast member from 1997–2006.

Date: Sept. 27, 2014

Host: Chris Pratt

Musical guest: Ariana Grande

Notes: Grande performed “Break Free” and “Love Me Harder” (the latter with The Weeknd). Both songs appeared on her album My Everything, which entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in the issue dated Sept. 13. Both songs also made the top 10 on the Hot 100. Grande also appeared as She-Ra in the “He-Man and Lion-O” sketch. Pratt was coming off the summer box-office smash Guardians of the Galaxy. Pratt’s then-wife Anna Faris (then starring in the sitcom Mom) appeared during his opening monologue.

Date: Oct. 3, 2015

Host: Miley Cyrus

Musical guest: Miley Cyrus

Notes: Cyrus performed “Karen Don’t Be Sad” and “The Twinkle Song.” Hillary Clinton introduced Cyrus’ first musical performance. The Flaming Lips appeared as Cyrus’ backing band for that performance. Clinton appeared in the “Hillary Clinton Bar Talk” sketch with Kate McKinnon (as Hillary’s alter-ego Val) and Darrell Hammond (as Bill Clinton).

Date: Oct. 1, 2016

Host: Margot Robbie

Musical guest: The Weeknd

Notes: The Weeknd performed “Starboy” and “False Alarm.” Both songs appeared on his Starboy album, which would enter the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in the issue dated Dec. 17, and would log five nonconsecutive weeks in the top spot. “Starboy” also topped the Hot 100 in the issue dated Jan. 7, 2017. The Weeknd also appeared on Weekend Update during an inevitable bit titled “The Weeknd Update.” Robbie was one of the stars of the summer box-office smash Suicide Squad.

Date: Sept. 30, 2017

Host: Ryan Gosling

Musical guest: Jay-Z

Notes: Jay-Z performed “Bam” with Damian Marley and “4:44.” Both songs appeared on his 4:44 album, which had topped the Billboard 200 for two weeks in the summer. Gosling’s film Blade Runner 2049 opened the following weekend. Gosling’s La La Land co-star, Emma Stone, appeared in his opening monologue.

Date: Sept. 29, 2018

Host: Adam Driver

Musical guest: Kanye West

Notes: Ariana Grande was set to be the musical guest of this season-opener, for what would have been the second time in five years, but she withdrew, citing “emotional reasons,” and was replaced by West. The rapper performed “I Love It” with Lil Pump and Adele Givens (the latter via prerecorded video), “We Got Love” with Teyana Taylor, and “Ghost Town” with Kid Cudi, 070 Shake and Ty Dolla Sign (on guitar). “Ghost Town” was drawn from West’s album Ye, which had entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in the week ending June 16.  Following the goodnights, West, wearing a Make America Great Again hat, went off-script with his support for Donald Trump. Driver starred in the acclaimed summer box-office hit BlacKkKlansman.

Date: Sept. 28, 2019

Host: Woody Harrelson

Musical guest: Billie Eilish

Notes: Eilish performed “Bad Guy” and “I Love You” with her brother and creative partner Finneas O’Connell. Both songs were from her debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, which had entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in April and logged a total of three weeks on top. “Bad Guy” also topped the Hot 100 in August.

Date: Oct. 3, 2020

Host: Chris Rock

Musical guest: Megan Thee Stallion

Notes: Megan Thee Stallion became the first female rapper to serve as musical guest on an SNL season-opener. She performed “Savage” with pre-recorded vocals from Beyoncé, Malcolm X and Tamika Mallory, and “Don’t Stop” with Young Thug. The “Savage” remix had topped the Hot 100 in May. Both songs would be featured on Megan’s album Good News, which would debut and peak at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in the Dec. 5 issue. Megan also appeared in the pre-recorded “Bottom of Your Face” and “NBA Bubble Draft” sketches. Rock was a SNL cast member from 1990-93.

Date: Oct. 2, 2021

Host: Owen Wilson

Musical guest: Kacey Musgraves

Notes: Musgraves was the first country or country crossover artist to be the musical guest on a SNL season-opener. She performed “Justified” and “Camera Roll” from her album Star-Crossed, which entered the Billboard 200 at No. 3 in the issue dated Sept. 25. Musgraves performed “Justified” wearing only a pair of boots, while seated on a stool cross-legged playing an acoustic guitar. It was the first time in the show’s history that a musical guest performed nude on stage in front of the audience – though a guitar strap and Musgraves’ hair kept things fairly PG. The staging was inspired by a scene in Forrest Gump in which Robin Wright’s character performs in the nude.

Date: Oct. 1, 2022

Host: Miles Teller

Musical guest: Kendrick Lamar

Lamar performed a medley of “Rich Spirit” and “N95” and later in the show, “Father Time” (featuring Sampha). All three songs are from his fifth studio album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, which entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in May. Lamar was the eighth rap star to serve as a season-opening musical guest, following Public Enemy, Eminem, Nelly, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z and Megan Thee Stallion. Teller co-starred in Top Gun: Maverick, the top box-office hit of 2022.

Date: Oct. 14, 2023

Host: Pete Davidson

Musical guest: Ice Spice

Ice Spice will be the second woman rapper, following Megan Thee Stallion, to serve as a season-opening musical guest. Davidson will be the fifth former cast member to return as host, following Chevy Chase (1982), Amy Poehler (2010), Tina Fey (2013) and Chris Rock (2020). (Note: Alec Baldwin, who hosted the 2011 season opener, has never been a full-fledged cast member, though he has served as guest host 17 times, more often than anyone else.)