“I remember trying to explain to them how scratching worked. “The people on the show were so nervous,” Blondie guitarist Chris Stein told Rolling Stone. Thanks to the urging of hip-hop advocate Debbie Harry, of Blondie (whose “Rapture” was the first song with rapping to go No.1), the brought the boogie-down Bronx to America’s living rooms. SNL made history when the old-school legends Funky 4 + 1 led the first hip-hop performance on national network television. Now, decades later, mea culpas abound and O’Connor’s rendition goes down as one of the best SNL musical performances.Ĭlick to load video 12: Funky 4 + 1: That’s The Joint (1981) People predictably lost their minds, famously leading to more than 4,000 phone calls to NBC, and the Irish singer-songwriter being vilified in the news. 13: Sinead O’Connor: War (1992)īefore people were winning Oscars for speaking out against the abuse scandals in the Catholic church, Sinead O’Connor shocked American audiences when she performed a stunning a cappella rendition of Bob Marley’s “War,” altering the line “Fight racial injustice” to “Fight sexual abuse”, and then tearing up a picture of Pope John Paul II.
But instead of playing it safe with the hits like “New Orleans Is Sinking,” the Hip opted for a more nuanced performance of “Nautical Disaster” and “Grace Too,” with Gord Downie changing the opening lyric from “He said I’m fabulously rich” to “They say we’re Tragically Hip”. At this time, the Hip had already become “Canada’s band”, and were primed – or at least waiting – for a stateside breakthrough. “It’s my honor to introduce to America, my friends, The Tragically Hip,” pronounced SNL veteran and Ontario native Dan Aykroyd, as he introduced the group to the SNL stage. 14: The Tragically Hip: Nautical Disaster, Grace Too (1995)
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