Questlove

Episode notes

(Photo: Daniel Speer)

Saturday Night Live recently celebrated its 50th year on the air. To celebrate the milestone there’s been special episodes, books, star studded concerts, super bowl commercials with revivals of classic sketches and more. 

One of our favorite pieces of media from that anniversary here at Bullseye is a documentary titled: Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music. Over the decades there have been some incredible performances and unforgettable musical moments.

The documentary is directed by Questlove. He is, of course, the drummer and bandleader for The Roots – the massively influential hip-hop group and house band on The Tonight Show. He’s an obsessive collector and curator of music – it’s hard to imagine someone more qualified to do a documentary about this kind of thing.

Questlove joins Bullseye to talk about his early memories of Saturday Night Live and gets into how he’s been involved with the show over the years – the extent of which might surprise you behind the scenes. Plus, Questlove takes a phone call from a pop music icon. You don’t want to miss it. 

Editors note: Questlove talked about Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) his documentary about the singer, songwriter and producer Sly Stone. Sly Stone died on Monday, June 9 – several weeks after we recorded this interview.