Blue Oyster Cult’s Buck Dharma reflected again on the immortal Saturday Night Live “More Cowbell” sketch that lampooned their hit song “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper,” saying the results were ultimately positive — even if it forced the band to take preventative measures in concert.
The sketch, which aired on April 8, 2000, starred Will Ferrell as fictional band member Gene Frenkle and Christopher Walken as producer Bruce Dickinson. Ferrell, dressed in a ridiculously tight and low-cut shirt, plays the cowbell so aggressively while recording “Reaper” that he distracts and infuriates his bandmates. Walken, however, is obsessed with capturing more of the “dynamite sound,” famously declaring, “I’ve got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!”
“More Cowbell” has become one of the most popular sketches in SNL history, and it’s changed the lives of those involved, for better or worse. But as Dharma told Vulture, the good has outweighed the bad.
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Why Blue Oyster Cult Had to Ban Cowbells at Their Shows
“It’s funny to think about,” Dharma said. “I feel bonded to Will and Christopher in a way, because we’re all at the mercy of the cowbell sketch in different ways. I feel a little bit of kinship and sympathy with them. Will’s character, Gene Frenkle, was made up. We dedicate the song to him sometimes. But I would tell Christopher: It’s all bearable, I suppose. Blue Oyster Cult got through it and we persevered. When we play ‘Reaper,’ people still mimic playing the cowbell, and we had to ban people from bringing actual cowbells to the concerts. But, again, it’s a tiny cross to bear.”
The “More Cowbell” sketch was so popular that it even forced Blue Oyster Cult to retroactively add cowbell to live performances of their hit song. “For 20-odd years, we didn’t use a live cowbell for our shows and never considered it,” Dharma explained. “We had to play the cowbell because there was just no getting away from it. I’m grateful that as significant as the sketch is — because after 25 years, it still is — it didn’t kill the song, its original intent, or its original mood. It’s still used as a cue in horror movies when you want that mysterious and metaphysically uneasy vibe. So I’m glad the sketch didn’t kill the song and didn’t make it one big joke.”
As for whether Walken’s prescription for more of the signature instrument was correct, Dharma said: “I think the cowbell was just as loud as it should be.”
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Gallery Credit: Corey Irwin
