Saturday Night Live is one of the longest-running TV shows in American history. Every show features a celebrity guest host and two performances by a musical act each week. The show returns for its 51st season on Saturday, October 4th, at 11:30 on NBC.
Several of the biggest bands and artists from the ‘80s have performed live from Studio 8H on Saturday nights, so we thought we’d take a trip back in time and look at every time your favorite artists from the ‘80s performed on, or hosted SNL.
List of bands/artists that have hosted or performed on Saturday Night Live
Season 3
- Billy Joel - Musical guest on February 18th, 1978
- Eddie Money - Musical guest on March 18th, 1978
Season 4
- The Rolling Stones - Host and musical guest on October 7th, 1978
- Devo - Musical guest on October 14th, 1978
- Frank Zappa - Host and musical guest on October 21st, 1978
- Van Morrison - Musical guest on November 4th, 1978
- Kate Bush - Musical guest on December 9th, 1978
- Mick Jagger and Peter Tosh - Musical guest on December 16th, 1978
- The Doobie Brothers - Musical guest on January 27th, 1979
- Talking Heads - Musical guest on February 10th, 1979
- Bette Midler - Musical guests on May 26th, 1979
Season 5
- Blondie - Musical guest on October 13th, 1979
- Chicago - Musical guest on November 3rd, 1979
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Musical guest on November 10th, 1979
- David Bowie - Musical guest on December 15th, 1979
- The B-52’s - Musical guest on January 26th, 1980
- The J. Geils Band - Musical guest on March 8th, 1980
Season 6
- James Brown - Musical guest on December 13th, 1980
- Jack Bruce & Friends - Musical guest on January 10th, 1981
- Cheap Trick - Musical guest on January 17th, 1981
- Jimmy Cliff - Musical guest on February 7th, 1981
- Deborah Harry - Host and musical guest on February 14th, 1981
- Prince - Musical guest on February 21st, 1981
- Todd Rundgren - Musical guest on February 21st, 1981
Season 7
- Rod Stewart - Musical guest on October 3rd, 1981
- The Kinks - Musical guest on October 10th, 1981
- Rick James - Musical guest on November 7th, 1981
- The Go-Go’s - Musical guest on November 14th, 1981
- Billy Joel - Musical guest on November 14th, 1981
- The Spinners - Musical guest on December 12th, 1981
- The Allman Brothers Band - Musical guest on January 23rd, 1982
- Lindsey Buckingham - Musical guest on February 6th, 1982
- Luther Vandross - Musical guest on February 20th, 1982
- Hall & Oates - Musical guest on February 27th, 1982
- Mink DeVille - Musical guest on March 20th, 1982
- John Cougar Mellencamp - Musical guest on April 10th, 1982
- Elton John - Musical guest on April 17th, 1982
- The Charlie Daniels Band - Musical guest on April 24th, 1982
- Sparks - Musical guest on May 15th, 1982
- Olivia Newton-John - Host and musical guest on May 22nd, 1982
Season 8
- Queen - Musical guests on September 25th, 1982
- George Thorogood & The Destroyers - Musical guests on October 2nd, 1982
- The Clash - Musical guest on October 9th, 1982
- Men At Work - Musical guest on October 23rd, 1982
- Kenny Loggins - Musical guest on November 13th, 1982
- Squeeze - Musical guest on November 20th, 1982
- Laura Branigan - Musical guest on December 4th, 1982
- Lionel Richie - Musical guest on December 11th, 1982
- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Musical guest on February 19th, 1983
- Duran Duran - Musical guest from March 19th, 1983
- Michael McDonald - Musical guest from April 16th, 1983
- Stevie Wonder - Host and musical guest on May 7th, 1983
- Dexys Midnight Runners - Musical guest on May 14th, 1983
Season 9
- John Cougar Mellencamp - Musical guest on October 8th, 1983
- Men At Work - Musical guest on October 22nd, 1983
- Mick Fleetwood’s Zoo - Musical guest on November 12th, 1983
- Loverboy - Musical guest on November 19th, 1983
- Big Country - Musical guest on December 3rd, 1983
- Stevie Nicks - Musical guest on December 10th, 1983
- Huey Lewis And The News - Musical guests on January 14th, 1984
- The Motels - Musical guest on January 21st, 1984
- Billy Idol - Musical guest on January 28th, 1984
- Adam Ant - Musical guest on February 11th, 1984
- The Fixx - Musical guest on February 18th, 1984
- Kool & the Gang - Musical guest on February 25th, 1984
- Madness - Musical guest on April 14th, 1984
- Spinal Tap - Musical guest on May 5th, 1984
- The Cars - Musical guest on May 12th, 1984
Season 10
- Thompson Twins - Musical guest on October 6th, 1984
- Peter Wolf - Musical guest on October 13th, 1984
- Chaka Khan - Musical guest on November 3rd, 1984
- Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Musical guest on November 10th, 1984
- The Kinks - Musical guest on December 1st, 1984
- The Honeydrippers - Musical guests on December 15th, 1984
- John Waite - Musical guest on January 12th, 1985
- Billy Ocean - Musical guest on January 19th, 1985
- Tina Turner - Musical guest on February 2nd, 1985
- Bryan Adams - Musical guest on February 9th, 1985
- Power Station - Musical guest on February 16th, 1985
- The Commodores - Musical guest on March 30th, 1985
- Santana - Musical guest on March 30th, 1985
- Greg Kihn - Musical guest on April 13th, 1985
Season 11
- Madonna - Host / Simple Minds - Musical guest on November 9th, 1985
- Sheila E - Musical guest on November 16th, 1985
- Mr. Mister - Musical guest on December 7th, 1985
- Sade - Musical guest on December 14th, 1985
- The Cult - Musical guest on December 21st, 1985
- The Replacements - Musical guest on January 18th, 1986
- Stevie Ray Vaughan - Musical guest on February 15th, 1986
Season 12
- Run-DMC - Musical guest on October 18th, 1986
- Ric Ocasek - Musical guest on November 8th, 1986
- The Pretenders - Musical guest on December 13th, 1986
- Deborah Harry - Musical guest on January 24th, 1987
- Bruce Hornsby & The Range - Musical guest on January 31st, 1987
- Willie Nelson - Host and musical guest on February 21st, 1987
Season 13
- Sting - Musical guest on October 17th, 1987
- LL Cool J - Musical guest on October 24th, 1987
- The Cars - Musical guest on October 31st, 1987
- Simply Red - Musical guest on November 14th, 1987
- Cher - Musical guest on November 21st, 1987
- Bryan Ferry - Musical guest on December 5th, 1987
- Buster Poindexter and David Gilmour - Musical guests on December 12th, 1987
- Terence Trent D’Arby - Musical guest on February 13th, 1988
- Randy Travis - Musical guest - February 20th, 1988
- 10,000 Maniacs - Musical guest on February 27th, 1988
Season 14
- Keith Richards - Musical guest on October 8th, 1988
- The Sugarcubes - Musical guest on October 15th, 1988
- Mark Knopfler - Musical guest on October 22nd, 1988
- Edie Brickell and New Bohemians - Musical guest on November 5th, 1988
- Tracy Chapman - Musical guest on November 19th, 1988
- The Bangles - Musical guest on December 3rd, 1988
- Bobby McFerrin - Musical guest on December 10th, 1988
- Little Feat - Musical guest on December 17th, 1988
- Luther Vandross - Musical guest on February 11th, 1989
- Elvis Costello - Musical guest on March 25th, 1989
- Dolly Parton - Host and musical guests on April 15th, 1989
- John Mellencamp - Musical guest on April 22nd, 1989
- Fine Young Cannibals - Musical guest on May 13th, 1989
- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Musical guest on May 20th, 1989
Season 15
- Billy Joel - Musical guest on October 21st, 1989
- Don Henley - Musical guest on October 28th, 1989
- Eurythmics - Musical guest on October 28th, 1989
- David Byrne - Musical guest on November 11th, 1989
- k.d. lang - Musical guest on December 2nd, 1989
- Tracy Chapman - Musical guest on December 16th, 1989
- Harry Connick Jr. - Musical guest on January 13th, 1990
- Bonnie Raitt - Musical guest on January 13th, 1990
- Aerosmith - Musical guest on February 17th, 1990
- The Pogues - Musical guest on March 17th, 1990
- Eric Clapton - Musical guest on March 24th, 1990
- The Smithereens - Musical guest on April 14th, 1990
- The B-52’s - Musical guest on April 21st, 1990
Season 16
- Sinéad O’Connor - Musical guest on September 29th, 1990
- Morris Day & The Time - Musical guest on October 20th, 1990
- Faith No More - Musical guests on December 1st, 1990
- Sting - Host and musical guest on January 19th, 1991
- INXS - Musical guest on February 9th, 1991
- Whitney Houston - Musical guest on February 23rd, 1991
- The Black Crowes - Musical guest on March 16th, 1991
- R.E.M. - Musical guest on April 13th, 1991
- Elvis Costello - Musical guest on May 18th, 1991
Season 17
- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Musical guest on October 12th, 1991
- Bonnie Raitt - Musical guest on October 26th, 1991
- Skid Row - Musical guests on November 2nd, 1991
- Annie Lennox - Musical guest on April 18th, 1992
- Bruce Springsteen - Musical guest on May 9th, 1992
Season 18
- Sinéad O’Connor - Musical guest on October 3rd, 1992
- 10,000 Maniacs - Musical guest on October 31st, 1992
- Morrissey - Musical guest on November 14th, 1992
- Sade - Musical guest on November 21st, 1992
- The Black Crowes - Musical guest on December 12th, 1992
- Bon Jovi - Musical guest on January 9th, 1993
- Madonna - Musical guest on January 16th, 1993
- Mick Jagger - Musical guest on February 6th, 1993
- Paul McCartney - Musical guest on February 13th, 1993
- Sting - Musical guest on February 20th, 1993
- Peter Gabriel - Musical guest on April 10th, 1993
- Willie Nelson and Paul Simon - Musical guests on May 15th, 1993
Season 19
- Aerosmith - Musical guest on October 9th, 1993
- Billy Joel - Musical guest on October 23rd, 1993
- Paul Wessterberg - Musical guest on December 4th, 1993
- UB40 - Musical guest on February 12th, 1994
- The Pretenders - Musical guest on May 7th, 1994
- Janet Jackson - Musical guest on May 14th, 1994
Season 20
- Eric Clapton - Musical guest on September 24th, 1994
- Bonnie Raitt - Musical guest on October 1st, 1994
- R.E.M. - Musica guest on November 12th, 1994
- Tom Petty - Musical guest on November 19th, 1994
- Beastie Boys - Musical guest on December 10th, 1994
- Bon Jovi - Musical guest on February 18th, 1995
- Annie Lennox - Musical guest on March 18th, 1995
- Rod Stewart - Musical guest on May 13th, 1995
Season 21
- Rancid - Musical guest on November 18th, 1995
- Sting - Musical guest on February 24th, 1996
- The Cure - Musical guests on May 11th, 1996
Season 22
- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Musical guest on September 28th, 1996
- New Edition - Musical guest on October 19th, 1996
- Whitney Houston - Musical guest on December 14th, 1996
- David Bowie - Musical guest on February 8th, 1997
- Tina Turner - Musical guest on February 22nd, 1997
- Sting - Host on March 15th, 1997
- Aerosmith - Musical guest on March 22nd, 1997
Season 24
- Beastie Boys - Musical guest on November 21st, 1998
- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Musical guest on April 10th, 1999
Season 25
- David Bowie - Musical guest on October 2nd, 1999
- Sting - Musical guest on November 20th, 1999
- R.E.M. - Musical guest on December 11th, 1999
- AC/DC - Musical guest on March 18th, 2000
Season 26
- U2 - Musical group on December 9th, 2000
- Don Henley - Musical guest on March 10th, 2001
- Aerosmith - Musical guest on March 17th, 2001
- Bon Jovi - Musical guest on May 12th, 2001
Season 27
- Mick Jagger - Musical guest on December 8th, 2001
Season 28
- Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - Musical guest on October 5th, 2002
Season 29
- Janet Jackson - Host and musical guest on April 10th, 2004
Season 31
- Prince - Musical guest on February 4th, 2006
Season 33
- Jon Bon Jovi - Host on October 13th, 2007
Season 35
- U2 - Musical guest on September 26th, 2009
- Bon Jovi - Musical guest on December 12th, 2009
- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Musical guest on May 15th, 2010
Season 36
- Paul McCartney - Musical guest on December 11th, 2010
- Elton John - Host and musical guest on April 2nd, 2011
- Season 37
- Mick Jagger - Host and musical guest on May 19th, 2012
Season 38
- Paul McCartney - Musical guest on December 15th, 2012
Season 40
- Prince - Musical guest on November 1st, 2014
Season 41
- Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - Musical guest on December 19th, 2015
Season 43
- U2 - Musical guest on December 2nd, 2017
Season 45
- David Byrne - Musical guest on February 29th, 2020
Season 46
- Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - Musical guest on December 12th, 2020
Season 50
- Stevie Nicks - Musical guest on October 12th, 2024
- Elton John - Musical guest on April 5th, 2025
What is your favorite era of Saturday Night Live? Let us know by leaving a comment below or by sending us an open mic on our smartphone app.
