To celebrate 50 years of Saturday Night Live, the famous live sketch show hosted a star-studded concert on Friday, February 14, featuring musical guests who have appeared on the program throughout the decades. Cher was among the performers who took the stage at Radio City Hall for SNL50: The Homecoming Concert, singing her classic hit from 1989, “If I Could Turn Back Time.”
The 78-year-old wore the same outfit that she did in the famed music video from 36 years ago, turning back time for viewers as she rocked the same sheer black bodysuit from the visual. Adding a leather jacket on top, Cher showed the crowd just how well she's aging by wearing the very same look from so many years ago.
Other celebrities who performed at the event included Miley Cyrus, Bad Bunny, The Roots, Arcade Fire, Backstreet Boys, Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Chris Martin, David Byrne, and Lady Gaga. It was an evening of not only memorable solo performances, but also many one-time-only collaborations including Bonnie Raitt and Chris Martin; Arcade Fire, David Byrne, St. Vincent, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band; and Post Malone and Nirvana.
The concert, which was hosted by SNL alum Jimmy Fallon, was just one element of the enormous celebration of the show’s 50 years on air, leading up to Sunday’s SNL50: The Anniversary Special, live from Studio 8H.
The comedy series aired its first-ever episode in 1975 with musical guests Billy Preston and Janis Ian. To celebrate half a century on air, a star-studded special is set to air this Sunday, with Keith Raywood, who has been a production designer on the series for forty years, taking a moment to reflect on the series.
“I’ve been a part of this pretty much my entire adult life,” the Emmy-winning production designer told The Post. “I’ve always looked at it as something I love doing, but it’s also my job. We’re not designing things aware of what it might mean – like ‘this cowbell is going to become iconic’” he said, referring to Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken’s iconic “More Cowbell!” sketch.
After decades working on set, Raywood is just now realizing what a phenomenon the show truly is.
“It’s only recently that I’ve become aware of how much the show has meant to people, how much it’s meant to the culture, how much it’s meant to New York," he continued. “I wasn’t really aware of that until fairly recently. It’s very satisfying to know that I’ve been a part of all that.”