‘SNL’ Honors Prince With Tribute Episode

Hosted by former cast member Jimmy Fallon, last night’s episode of Saturday Night Live was a tribute to Prince. The Goodnight Sweet Prince special honored the acclaimed musician who passed away last week by replaying the appearances The Purple One made during his career.

Fallon began the show by describing Prince’s “special presence” at SNL, explaining:

Other people may have been on the show more times, or performed more frequently, but there was always something different about a Prince performance. It was special, It was an event. It was Prince. Times have changed, styles have come and gone but no matter what, Prince has never not been cool … The guy was just amazing. When you see these performances, every single one of them, is just electric. He lived his music. It just came through him. And if you don’t know all of his work, tonight is going to be a treat for you guys.

First up was “Party Up” from Prince’s debut guest spot on SNL in 1981. Next came a clip from the 1989 15th anniversary special featuring Prince’s performance of “Electric Chair” from the Batman Soundtrack.

Goodnight Sweet Prince also re-aired The Purple One’s appearance in 2006 where he offered takes on “Fury” and “Beautiful, Loved And Blessed.” Finally, the special showcased Prince’s last SNL performance which came in 2014 and boasted an unprecedented, eight-minute extended medley built around his “Clouds,” “Marz” and “AnotherLove.”

Fallon also talked about the after-party following the epic 40th anniversary special last year, showing an exclusive clip of part of the Prince-lead all-star jam. The episode ended with several sketches of The Prince Show starring Fred Armisen portraying Prince. Watch the full episode here: