More Cowbell

Bruce Dickinson (Christopher Walken) delivering the trademark line: "I gotta have more cowbell!"

"More cowbell" is an American pop culture catchphrase originally derived from an April 8, 2000, Saturday Night Live comedy sketch about the recording of the song (Don't Fear) The Reaper by Blue Öyster Cult. The sketch featured guest host Christopher Walken as music producer Bruce Dickinson and Will Ferrell as fictional cowbell player Gene Frenkle. In the television special Saturday Night Live: 101 Most Unforgettable Moments, this sketch is moment number five. It was a recreation of the original "More cowbell" sketch from 1983, featuring the humorous and crazy Roland Bell

Synopsis

The sketch is presented as though it is an episode of VH1's Behind the Music. It begins with what is said to be film from the 1976 recording session that produced the band's biggest hit, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper". The producer (played by Christopher Walken) introduces himself as "the Bruce Dickinson" and tells the band they have "what appears to be a dynamite sound." The band members are impressed at this compliment because of Bruce Dickinson's supposed high standing in the music industry (note that "the" Bruce Dickinson is not Bruce Dickinson, lead singer of Iron Maiden - see below).

The first take of the recording session begins soon after. The recording seems to be going well, but the band stops playing after a few moments because the cowbell part is rather loud and distracting. However, Dickinson feels quite differently and, to the surprise of most of the band, asks for "a little more cowbell" and suggests that the cowbell player, Gene Frenkle, "really explore the studio space this time."

Frenkle's exuberance in following this advice causes him to bump into his bandmates in the cramped studio, and the band aborts another take. Dickinson enters the studio exasperated at wasting "two good tracks." Frenkle sheepishly agrees to tone down his performance in the spirit of cooperation. Dickinson warns Frenkle not to tone it down too much, as they're "gonna want the cowbell on this track." However, Frenkle passive-aggressively plays the cowbell very close to Eric Bloom's ear and fails to keep time with the rest of the band. Frenkle suddenly knocks over Bloom's microphone stand, ending the take prematurely. The rest of the band expresses frustration with Frenkle, but Dickinson remains focused only on getting more cowbell onto the track.

Gene Frenkle then makes an impromptu speech to the rest of the band. He declares that Dickinson's stature lends a great deal of weight to his opinion about the cowbell part, and that the last time Frenkle checked, they didn't have "a whole lot of songs that feature the cowbell" and therefore he would be "doing [himself] a disservice, and every member of the band" if he "didn't perform the hell out of this." At the climax of the sketch, Dickinson exclaims: "Guess what?! I've got a fever, and the only prescription... is more cowbell!" The band agrees to let Frenkle play the cowbell part his way. As the band begins another take, the sketch ends with a freeze frame on Frenkle with the superimposed message: "In Memoriam: Gene Frenkle: 1950-2000."

Comedy vs. reality

The sketch takes liberty with the actual events surrounding the recording of the song "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult.

• Gene Frenkle is a fictional character invented for the sketch, though fans have occasionally expressed their sympathies to Blue Öyster Cult over his death. However, the fictional Frenkle's appearance is modeled after that of Eric Bloom during the portrayed time.
• According to former band bassist Joe Bouchard, the cowbell part was overdubbed by his brother Albert after the rest of the song had been recorded. It is much quieter than portrayed in the sketch. Eric Bloom, however, claims that he was the one who played it.
• The sketch shows lead singer Eric Bloom as the vocalist, but lead guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser actually wrote and sang lead vocal on "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", although Bloom contributed background vocals. However, the skit got the visual right — the appearance on which the singer is modeled is that of Buck Dharma during that period in the band's history.
• Christopher Walken portrays a character named Bruce Dickinson, who is identified as the producer of "(Don't Fear) The Reaper". However, the song was actually produced by Sandy Pearlman. Bruce Dickinson was a mid-level manager at Columbia Records whose name appears on a Blue Öyster Cult greatest hits CD as the "reissue producer". This Bruce Dickinson is not the vocalist for British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, hence the humor in his boastful declaration of being "THE Bruce Dickinson", as the character was based upon a far less famous figure.

Reappearance in Saturday Night Live

On May 14, 2005, on an episode that Will Ferrell hosted, the Gene Frenkle character made a re-appearance on the set of Saturday Night Live as musical guest Queens of the Stone Age played their first song of the night, "Little Sister" - which features a jam block, an instrument similar to a cowbell. In his Gene Frenkle costume, Ferrell played the song's jam block part using a large cowbell along with the band, drawing much applause.

Promos for the April 5, 2008 Christopher Walken/Panic at the Disco episode of Saturday Night Live reference the "More Cowbell" sketch. The cowbell was nowhere to be seen anywhere during the actual episode.

Sketch performers

• Jimmy Fallon as Albert Bouchard
• Will Ferrell as Gene Frenkle
• Chris Kattan as Buck Dharma
• Chris Parnell as Eric Bloom
• Horatio Sanz as Joe Bouchard
• Christopher Walken as "The Bruce Dickinson"

Influence

The influence of the cultural phenomenon created by the sketch is surprisingly widespread. It has been adopted by sports teams to promote supporter-involvement in matches, and it has appeared in movies, video games, an iPhone application, and television. For instance, on the November 18, 2005, episode of the program Jeopardy!, the last answer in the Double Jeopardy category "I Need More Cowbell" was "Don't fear this band who turned cowbell from a cult into a religion." The show "The Afternoon Blitz" on Sirius NFL Radio (channel 124) features "Cowbell Thursdays," often playing excerpts from this skit at the beginning of the show.

The music video game Rock Band features "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" in its soundtrack, and loading screens for the song include four references to the sketch: "Don't bother stopping to visit his grave while you're on tour — Gene Frenkle is fictional", "Health Tip: If you have a fever, the only prescription is more cowbell", "Blue Öyster Cult singer Eric Bloom claims that he was the cowbell player on 'Don't Fear the Reaper.' Former bassist Joe Bouchard, however, says that the cowbell virtuoso was his brother Albert." and "The real producer of '(Don't Fear) The Reaper' was Sandy Pearlman". Furthermore, the manual for Rock Band states that the microphone can be used for playing a tambourine, "or, ahem... cowbell."

In 2006, Sony Music Canada released a compilation CD entitled Maximum Cowbell, featuring "Reaper" and fifteen other tracks.

The MMORPG World of Warcraft has a quest called "The Only Cure is More Green Glow". It has another quest called "Needs More Cowbell".

The MMORPG Lord of the Rings Online has a playable instrument called the "Moor Cowbell" which is a rare drop. The playing animation is similar to that of Will Farrel's performance.

The MMORPG Runescape features a quest with dialogue referring to "needing more cowbell."

The breakbeat act NAPT features this speech in their track "Gotta Have More Cowbell".

The song "Trippin' Balls" by East Bay rock band The Counterpunch Project claims that the track "doesn't need any more cowbell".

External links

• Skit transcript
• Even More Cowbell! – Timeline of events from Wired magazine.