More cowbell

The Bruce Dickinson (Christopher Walken) delivering the trademark line: "...more cowbell!"

"More cowbell" is an American pop culture catchphrase originally derived from an April 8, 2000, Saturday Night Live comedy sketch fictionalizing the recording of the song "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult. The sketch featured guest host Christopher Walken as fictional music producer Bruce Dickinson (not to be confused with the Iron Maiden singer of the same name, or Jim Dickinson, an actual record producer of the same last name) 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.

Synopsis

The sketch is presented as though it is an episode of VH1's Behind the Music documenting the band Blue Öyster Cult. 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.

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, not to mention off tempo. 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 (Will Ferrell), "really explore the studio space this time."

Frenkle's exuberance in following this advice causes him to bump into his bandmates as he dances around the cramped studio, thrusting his pelvis wildly in all directions, 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 (Chris Parnell)'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 (and Jimmy Fallon playing the drummer starts laughing at the sight of Frenkle, whose sunglasses had flown off during the altercation with Bloom, causing him to barely be able to say his lines), 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 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 song "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult actually does feature a cowbell, however the sketch takes liberty with the actual events surrounding the recording.

• Gene Frenkle is a fictional character invented for the sketch, although his appearance was modeled on Eric Bloom's appearance at the time. Despite the fact that Frenkle is fictional, fans occasionally expressed their sympathies to Blue Öyster Cult over his death.^[1][2]
• 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.^[1] It is much quieter than portrayed in the sketch. Eric Bloom, however, claims that he was the one who played it.^[2]
• 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.^[3] 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 on 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 referenced the "More Cowbell" sketch. However, the cowbell did not appear 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 in popular culture

The influence of the sketch is surprisingly widespread. The sketch caused so much interest in the cowbell that it has been adopted by sports teams to promote fan-involvement in matches,^[4] most famously with the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (though cowbells were first given away at Rays games during the 2006 season), and it has appeared in movies,^[5] video games,^[6] an iPhone application,^[7] 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."^[8] 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.

During Blue Oyster Cult's recent tours, the band has sold at their merchandise table black t-shirts with the slogan "got cowbell" in the style of the popular Got Milk? advertising brand.

Mississippi State University has enjoyed a long history with the cowbell as a noisemaker at home football games. The 2009 entrance video for the football team begins with Bruce Dickinson's famous line of "I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!" Due to cowbells not being officially permitted in the MSU football stadium,^[9] the word "cowbell" in the line is covered up by the opening music and the MSU logo flying on screen.

The sketch also became and continues as a widespread internet phenomenon, in particular in forums in which threads are often described as "needing more cowbell."

In the video game Rock Band, when one plays Don't Fear the Reaper, the load screen will occasionally say, "Don't bother stopping by his grave when you're on tour-Gene Frenkle doesn't exist", referencing the character's death. During the 2008 and 2009 Minnesota Twins (Major League Baseball) baseball seasons, a sign hanging from the second deck of the upper deck right field line seats proclaimed, "I've got a fever and the only cure is more Kubel," in reference to the famous line from the sketch and Jason Kubel, the Twins designated hitter and outfielder.

Notes

External links

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