Paul McCartney served as the grand finale of the all-star SNL50 special, closing the marathon show with a medley of songs from Abbey Road. The star-studded three-plus-hour celebration included additional musical performances from Paul Simon with Sabrina Carpenter, Lil Wayne with The Roots, and Miley Cyrus with Brittany Howard.
With appearances by Steve Martin, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Tom Hanks, Martin Short, Meryl Streep, Bad Bunny, Keith Richards, and many, many more A-list celebrities, it was a daunting task to close the book on SNL50. But just as McCartney was up to the task of closing one of the greatest rock albums of all time, he was more than capable of punctuating the entertainment spectacle of the year. It also didn’t hurt that he had a few nights of practice during the week, playing three pop-up shows at the 575-capacity Bowery Ballroom in New York City in the days leading up to SNL50.
McCartney last performed on Saturday Night Live as the musical guest for the 2012 Christmas episode hosted by Martin Short, who also introduced Sir Paul on Sunday. Seated behind his rainbow piano, Macca started with “Golden Slumbers”, which begins with the line, “Once there was a way to get back homeward”—a possible callback to Paul Simon opening the show with “Homeward Bound” alongside Sabrina Carpenter, subbing in for Paul’s late bandmate George Harrison, who performed “Homeward Bound” with Simon on SNL in 1976. Carpenter did not reprise her role as a Harrison stand-in for the Abbey Road medley, instead leaving the task to McCartney’s longtime backing band, who gave more than enough gravitas to “Carry That Weight”. After a climactic guitar roundtable between Paul and guitarists Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray, Macca closed the performance with his enduring proverb, “And in the end / The love you take / Is equal to the love you make.”
Watch Paul McCartney close the SNL50 special with a medley from Abbey Road. Find a full collection of videos from the SNL50 tribute on the show’s YouTube channel.
Paul McCartney — “Golden Slumbers”/”Carry That Weight”/”The End” (Live) – SNL50