On November 20, 1976, two of the generation’s greatest singer-songwriters appeared together on Saturday Night Live, Paul Simon and George Harrison. Each of them was nearly seven years from their most famous partnerships with other artists. Simon and Art Garfunkel had ended Simon & Garfunkel in 1970. Harrison’s last last recording session with the Beatles was in January of 1970.
In November 1976, America had just elected Jimmy Carter president in the aftermath of the country’s large Bicentennial celebration in July. Paul Simon was still riding high from winning the Grammy for Album of the Year for Still Crazy After All These Years in February. And Harrison was appearing on SNL to promote his latest album that had been released one day earlier, Thirty Three & 1/3.
Simon was the host of the SNL episode and Harrison was listed as the musical guest. But Harrison appeared in one of the funniest moments in SNL history when in the cold open he was negotiating with producer Lorne Michaels.
The negotiations were in reference to the earlier April 24, 1976 episode where Michaels made an offer to pay the Beatles “$3,000 to reunite” on his show, a play on a concert promoter who had offered the group $50 million to reunite. On the November episode, Harrison was seen as disappointed he could not collect the money on his own.
Another classic humorous segment on the November show featured Paul Simon in a ridiculous turkey costume as he started singing “Still Crazy After All These Years.” While many remember these very funny performances, it is often forgotten that the two also created two great musical performances.
Harrison and Simon’s SNL Performances
Regarding musical performances, the two legends joined forces in two touching moments. While not talked about as often as the classic comedy performances on that particular show, the two men joined together for touching performances of two songs. One of the tunes was written by Simon and the other was writen by Harrison. And they both had been originally released many years earlier, so they already were recognized as classic songs in 1976.
Below is George Harrison joining Paul Simon on his song, “Homeward Bound.” The song originally appeared on Simon & Garfunkel’s album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966).
And here, Paul Simon helps George Harrison on one of his great songs originally recorded by the Beatles, “Here Comes the Sun.” The song originally appeared on Abbey Road, released in 1970.
After SNL: The Late 1970s
Of course, the two men would go on to many more great songs and performances. After the SNL appearance, Simon would release a greatest hits album in 1977 but would not release another proper solo album of original material for several years until 1980’s One-Trick Pony. During the years between SNL and that album, Simon did various projects, including working on several acting roles perhaps building off of his SNL hosting energy. And then on September 19, 1981, Simon joined again with his old friend Art Garfunkel for their concert in Central Park.
Regarding Harrison, in the immediate years after the SNL appearance, Harrison stayed mostly focused on his music. The following January, Harrison released a song that would become a hit for him, “Crackerbox Palace” (a video of which was shown on the SNL episode). And then in 1979, came another album, George Harrison (with the hit single “Blow Away”), coming after his second marriage and the birth of his son Dhani. Like Simon’s break from recording new music in the late 1970s, in the early 1980s Harrison would also start to withdraw from releasing music for awhile, focusing on other aspects of life and dealing with the 1980 loss of John Lennon. He released Gone Troppo in 1982 but no more albums for five more years after that.
After Simon and Harrison each took their own break in some of the years after their SNL appearance, though, they each returned to release some of their most acclaimed work starting in the late 1980s. Simon released Graceland in 1986, followed by other work like The Rhythm of the Saints (1990). Harrison released his platinum album Cloud Nine in 1987, following it up with his popular work with the Traveling Wilburys.
Regarding Saturday Night Live, Simon appeared on SNL many times after the 1976 episode with Harrison. For example, he performed “The Boxer” to open the first SNL episode after the September 11 attacks. He even did another duet on “Homeward Bound,” this time with Sabrina Carpenter for the opening of the Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special on February 16, 2025.
Unfortunately, George Harrison never appeared again on SNL after the 1976 episode with Simon.
But we still have that magical night in November 1976 when George Harrison and Paul Simon made us laugh with their acting and touched us with their music.
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