‘SNL’ at 50: Cowboy Junkies on pressures of live TV, seeing debut of ‘Wayne’s World’

By Canadian Press on February 12, 2025.

As “Saturday Night Live” marks its 50th anniversary, The Canadian Press is looking back at some of the sketch comedy show’s most notable Canadian musical performances.

Musical Guest: Cowboy Junkies

Songs: “Sweet Jane” and “Misguided Angel”

Host: Leslie Nielsen

Date: Feb. 18, 1989

THE SHOW: Nielsen opened his monologue by saying he was mainly a serious actor before the films “Airplane!” and “The Naked Gun” thrust him into a slapstick comedy career. “Everybody thinks I’m a comedian, but that’s not quite true,” the Regina native said. “I’m someone who says unfunny things in an unfunny way, and somehow it seems to end up funny.” The actor appeared in at least six sketches that night, which also premiered Mike Myers’ slacker “Wayne’s World” character.

BACKSTAGE: Cowboy Junkies guitarist Michael Timmins said memories of his experience at NBC’s famed Studio 8H are a blur. Cast member Jon Lovitz was friendly with the band, he recalled, and celebs roamed the hallways of Rockefeller Center, including models Kim Alexis, Beverly Johnson and Cheryl Tiegs because they appeared in a sketch. Television personality Phil Donahue shot his talk show on a nearby sound stage and was out and about. “People are just hanging out in the hall,” Timmins said. “It was their workspace so it’s just a regular sort of day.”

THE REHEARSAL: The “SNL” cast runs through the entire show in a taped dress rehearsal, which allowed Timmins to see the “Wayne’s World” sketch before the television audience. “We had TVs in our dressing rooms,” he said. “We definitely remember the ‘Wayne’s World’ one, oddly enough. Maybe because it was good.”

LIVE ON AIR: Cowboy Junkies offered a rare foray into alt-country music on “SNL.” The band’s lead singer Margo Timmins performed a gentle delivery of “Sweet Jane,” while her bandmates encircled her with their guitars. Inside though, they were feeling the pressure, said Timmins. “You’re not really taking in what’s happening; you’re focused on doing what you’re supposed to do and doing it right,” he said. “It’s live, so it’s not like ‘The Tonight Show’ where you can technically start and stop again.”

THE LEGACY: Even though nearly 35 years have passed since Cowboy Junkies’ appearance on “SNL,” Timmins said the band is often reminded of its impact. “That was such a whirlwind of a time; things were moving so fast,” he said of that period in the band’s career. “But we still get people coming up to us saying, ‘The first time I saw you was on ‘Saturday Night Live.’”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 12, 2025.

David Friend, The Canadian Press