Saturday Night Live Season 1 Episode 6 aired on November 22, 1975. NBC’s Saturday Night rolled into its sixth broadcast during a pivotal week in pop culture. The box office was dominated by the premiere of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Political tension surrounding Patty Hearst’s recent arrest was all over the news. Late-night TV was rapidly realizing that this new live comedy experiment in Studio 8H was here to stay. Episode 6 stepped up with an energetic, highly theatrical atmosphere. This pushed the show further away from traditional variety formats and deeper into character-driven comedy.
The Host: Lily Tomlin
By late 1975, Lily Tomlin was a towering figure in American comedy and one of the most versatile artists working. She had already become a household name. She had been doing groundbreaking character work on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. Tomlin had been creating iconic personas like Ernestine the telephone operator and the young child Edith Ann.
Earlier in 1975, she had made a massive leap into dramatic film acting with Robert Altman’s acclaimed ensemble drama Nashville. This movie earned her an Academy Award nomination. Booking her as host of Saturday Night Live Season 1 Episode 6 was a major coup for Lorne Michaels. Tomlin was an established, comedic force who fit the counterculture tone of SNL like a glove. She brought a level of warmth, character commitment, and improvisational energy that energized the entire cast.
The Musical Guest: Howard Shore and the All Nurse Band
Instead of booking a traditional rock star or pop group, the episode featured house band leader Howard Shore conducting “The All Nurse Band,” with Lily Tomlin joining in on vocals. Dressed fully in medical nurse uniforms, the band backed Tomlin as she sang a bluesy rendition of the classic standard “St. James Infirmary”.
Personally, I wasn’t really impressed with this musical choice. The gimmick felt a bit flat. The musical performance didn’t offer the kind of high-energy entertainment you expect from a late-night music slot. Over the years, fan reaction to this segment has been similarly lukewarm. Most viewers and comedy historians view Howard Shore’s Nurse Band as an odd, disposable experiment. From when the show was still trying to figure out how to handle its musical breaks. It is generally remembered as a strange quirk of Saturday Night Live Season 1 Episode 6 rather than a memorable musical highlight.
Sketches, Segments, and Notable Highlights
While the music fell flat, the sketch comedy delivered some of the most famous bits of the early season.
John Belushi as Beethoven
The high-water mark of the night was a brilliant three-part recurring sketch featuring John Belushi as Ludwig van Beethoven. In the first part, Beethoven sits at his piano acting troubled. While his wife (Gilda Radner) and maid (Laraine Newman) worry about his mental state. Once they leave the room, Belushi launches into Tony Orlando’s “Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Ole Oak Tree”.
In the second segment, he sneaks in a rendition of The Temptations’ “My Girl”. The genius payout comes in part three: Belushi puts on sunglasses. Then he takes a hit of snuff, and delivers a wild, soul-infused Ray Charles impression doing “What’d I Say.” Radner and Newman ran back in to act as his backup singers. Watching Belushi seamlessly transition classical music into pure rhythm and blues across the entire broadcast was fantastic physical comedy.
Construction Worker Catcalling (Streetside Savvy)
Lily Tomlin led the female cast members of Gilda Radner, Laraine Newman, and Jane Curtin in this different take skit. They were hardhat construction workers learning how to catcall men passing by on the street. Dan Aykroyd played the male target who grows increasingly offended. He becomes extremely flustered by their harassment. It was a clever, satire-filled gender swap that highlighted the strong ensemble chemistry building among the women of the cast.
Other Notable Sketches on Saturday Night Live Season 1 Episode 6
- 50’s Dance (Margo’s Dance Palace): A solo performance piece by Tomlin playing a 1950s teenage girl gossiping with a friend at a school dance. It felt like a true one-woman theater piece. Tomlin showed off her extraordinary dramatic-comedy range.
- Land Shark: Chevy Chase’s Land Shark made another return. This time crashing a sketch with Tomlin before a stage manager cut the bit short for time.
- Muppet Segment: In a surprisingly sweet twist on the usually awkward Land of Gorch Muppet segment. The character Scred sang “I Got You Babe” alongside Lily Tomlin.
Saturday Night Live Season 1 Episode 6: Final Thoughts and Rating
I normally find Lily Tomlin very funny. Her performance here did not disappoint. She fully embedded herself into the troupe. Tomlin treated the episode more like a collaborative ensemble project than a standard hosting gig.
Among SNL historians and fans, Episode 6 is widely regarded as one of the stronger, most cohesive entries of Season 1. While modern audiences sometimes find the odd musical acts and 1970s pop-culture references (like the Patty Hearst sketch) hard to track. Lily Tomlin’s character work and Belushi’s timeless Beethoven routine have held up remarkably well. It earns a solid 7 out of 10 on The Unlocked Info.
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