Blue Öyster Cult worried the ‘SNL’ sketch would ruin their career: “A horse collar around our neck”
(Credits: Far Out / Eric Meola / Columbia Records)
Sat 31 January 2026 4:00, UK
While the humble cowbell can, in fact, be well used on the right song, a timeless SNL sketch has unfortunately completely ruined it.
Because now, the simple inclusion of a cowbell on any given song consistently triggers a cry of “more cowbell!” from its listeners. ‘Once In A Lifetime’ by Talking Heads and ‘Honky Tonk Women’ by The Rolling Stones are all fine examples of the instrument’s use, which are now ruined by the thought of Will Ferrell standing in the studio space, mindlessly playing a cowbell over the top.
If you still don’t know what I am referring to, then you are one of the lucky few unplagued by this infamous SNL sketch. Starring Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken, the sketch satirises the band Blue Öyster Cult and their track, ‘(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’, by claiming that their “dynamite sound” will be continually improved by more cowbell.
While the cowbell itself served as the wider victim of this seemingly harmless sketch, Blue Öyster Cult couldn’t help but feel as though they had been caught in the crosshairs of a national joke. Vocalist Donald Brian Roeser explained, “The Cowbell sketch was a worry of mine that it was going to overshadow the song’s original intent. I’m sort of happy that that hasn’t happened.”
Eventually, though, the band owned it, recalling that “A couple of times, venues have introduced us with the cowbell sketch, and then we play,” Roeser said. “It’s something we learned to be at peace with. I hope Christopher Walken and Will Ferrell are too, because we’re all cursed with it. It’s a horse collar around our neck. I feel sorry for Walken, who’s had such a long and wonderful career. And that’s all people say to him: ‘More cowbell’”.
But it took some time for the band to get to that state of understanding. Such was the nature of the joke and its intended purpose to mock the instrument, the comedy outfit forgot to check with the band altogether. But with the success of the sketch running wild, there was little to no time to worry about the feelings of Blue Öyster Cult.
But then came the suggestion to develop the sketch into something bigger, a movie. SNL creator Lorne Michaels quickly understood the dangers this could pose to the band, and so ran the script by the show’s legal team, who eventually killed it. But the writer Adam McKay wouldn’t give up on his baby.
“I understood but was mad,” McKay claimed. “I wrote a letter to the band pleading with them, and they sent back a really nice ‘cease and desist’ letter.” Ferrell was more philosophical about the film not getting produced. “It would’ve been fun, but what can you do?” Ferrell explained. “At least we got to do the sketch.”
While Blue Öyster Cult and Roeser seem somewhat at peace with the legacy of the sketch now, I can’t help but feel as though their worst fears did in fact come true, because whether they like it or not, ‘Don’t Fear The Reaper’ and the cowbell sketch are synonymous with one another in pop culture and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change.
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