Into The Saturday Night Live Firestorm: How Julee Cruise Doused The Most Controversial Episode Of 1990

On May 12, 1990, the atmosphere at NBC’s Studio 8H was combustible. The host of Saturday Night Live was Andrew Dice Clay, a comedian whose brand of abrasive, misogynistic humor had sparked a firestorm of protest before he even stepped on stage. SNL cast member Nora Dunn famously boycotted the episode in protest, and the original musical guest, Sinead O’Connor, followed suit, refusing to perform on the same bill as the “Diceman” just three days before the live broadcast.

In the midst of this controversy, the replacement act who stepped into the spotlight offered the starkest contrast imaginable: dream-pop chanteuse Julee Cruise. Twin Peaks had premiered just a month earlier on ABC, and “Twin Peaks mania” was definitely a thing. Amidst the chaos of protesters outside Rockefeller Center, security guards even having to remove some of them from the studio during Clay’s opening monologue, Julee Cruise braved the storm. For a block of 4 minutes, she transported the studio audience and the show’s millions of viewers into another place.

For most of them, this was the first time hearing the lyrics to the famous theme (or even hearing the song at all). In front of a slowly cycling traffic light, her performance was of a fragile, ethereal beauty. The Roadhouse singer was backed by the Saturday Night Live Band with bandleader and co-musical director G.E. Smith prominently featured on guitar. Though I’m not sure about this, it does appear Kinny Landrum filled in for the house band’s keyboardist, Leon Pendarvis. A synthesizer player on the original recording, Landrum has performed the song live alongside Angelo Badalamenti at The Music of David Lynch, and David Lynch’s Festival of Disruption in L.A., so it’s not unlikely the New

Coincidentally, Sinead O’Connor, who had refused to appear in this episode, eventually made her return to SNL just four months later, on September 29, 1990. The host of that episode? None other than Kyle MacLachlan.

In the end, Julee Cruise’s appearance became the highlight of an episode defined by chaos. A replacement act ended up being more memorable and culturally relevant than the host. Enjoy the performance below…