Lorne Michaels recalls early fight to fix SNL rock sound

Lorne Michaels said in a 2025 interview with Entertainment Weekly that the creators of Saturday Night Live faced major obstacles when the show launched in 1975. The primary challenge involved making rock and roll artists sound acceptable on television.

Michaels explained that rock musicians historically avoided TV because they sounded terrible on broadcast. He described the first season as a major battle to solve this audio issue. The show's initial technical setup relied on boom microphones, a standard from the previous era of television.

The creator pointed to earlier televised performances as examples of the old method. He cited Elvis Presley on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1956 and The Beatles in 1964. In those instances, a single boom microphone covered all the music. That setup was sufficient for the time and allowed the artists to become popular.

By 1975, music recording techniques had changed completely. Television still used the older boom microphone method. Michaels stated that this mismatch between new recording styles and old broadcast technology was the biggest fight at the beginning of the show. The first episode featured musical performances by Billy Preston and Janis Ian. Even then, Michaels focused on improving the sound for the second episode and future broadcasts.

For the second show, which featured Paul Simon, Michaels brought in producer Phil Ramone. Ramone was working with Simon that summer on the album Still Crazy After All These Years. The television audio staff was not happy with the change. They were accustomed to covering the entire band with one boom microphone, similar to how Elvis Presley and the Jordanaires were recorded.

The production team eventually resolved the audio issues. This allowed bands and solo artists to sound good on the show. Viewers came to expect high-quality sound as broadcast technology improved over the years. The musical guests on SNL have since covered many genres. The show continues to book acts, though some notable rock artists never received the invitation.

Michaels noted that some acts that would have made excellent guests simply never got the chance. He said some of the reasons for their absence may never be known. The show has run for many seasons with a wide variety of musical guests. There is no sign of the musical segment slowing down. The early technical struggles helped establish the sound standards for the program.