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The 'Needs More Cowbell' meme is a catchphrase that originates from a Saturday Night Live sketch. This meme particularly follows a format where something is humorously suggested to be lacking and thus needs 'more cowbell,' a term used metaphorically to suggest the need for more emphasis or excitement.
The phrase 'Needs More Cowbell' comes from a comedy sketch that aired on April 8th, 2000, on Saturday Night Live. The sketch was a parody of VH1's music documentary series "Behind the Music," dramatizing the recording session of the 1976 song '(Don't Fear) The Reaper' by Blue Öyster Cult. Christopher Walken played music producer Bruce Dickinson, and Will Ferrell portrayed a fictional cowbell player named Gene Frenkle. During the sketch, Dickinson, portrayed by Walken, emphatically declares, 'Well, guess what! I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!' Referencing the parody portrayal of the song, which does include a cowbell, viewers found Frenkle, though fictional, a memorable character, leading to prolonged fan engagement well into the mid-2000s as reported by the Washington Post. The full sketch can be read here, and the song itself can be viewed on YouTube.
Origin: 2000
AI Memes is a free online meme maker that lets you create viral memes with custom text, images, and AI-powered editing tools.
You can browse our growing library of popular meme templates, quickly caption images, videos, or GIFs in Caption This, or design completely custom image memes from scratch in our free-form editor with extra AI tools like Magic Prompt, Magic Face Swap, Magic Erase, and Magic Face.
The platform includes three main tools:
Text is fully customizable with font selection, weight controls, colors, and styling like outlines and italics. Each text layer has its own opacity slider, and you can drag text around the canvas or drag layers in the sidebar to control which elements appear on top. Add as many text boxes as you need with the "Add Text" button.
Upload and layer additional images onto your meme with the "Upload Image" button. Each image can be repositioned, resized, and have its opacity adjusted. Paste images directly with CMD/CTRL + V for quick edits.
Enable custom headers above your media with adjustable colors and heights—perfect for adding context or reaction text. This works in both Caption This and when editing templates from the meme library.
Yes! Use Caption This to add text, headers, and captions to videos and animated GIFs. Simply upload your video or GIF file, add your customizations, and download the finished meme. The tool preserves the animation and exports your captioned video or animated GIF ready to share.
You can also upload your own videos and animated GIFs in Caption This to add captions and text overlays. The meme template library features hundreds of popular image templates that open in the same editor with all the same customization options.
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Yes! There are tons of use cases to use AI Memes for outside of memes. The tools work great for any image, GIF, or video editing needs. Create tutorial screenshots with text annotations, add subtitles to explainer videos, design eye-catching YouTube thumbnails, caption product demos, build Instagram story templates, or create branded video content for your business. If you need to put text or images on media quickly, AI Memes has you covered.
AI Memes supports PNG, JPG, and WEBP images, MP4 videos, and animated GIFs. Your download will match your upload format—bring us an image, get an image back; bring us a video, get a video back; bring us a GIF, get a GIF back.
No account required! You can start creating memes immediately without signing up. Simply visit any tool, upload or select a template, customize it, and download. However, creating a free account gives you access to features like saved projects and your meme creation history. Upgrading to AI Memes Pro removes the AI Memes watermark from your downloads and unlocks tons of powerful AI features in the full editor.
