AboutWhat does the meme depict?

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.

OriginWho did it first?

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.^[1]

Origin: 2000