SNL50: The Anniversary Special delivered on its promise of a star-studded event, featuring Jack White ripping a slide guitar solo on Neil Young's iconic Rockin’ in the Free World, Adam Sandler whipping out his acoustic guitar to pay homage to 50 years of SNL, Bonnie Raitt teaming up with Coldplay's Chris Martin, Brittany Howard and Miley Cyrus offering their take on Nothing Compares 2 U, and Paul McCartney closing the show with Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, and The End from The Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road.
Perhaps one of the most surprising link-ups, however, was Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter's interpretation of Simon & Garfunkel’s Homeward Bound. Wielding a black version of his Martin signature OM-42PS acoustic, Simon noted, “I sang this song with George Harrison on Saturday Night Live in 1976”, to which Carpenter quipped, “I was not born then… and neither were my parents.”
