All the Saturday Night Live hosts who've doubled as musical guests

Nabbing a Saturday Night Live hosting gig is already a rare feat, but there’s an exclusive club of stars who have been tapped to both host and serve as the musical guest in the same episode. This season has already seen both Chance the Rapper and Harry Styles tackle double duty. But the tradition goes way back to the show’s very first season. Some celebs on the list are fan favorites, like Justin Timberlake, while others, like Gary Busey and M.C. Hammer, you may have forgotten ever stepped foot on stage at Studio 8H at all. Scroll through to see the full list.

Double duty dates: Oct. 18, 1975; Nov. 20, 1976; May 10, 1986; December 19, 1987

Paul Simon earned the honor of first person to pull double duty on SNL by hosting the show’s music-focused second episode in which he was co-musical guest along with Randy Newman and Phoebe Snow. The Simon & Garfunkel singer-songwriter reprised his dual role three more times, including with co-host actress Catherine Oxenberg in season 11. During his hosting gigs, Simon shared the musical stage with the likes of George Harrison, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Linda Ronstadt. He has served as musical guest an additional nine times — an SNL record — including as recently as 2018.

Double duty dates: Nov. 22, 1975; Jan. 22, 1983

Comedy queen Lily Tomlin first toplined SNL for the show’s sixth episode, singing with Howard Shore & the All Nurse Band. Tomlin hosted again in season 2, but this time she left all the singing to James Taylor. When Tomlin retured again in the show’s 18th season to act as both host and musical guest, she performed her musical duties in character as Pervis Hawkins, a black R&B singer.

Double duty date: Feb. 21, 1976

I Love Lucy star Desi Arnaz‘s first and only appearance on SNL was pulling double duty as host and musical guest, singing the tunes “Cuban Pete” and “Babalu,” with an assist from his son, Desi Arnaz Jr.  

Double duty date: July 31, 1976

Actor and singer Kris Kristofferson, who would appear later that year in A Star Is Born with Barbra Streisand, hosted in 1976. Kristofferson joined his then-wife, recording artist Rita Coolidge, for a duet of “Eddie the Eunuch” and later performed his song “I’ve Got a Life of My Own” solo.

Double duty date: Nov. 12, 1977

While hosting during SNL’s third season, Ray Charles joked in his monologue that he was told he’d be performing at Carnegie Hall, not 30 Rock. For the musical portion, Charles sang “I Can See Clearly Now,” “What I’d Say,” “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning,” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You.”

Double duty date: March 11, 1978

Art Garfunkel, the other half of Simon & Garfunkel, followed in his bandmate’s footsteps by hosting in March 1978. Garfunkel, was joined by co-musical guest Stephen Bishop on “Wonderful World,” and performed “All I Know,” “Scarborough Fair,” and “Crying in My Sleep” himself.

Double duty date: Oct. 7, 1978

The Rolling Stones — yes, the entive band — fronted by Mick Jagger, opened SNL’s 4th season as both the night’s host and musical guest. The group rocked out to a medley of their songs, including “Beast of Burden” and “Shattered.”

Double duty date: Oct. 21, 1978

Frank Zappa appeared as a musical guest in season 2, but when he returned for hosting and music duty two years later, things didnt go so well. The episode is remembered as largely a disaster in which Zappa made a point of telling the audience he was reading off cue cards, and his added unpopularity with the cast and crew reportedly got him banned from SNL. Zappa never appeared on the show again before he died in 1993.

Double duty date: Feb. 17, 1979

The actor and former teen heartthrob fronted SNL in season 4, parodying his TV sitcom image with sketches spoofing The Twilight Zone, I Love Lucy, and more. He was also the musical guest, along with Judy Collins, and performed the songs “Hello Mary Lou,” “Travelin’ Man,” “Fools Rush In,” and “Dream Lover.”

Double duty date: March 10, 1979

When Gary Busey hosted, the Buddy Holly actor performed a percussion solo in his monologue and later sang “Stay All Night.” The other musical guests for the episode were Gregory Hines and Eubie Blake.

Double duty date: Feb. 14, 1981

Credited as Deborah Harry, the Blondie lead singer hosted SNL’s Valentine’s Day episode during the program’s sixth season. She took over musical duties, singing “Love TKO” and “Come Back Jonee” before joining group Funky 4 + 1 More in a performance of “That’s The Joint,” becoming the first hip hop song to ever be played on television.

Double duty date: May 22, 1982

Grease star Olivia Newton-John led the sketch series during a season 7 episode, in which she also performed songs from her Physical album, including the hit titular track.

Double duty date: May 7, 1983

During his turn as host and musical guest in season 8, Stevie Wonder appeared in sketches with Eddie Murphy, who often played the singer on the show. Wonder took to the piano to sing “Fingertips,” “Overjoyed,” and “Go Home.”

Double duty date: Feb. 21, 1987

Willie Nelson took the stage as host and musical guest during the show’s 12th season. The singer, then 53, performed three of his own songs, in addition to the goofy “The Boyfriend Song,” with some help from cast member Victoria Jackson. The country legend also appeared as musical guest in 1977 and 1993.

Double duty date: April 15, 1989

Actress and country star Dolly Parton hosted in season 14, months before the release of Steel Magnolias. Parton’s ample bosom proved to be a big focus point on the show as the camera zoomed in on her chest from above during the monologue, and she played a prisoner in a sketch called “Planet of the Enormous Hooters.” Parton performed songs from her 1989 album White Limozeen, including the title track and “Why’d You Come in Here Lookin’ Like That.”

Double duty date: Feb. 10, 1990

Quincy Jones took on the hosting and musical gig in season 15. The mega-producer joined fellow musical guests Take 6, Tevin Campbell, Andrae Crouch, Sandra Crouch, Kool Moe Dee, Big Daddy Kane, Melle Mel, Quincy D III, Siedah Garrett, and Al Jarreau for the songs “Back On The Block,” “The Verb To Be,” and “Wee B. Dooinit.”

Double duty date: Jan. 19, 1991

Sting has been a musical guest four separate times, but during the show’s 16th season, the Police frontman pulled double duty as host and musical performer. His performance was a bit lackluster and when he returend to host again in 1997 he handed over official musical duty to Veruca Salt, although he did end us singing a rendition of “My One & Only Love.” 

Double duty date: Dec. 7, 1991

M.C. Hammer, who was credited as simply Hammer on the show, hosted a season 17 episode. During his monologue, he awkwardly refered to himself in the third person, and as a sketch performer, he was noticeably stiff, but at least loosened up to perform “2 Legit 2 Quit” and The Addams Family theme “Addams Groove,” which would go on to win the Razzie Award for Worst Original Song.

Double duty date: Feb. 18, 1995

Although Bon Jovi was the official musical guest of the episode, NFL star Deion Sanders also took the stage between sketches to perform two tracks from his 1994 rap album Prime Time. Both Sanders’ music and his comedy skills were not well received. 

Double duty dates: Feb. 28, 1998; Nov. 13, 1999

Country star Garth Brooks first appeared as a musical guest in 1992 alongside host John Goodman before returning later in the decade to juggle dual roles two years in a row — with a twist. During his first hosting gig, he came out to perform his standard fare, including his country hit “Two Piña Coladas,” but when he returned the next year, Brooks took the musical stage as his alt-rock alter ego Chris Gaines instead.

Double duty dates: May 13, 2000; Feb. 2, 2002

Britney Spears‘ very first appearance on SNL was as both host and musical guest in seasons 25 when she was just 19 years old, and she hit us one more time by reprising her dual in season 27, joined for her monologue by then-boyfriend Justin Timberlake, who would go on to become a fan-favorite SNL host himself. Spears popped up again to sing in 2003, but left the hosting duties to Halle Berry that time. 

Double duty dates: Feb. 10, 2001; Feb. 27, 2010

After playing musical guest in an Alan Cumming-hosted  season 25 episode, Jennifer Lopez returned the next season, just after release of The Wedding Planner, to do it all herself. And almost exactly 9 years later, Jenny returned to the block to pull double duty again in season 35.

Double duty dates: Oct. 11, 2003; Dec. 16, 2006; March 9, 2013

Justin Timberlake is a member of SNL‘s illustrious Five-Timers Club (those who have hosted the show five or more times), but he’s done the difficult job of playing his own musical guest three times — just one appearance short of Paul Simon’s record. Although, on one of his host-only shows, Timberlake did perfrom “Love Sex Magic” with musical guest Ciara. He’s also served as musical guest on two episodes that he didn’t host, once with NSYNC and once solo. And that’s not counting all the times he’s performed in digital shorts with The Lonely Island, harmonized as Robin Gibb to Jimmy Fallon’s Barry Gibb, and, of course, his recurring singing mascot sketches. Bring it on down to icon-ville!

Double duty date: April 10, 2004

Just two months after the infamous Super Bowl Halftime Show in which Justin Timberlake tore off Janet Jackson‘s shirt, exposing one of her breasts, Jackson bravely made another go at live TV to host and perform during a season 29 episode. She reprised her childhood role of Penny on Good Times in one sketch, and did impressions of Condoleezza Rice and Paula Abdul in others. For her musical performances, she rocked out to her songs “Strawberry Bounce” and “All Nite (Don’t Stop).” Prior, Jackson was the musical guest in 1994. 

Double duty date: Oct. 9, 2004

The effortlessly cool Queen Latifah was the emcee of the night during SNL’s 30th season to help promote her movie Taxi with Jimmy Fallon (who left the SNL cast a few months earlier). She later jammed to her songs, “The Same Love That Made Me Laugh” and “Hard Times.”

Double duty date: Nov. 18, 2006

During season 32, rapper Ludacris graced the Studio 8H stage to host and perform “Money Maker” and “Runaway Love,” with an assist from Mary J. Blige.

Double duty date: Nov. 7, 2009

Taylor Swift is no stranger to SNL having made three turns as musical guest. But in season 35,  the songstress showed her “Fearless” range by doing double duty as host, showing off  impersonations of Kate Gosselin, holding her own alongside SNL stars like Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, and Andy Samberg, and performoing “You Belong With Me” and “Untouchable.”

Double duty date: April 2, 2011

Nearly 30 years after appearing as a musical guest, Elton John returned during SNL’s 36th season where he quipped “The bitch is back!” The show’s star wattage maxed out that night, as Tom Hanks, Jake Gyllenhaal, Carmelo Anthony, and more made cameos in the episode. Then, with help from Leon Russell, John performed “Hey Ahab” and “Monkey Suit.”

Double duty date: May 19, 2012

Decades after the Rolling Stones hosted and performed as a band, frontman Mick Jagger returned to 30 Rock to carry the season 37 finale on his own. During his musical performances, he was joined on stage by rockers like Arcade Fire, Foo Fighters, and Jeff Beck.

Double duty date: Oct. 20, 2012

Bruno Mars has wowed as a musical guest, but he made an even more impressive turn as both host and performer during season 38, showing off a dizzying array of musical impersonations, serenading the audience with “Locked Out of Heaven” and “Young Girls,” and, most importantly, portraying the down-on-his-luck Times Square mascot in the beautifully weird “Sad Mouse” video short.

Double duty date: Feb. 9, 2012

Three years after serving as musical guest, Justin Bieber returned to SNL to do double duty during a season 38 episode, but his appearance had some harsh critics, including two former cast members. Bill Hader and Jay Pharaoh named the Canadian heartthrob as the worst guest host they’d worked with. The Barry star noted that Bieber came with a 20-man posse that made it impossible to move around backstage. 

Double duty dates: Oct. 5, 2013; Oct. 3, 2015

Miley Cyrus has carried the show as combined host and musical twice. In her many appearances on the show over the years, which also include separate hosting and performing duties, the “Wrecking Ball” singer has busted out impressions of Hillary Clinton, Justin Bieber, Lindsay Lohan, and more. 

Double duty date: Nov. 16, 2013

Lady Gaga can do it all, so serving as both host and musical guest on an episode of SNL was no different. The pop star wowed with her powerful vocals and proved that she can laugh at herself, which made for a strong show.

Double duty dates: Jan. 18, 2014; May 14, 2016

Rapper, actor, and … comedian? Drake killed it in his two appearances in which he fulfilled both hosting and musical duties. Not many could pull off playing Lil Wayne playing Steve Urkel, but the Degrassi alum proved his impressive chops. 

Double duty date: Jan. 24, 2015

During this season 40 episode, musician Blake Shelton led a night that heavily leaned on his country roots. The singer and The Voice mentor regaled the audience with his songs “Neon Light” and “Boys ‘Round Here,” as well as a hilarious musical sketch about a “Wishin’ Boot.”

Double duty date: March 12, 2016

If you didn’t know it by now, Ariana Grande is the queen of musical impressions. In this season 41 episode, the “Dangerous Woman” songstress was a machine, churning out spot-on impersonations of Jennifer Lawrence, Britney Spears, Celine Dion, and Shakira. Sadly, after her failed engagement to current SNL cast member Pete Davidson, it may be awhile before Grande is back on stage at Studio 8H.

Double duty date: May 5, 2018

Donald Glover brought along his Childish Gambino alter ego for this season 43 episode, and they were both exceptional — from the hilarious “Friendos” and “A Kanye Place” sketches, to the outstanding musical performances, the night was a hit with audiences.

Double duty date: Feb. 9, 2019

Although this season 44 episode was just so-so, Halsey stood out. She was game for anything as a sketch performer, and her musical performances of “Without Me” and “Eastside” were the most memorable parts of the night (who else has painted a full portrait while singing?).

Double duty date: Oct. 26, 2019

After two stints as musical guest and one episode hosting while Eminem served as the night’s musical entertainment, Chance the Rapper returned to do it all for the season 45 Halloween episode.