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Chris Stapleton Should Host SNL

Yeah, we said it: Chris Stapleton should host SNL. Last night, Chris Stapleton was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live for the third time. He’s previously performed on January 16,…

Chris Stapleton performs onstage during the 57th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on November 08, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee.
(Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images)

Yeah, we said it: Chris Stapleton should host SNL. Last night, Chris Stapleton was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live for the third time. He's previously performed on January 16, 2016 (the host was Adam Driver) and January 27, 2018 (the host was Will Farrell). Last night was epic number three - which reminds us: they should give those "5 Timer" robes to musical performers, not just hosts. Give them something to shoot for!

Seriously, though: last night, Stapleton proved -- again -- that he's one of the best live acts, in any genre, of his generation. His first performance of the night was "White Horse." Backed by his incredible band, including his wife Morgane Stapleton, it gave any rock band a run for their money. And of course - unlike many SNL performers - it was all live. As one fan pointed out on X (formerly Twitter),  "During the outro solo to White Horse  @ChrisStapleton hit an almost imperceptible clam and made a sour face. The guy is supremely talented and I absolutely love s--- like this because that’s how I know it’s a genuine, live performance and I can see how much he cares."

When Stapleton returned to the stage, it was by himself with just his acoustic guitar, for "Moutains of My Mind." Both songs are from Stapleton's Higher, which was released on November 10, 2023. While artists tend to play Saturday Night Live right around the album release time, Stapleton seems to be getting the status of musicians who SNL is always happy to invite. That unofficial club includes Dave Grohl (who has played nine times with the Foo Fighters, and also with Nirvana, his one-off band Them Crooked Vultures and even once as the drummer of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) and Jack White (who appeared once with his former band the White Stripes and four times as a solo artist).

Of course, plenty of great musicians can serve up incredible performances. But in the skit/music video "Get That Boy Back," Stapleton shows that he can be hilarious, too. A three-woman country trio, played by cast members Ego Nwodim, Chloe Fineman and Chloe Troast, start a revenge-anthem about a guy who left them. It has hints of Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood's "Somethin' Bad" and Underwood's "Before He Cheats." There's even a line, "I took my keys to his Chevy pickup," echoing Underwood's "Before He Cheats" line, "I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive."

But whilie Nwodim and Fineman's characters sing about relatively normal (if not quite legal) means of revenge, Troast takes it to another level, singing "My man left and he didn't treat me kind/Ya'll can mess with his truck, I'll destroy his mind!" The boyfriend, of course, is played by Stapleton, and his character endures a lot over the next three minutes. She replaces his shoes with larger sized ones, making him wonder, "Are these different, or am I shrinking?" She then convinces his mom (Heidi Gardner) that her house is haunted, and she decides to move in with her son. And it gets even weirder from there: Troast's brother, played by host Ryan Gosling, an ex-CIA agent trained in psychological torture makes things even worse. Stapleton is hilarious throughout.

He's been game to try funny stuff on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. When he played a member of ZZ Top in the "First Drafts of Rock" series, it was a bit of a swing and miss, but Fallon and Stapleton's duet "A Film By Nancy Meyers" was funnier. Last night, though, was next level and we want to see more. The next episode of Saturday Night Live will see pop singer Dua Lipa doing double duty as host and musical guest, and here's hoping they offer that chance to Stapleton in the future.

Chris Stapleton: His 40 Best Songs

As Chris Stapleton is about to release his long awaited fourth album, Starting Over, we decided to go through his discography -- his entire discography -- to figure out what his best songs are. So we pulled from his first three albums, plus the songs that we've heard, so far, from Starting Over. But we also reached back to his old rock band, the Jompson Brothers, and his ex-bluegrass band, the Steeldrivers. We also dove into his career as a songwriter for other artists, and pulled some of those songs, as well. So this list collects songs that were either written, or sung, by Chris (or both). Of course, once we hear the rest of the new album, we'll probably have to update the list!

40. “Tryin’ To Untangle My Mind” - ‘From A Room: Vol. 2’ (2017)

Mercury Nashville

39. “Crash And Burn” - Thomas Rhett - ‘Tangled Up’ (2015)

Valory

38. “Say Something” - Justin Timberlake featuring Chris Stapleton - ‘Man Of The Woods’ (2018)

RCA

37. “Amanda” - Chris Stapleton and Morgane Stapleton - ‘Gentle Giants: The Songs of Don Williams” (2017)

Slate Creek Records

36. “Front Porch Thing” - Little Big Town - ‘Tornado’ (2013)

Capitol Nashville

35. “Arkansas” - ‘Starting Over’ (2020)

Mercury Nashville

34. “Gonna Come Back As A Country Song” - Alan Jackson - ‘Thirty Miles West’ (2012)

EMI Nashville

33. “Hey Girl” - The Jompson Brothers - ‘The Jompson Brothers’ (2010)

Courtesy of the Jompson Brothers

32. “Tell Me When It’s Over” - Sheryl Crow featuring Chris Stapleton - ‘Threads’ (2019)

Big Machine

31. “If The Devil Don’t Want Me” - Ashley Monroe - ‘The Blade’ (2015)

Warner Bros. Nashville

30. “Blow” - Ed Sheeran featuring Chris Stapleton and Bruno Mars - “No. 6 Collaborations Project” (2019)

Atlantic

29. “Them Stems” - ‘From A Room: Volume 1’ (2017)

Mercury Nashville

28. “Death Row” - ‘From A Room: Volume 1’ (2017)

Mercury Nashville

27. “The Reckless Side Of Me” - The Steeldrivers - ‘Reckless’ (2010)

Rounder Records

26. “Was It 26” - ‘Traveller’ (2015)

Mercury Nashville

25. “Daddy Doesn’t Pray Anymore” - ‘Traveller’ (2015)

Mercury Nashville

24. “Nobody To Blame” - ‘Traveller’ (2015)

Mercury Nashville

23. “Drinkin’ Dark Whiskey” - The Steeldrivers - ‘The Steeldrivers’ (2008)

Rounder Records

22. “There’s More Where That Came From” - Lee Ann Womack - ‘There’s More Where That Came From’ (2005)

MCA Nashville

21. “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” - Chris Stapleton, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson - ‘Imagine: John Lennon 75th Birthday Concert’ (2019)

Blackbird Production Partners LLC

20. “Nobody’s Fool” - Miranda Lambert - ‘Four The Record’ (2011)

RCA Nashville

19. “Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning” - ‘From A Room: Volume 1’ (2017)

Mercury Nashville

18. “Outlaw State Of Mind” - ‘Traveller’ (2015)

Mercury Nashville

17. “Might As Well Get Stoned” - ‘Traveller’ (2016)

Mercury Nashville

16. “Drink A Beer” - Luke Bryan - ‘Crash My Party’ (2013)

Capitol Nashville

15. Blue Side Of The Mountain - The Steeldrivers - ‘The Steeldrivers’ (2008)

Rounder Records

14. “I Want Love” - ‘Restoration: The Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin’ (2018)

Universal Nashville

13. “Starting Over” - ‘Starting Over’ (2020)

Mercury Nashville

12. “I Was Wrong” - ‘From A Room: Volume 1’ (2017)

Mercury Nashville

11. “The Devil Named Music” - ‘Traveller’ (2015)

Mercury Nashville

10. “Whiskey And You” - ‘Traveller’ (2015)

Mercury Nashville

9. “Midnight Train To Memphis” - ‘From A Room: Volume 2’ (2017)

Mercury Nashville

8. “If It Hadn’t Been For Love” - The Steeldrivers - ‘The Steeldrivers’ (2008)

Rounder Records

7. “When The Stars Come Out” - ‘Traveller’ (2015)

Mercury Nashville

6. “Millionaire” - ‘From A Room: Volume 2’ (2017)

Mercury Nashville

5. “Tennessee Whiskey” - ‘Traveller’ (2015)

Mercury Nashville

4. “Second One To Know” - ‘From A Room: Volume 1’ (2017)

Mercury Nashville

3. “Traveller” - ‘Traveller’ (2015)

Mercury Nashville

2. “Broken Halos” - ‘From A Room: Volume 1’ (2017)

Mercury Nashville

1. “Fire Away” - ‘Traveler’ (2015)

Mercury Nashville
Brian has been working in pop culture and media for about three decades: he’s worked at MTV, VH1, SiriusXM, CBS and Loudwire. Besides working as a writer and an editor-in-chief, he’s also appeared on air as a pundit, guested on radio shows and hosted podcasts. Over the years, he’s interviewed the surviving members of Led Zeppelin, the members of U2, Beyonce, Pink, Usher, Stevie Nicks, Lorde… and is grateful to have had the chance to interview Joe Strummer of the Clash and Tom Petty.