Over the weekend, the classic rock song "Carry On My Wayward Son" by Kansas got some new life thanks to Saturday Night Live. Now, the band behind the song is sharing some thoughts and their reaction to the viral sketch.
The sketch had a fairly cliche premise, as a group of husbands (host Jack Black, Kenan Thompson, James Austin Johnson, Andrew Dismukes and Tommy Brennan) awkwardly sat around after meeting for the first time. In the next room, their wives (Chloe Fineman, Sarah Sherman, Ashley Padilla, Jane Wickline and Veronika Slowikowska) speculated on what they could be talking about.
An impromptu sing-along breaks out among the men as they belt out a rendition of the rock staple "Carry On My Wayward Son." The bit goes on and on, escalating each time the husbands reappear on screen. It all culminates with a surprise costume reveal that brings the sketch to a whole other level of absurdity.
Kansas guitarist Rich Williams revealed that the reaction within his circle was immediate and overwhelming once the sketch aired. “Everybody I know is sending me the clip,” Williams told Vulture. “It’s another feather in our cap that adds to our legacy. We’re still out there and working, but to be acknowledged by an institution like Saturday Night Live? Wow.”
Williams admitted the band has seen just about every possible reinterpretation of their music over the years. So he wasn't completely taken by surprise when he saw the premise of the sketch. But what did shock him was how far SNL took things.
"I’ve seen so many parodies and interpretations of our work — acapella, jug bands, all kinds of stuff,” he explained. “So when I first watched the sketch, it made sense to me that they would go in that direction. But still, I was like, wow. It keeps going and going. We got a lot of airtime, and that was fantastic.”
"To be acknowledged in a sketch in a funny way felt nice,” he added. “It wasn’t mocking us. It was very cool.” Williams also appreciated Jack Black's starring role in the sketch, given the actor's musical background. “And Jack Black is one of a kind,” he added. “He’s very serious, but he’s very talented. He’s a jack of all trades.”
Now, Kansas joins a list of bands that have received a bump in popularity or renewed cultural relevance thanks to a sketch. Saturday Night Live has a history of reintroducing, or introducing, songs to fans.
The iconic “More cowbell" sketch featuring Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken turned Blue Öyster Cult's “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” into a full-blown meme. And it may have ruined Walken's life in the process.
For better or worse, Kate McKinnon's 2016 take on "Hallelujah" brought renewed attention to the song. The Hillary Clinton cold open earned it's fair share of criticism, but it also got people talking about the Leonard Cohen track.
A season 44 sketch saw Weezer superfans Matt Damon and Leslie Jones almost come to blows while discussing the band over Christmas dinner. It was made for a very specific audience, but the bit also gave some much-deserved attention to Weezer.
For Kansas, the SNL moment is just the latest example of how “Carry On Wayward Son” continues to resonate across generations. Whether it’s on classic rock radio or late-night TV, the song finds its audience.