Aired November 12, 1977.
Cold opening:"Godfather on NBC"
Don Vito Corleone is angry that NBC is showing The Godfather on network TV. Vito says the movie is too violent for television, plus it makes the Don and his family look bad. He asks his consigliere Tom Hagen (Bill Murray) if there's anything they can do to keep NBC from airing parts 2 and 3 of the film.
Hagen says they have no "legal recourse" and that NBC is also planning two TV series based on The Godfather. The Don tells Tom to "go to NBC in Hollywood, take Clamenza with you. I want Grizzly Adams to wake up with a bear’s head on his pillow. That’ll take care of it."
Monologue:"I Can See Clearly Now"
Host Ray Charles says he rejected initial offers to host SNL, until he told them his demands. He asked to bring his own musicians and for the episode to be broadcast from Carnegie Hall.
Ray says the joke is on them, because he's not the real Ray Charles. He says that if "the real Ray Charles" was there, he would play like this, and he begins singing "I Can See Clearly Now." The song was written by Johnny Nash, whose version was released on June 23, 1972 and peaked at #18 on Billboard's Hot 100.
Charles' recording of "I Can See Clearly Now" appeared on his 1977 album True To Life. It reached #35 on the R&B chart.
Ray says his hometown Albany, Georgia is located right next to Plains, GA, hometown of President Jimmy Carter. Charles informs viewers that at one time, Carter's family owned his grandfather.
Charles then sings the first few lines of "Georgia On My Mind" and dedicates it to the President.
The song was written and recorded by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell. Charles version of "Georgia" reached #1 on the Hot 100 and it was included on his album The Genius Hits The Road. "Georgia On My Mind" leads directly into the next sketch.
"Pres. Carter's Energy Plan"
Pres. Carter (Dan Aykroyd) says that because the American public has failed to understand the depth of the Energy Crisis and since the Senate blocked his energy bill the economy will tank and will probably not be reelected.
"Ella Fitzgerald for Mamorex"
Charles introduces Ella Fitzgerald (Garrett Morris) to demonstrate the audio quality of Mamorex tapes.
Ella performs some scat singing, which shatters a glass. Ray talks about the sound quality of Mamorex tapes and how it's impossible to tell if a song is live or a recording.
When they play the Mamorex tape of Ella's vocals, it shatters Ray's glasses!
"The Doody Girls"
Debbie (Gilda Radner) and Dotty Doody (Larane Newman), respectively the wife and sister of the late Howdy Doody, discuss Howdy's recent death. Dotty tells Debbie that it's time to stop mourning and start dating again.
Talk show:"Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder"
Tom Snyder (Aykroyd) interviews the R&B legend.
Charles tells Snyder that his blindness has enhanced his sense of smell. He's able to identify Snyder's brand of cologne and says Tom has been wearing the same socks for three days.
"The Young Caucasians"
In 1957, Ray Charles' manager Mr. DeWitt (Morris) tells Ray that a White group called the Young Caucasians (Aykroyd, Belushi, Curtin, Murray, Newman and Radner) will be recording his song "What'd I Say" so that it can be played on White radio stations in the South. The Caucasians arrive and sing the song.
Charles says he prefers his own version and performs it.
"What'd I Say" was written and recorded by Charles in 1959. It was released as a single in June of that year and reached #6 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the R&B chart.
"Weekend Update"
Anchors Jane Curtin and Dan Aykroyd report on the top news stories of the day.
A statue of Benjamin Franklin was rushed to the hospital in what appeared to be a case of Legionnaires' disease. A later diagnosis revealed the statue was "just stoned."
"Ray Charles' Medley Of Hits"
Ray introduces his old band, who he hasn't played with in more than a decade.
"I Got A Woman" was written by Ray Charles and Renald Richard. It was released in December 1954 and reached #1 on the Rhythm and Blues chart.
“I Believe in My Soul” was written by Charles and was released as the B-side of "I'm Moving On in 1959.
"Them That Got" was written by Charles and Ricci Harper reaching #58 on the Hot 100 and #10 on the R&B chart.
“Hit The Road Jack” was written by Percy Mayfield. Charles' recording of the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts in 1961. It also reached #1 in Sweden and New Zealand.
Charles closes the set by performing a sax solo.
"Franklin Ajaye"
Comedian Franklin Ajaye talks about Star Trek and performs impressions of several of the characters from the show.
Commercial:"Evelyn Woodski Slow Reading Course"
Written by Al Franken and Tom Davis.
The Evelyn Woodski Slow Reading Course teaches readers to read more slowly, which enables readers increase their enjoyment of reading and improve their comprehension.
Several users of the Woodski method endorse its effectiveness.
The host says he "used to get blisters on my fingers. Now I just sit back and enjoy."
"Blackout"
In a voice-over, Charles says "I love New York, everything about it — even Con Edison, the electric company." He adds that during the previous summer, ConEd came to his rescue.
The sketch cuts to Ray sitting by himself in a hotel room. There's a knock on the door for room service, but it's really two robbers (Aykroyd and Morris) who intend to steal from Ray.
"Next week"
Frequent Saturday Night host Buck Henry appears onstage. He says when hosts next week, he'll be joined by the five finalists of SNL's "Anyone Can Host" contest. Henry tells viewers We’ve read 150,000 postcards from you, and, believe me…America’s in a lot of trouble.
Ray Charles:"Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin'"
The host performs "Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin.'" It was written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein in 1943 for their musical Oklahoma. Charles' recording of the song appeared on True To Life.
"I Can't Stop Loving You"
The Not Ready For Prime Time Players appear on stage with Charles. He plays piano while they sing "I Can't Stop Loving You" .
"Mr. Mike's painting"
Mr. Mike (Michael O'Donoghue) joins Ray and the cast and says he's got a surprise for them. Mr. Mike says they've kidded Ray a lot about his blindness and that Charles has been a "good sport" about it, "but blindness is nothing to kid about." To honor "the courageous example" set by Charles, Saturday Night has purchased a 1909 Claude Monet painting. It will be donated to the Lighthouse of the Blind "in hopes that one day, all will see it."
Goodnights:
Charles, surrounded by the cast, says he's been told the show has "a whole minute left, which is unusual." Ray says “thank you and goodnight” and closes the show by improvising a song built around the phrase "On a Saturday night."
Notes about this episode:
John Belushi briefly interacts with Ray Charles and performs a brief impression of the singer. It's worth noting that Charles later worked with Belushi and Dan Aykroyd when he appeared in The Blues Brothers movie in 1980.
The "Mamorex" bit is a parody of Memorex Cassette Tape commercials that aired in the 1970s. These Memorex spots featured Ella Fitzgerald shattering a glass, both live and on a Memorex recording. Here's an example of one of those ads:
"Evelyn Woodski's Slow Reading Course" is a takeoff on Evelyn Wood's speedreading course. Wood's courses were featured in commercials like this one:
Ephemera:
Here's a TV Guide ad for this episode:
Ray Charles' music-Charles was one of the most important artists in the history of popular music. His performances here are excellent. While the late-70s was not the strongest era of Charles' career, it's great that this episode documents this moment for him and his great backing band.
"Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder"-Unlike every other SNL host prior to this episode, Ray Charles was blind and (obviously) couldn't rely on cue cards. So it's impressive to watch him deliver so much dialogue and hold his own in a sketch with a gifted performer like Dan Aykroyd.
What doesn't work:
Here are bumper photos from this episode, captured from the 1980s VHS release:
J.A. Morris' rating:
