Jack White appeared on NBC's Saturday Night Live over the weekend. And, although he performed two songs from his latest album, Boarding House Reach, it's his comedic cameo that's getting the most attention.
The setup: Mark and Dana have just gotten married, and the action kicks off at their fancy-pants wedding reception, where Mark's best friend, Doug, is just about to make his speech. Instead, he launches into a song—and Dana soon joins in.
Above, watch as White plays guitar for Doug (Luke Null) and Dana (Cecily Strong) as they sing the totally inappropriate "The Dark End of the Street." During the performance, it becomes painfully obvious that Doug and Dana are singing about their illicit love affair. Meanwhile, Mark (played by SNL host John Mulaney), looks confused, asks a lot of dumb questions and—eventually—has a decent time.
"Jack White played at my wedding," he says with pride.
Anyway, White enters the sketch at 2:30, just as the tune modulates from G to G#. He plays a bluesy little guitar solo—and the sketch itself isn't bad at all.
By the way, "The Dark End of the Street" was written by Dan Penn and Chips Moman and first recorded by James Carr in 1967. Although the song has been covered many times over the decades, two artists—the Flying Burrito Brothers and Linda Rondstadt—have done it particular justice when they recorded it in 1969 and 1974, respectively. Rondstadt's version happens to feature a classic guitar solo by Bob Warford, who played his B-bender-equipped Fender Telecaster. It's basically a master class on how to play “relaxed” yet powerful B-bender guitar at a slow tempo.
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