Chris Stapleton Surprises ‘SNL’ With Sturgill Simpson Collaborations [WATCH]
Chris Stapleton performed on Saturday Night Live on Jan. 27 -- and he brought a very special guest: none other than Sturgill Simpson. Together, the two performed "Midnight Train to Memphis" and "Hard Living" during the TV sketch comedy show.
For "Midnight Train to Memphis," which readers can watch above, Stapleton sang the song's first verse, before ceding the mic to Simpson, who was performing in Stapleton's band unannounced, for the second verse; Stapleton then took on the third verse himself. "Midnight Train to Memphis" was written by Stapleton and his former SteelDrivers' bandmate Mike Henderson; the SteelDrivers included their version of the song on 2008's The SteelDrivers, released via Rounder Records.
Before "Hard Living," SNL host Will Ferrell introduced Simpson along with Stapleton. Stapleton largely took the lead on this song, though Simpson did sing one line in each verse; together, the two cranked out the song's raucous guitar solo together. Readers can watch the performance below.
"Midnight Train to Memphis" and "Hard Living" both appear on Stapleton's recently released album From A Room: Volume 2. The two-volume disc, Stapleton's sophomore release, came out in May and December, respectively.
Both Stapleton and Simpson were appearing on Saturday Night Live for the second time. Stapleton made his SNL debut in 2016, performing "Nobody to Blame" and "Parachute" from his debut solo album, Traveller; Simpson, meanwhile, debuted on SNL in 2017, singing two tracks from his Grammy Awards-winning A Sailor's Guide to Earth album.
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