Leon Russell And Elton John Appear on “Saturday Night Live”

“Rocket Man” and the “Master of Space and Time,” uniting once again.

Elton John, Leon Russell to appear on “Saturday Night Live. ”The British pop superstar will do double duty as host and musical guest on this weekend’s “SNL,” with the Oklahoma icon joining him for the musical performances.

Elton John (British Pop Superstar) will do double duty as both host and musical guest on “Saturday Night Live” during this weekend. His recent duet partner and Oklahoma icon Leon Russell will join him for the program’s musical performances. “SNL” airs at 10:30 p.m. Saturday on NBC.

This Saturday’s episode will mark John’s first time back on the “SNL” stage since 1982, when he played the songs “Empty Garden” and “Ball and Chain."

According to IMDB, Uncle Leon and his then wife Mary Russell were musical guests on “SNL” back in 1976.
The singer/songwriter/pianist pair was in New York last month when John ushered Russell into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Russell (and Owasso resident Garth Brooks) will be back in NYC June 16 for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

John and Russell have made several high profile TV appearances together since releasing their collaborative album “The Union” last fall. “The Union” debuted in October at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, earned a Grammy nomination for best pop collaboration with vocals for lead single “If It Wasn’t for Bad” and sparked a dramatic career resurgence for Russell, who had fallen into relative obscurity after playing a pivotal role on the rock ‘n’ roll scene in the 1960s and ‘70s.

Russell’s top ‘70s classics have been compiled into a new CD and digital collection, “The Best of Leon Russell,” which will be released Tuesday by Capitol/EMI.