Needs More Cowbell

In the sketch, which is transcribed here, Dickinson (played by Christopher Walken) says "Well, guess what! I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!"

While the song actually includes a cowbell, Frenkle is a fictional character. In 2005, Washington Post reported that fans, even five years later, still asked the band about Frenkle.

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In July 2004, "more cowbell" made its first appearance on Urban Dictionary. A year later, Wired posted a timeline of the need for cowbell.

The Kansas City chapter of Paul Green School of Rock Music attempted to break the world record for most cowbells in a in December 2008. Also that year, MoreCowbell.dj was registered, with a program that would add cowbell (and Christopher Walken) to any song a user uploads.

During the 2010 Winter Olympics, an app called Cowbell2010 was sold on iTunes. The app gave users a virtual cowbell wrapped in the flag of the country of their choice.

Both Guild Wars and World of Warcraft have quests called "More Cowbell." The phrase has been used as a band name and a title of a music blog. There is also a Christopher Walken Cowbell Soundboard.

Fans of the Tampa Bay Rays use cowbells to cheer on the team during games, a promotional tool that directly stemmed from the SNL skit.

Derivatives

How to Play the Cowbell (November 2006) 216,000+ views

More Cowbell – A Cowbell-only song (August 2007) 1,769,000+ views

Cowbell Hero (December 2007) 179,000+ views

The Beatles – "Drive My Car" cowbell remix (November 2008) 9000+ views

6 minutes of Will Ferrell playing the cowbell (May 2009) 214,000+ views

This is Cowbell/Sparta Remix (November 2009) 11,000+ views