“Saturday Night” reminds us Garrett Morris had a stand-out talent in the “Not Ready for Prime Time Players”

I was poking around YouTube after watching Jason Reitman’s fun trip down Boomer TV lane because “Saturday Night” makes a point of reminding us that Garrett Morris could sing.

His most famous sung performance, heard in the film but actually written and  performed long after opening night, was “I’m Gonna Find Me a Shotgun and Shoot Every Whitey I See.”

He sang other times. I remember the homophobic Village Persons (Village People) ditty “Bend Over Chuck Berry, Put Your Guitar Away.” And then there was Walter Matthau’s generous demand that Garrett come on and sing a little Mozart aria when Walter hosted.

That’s what I really wanted to track down.

But one thing mentioned about the oldest and most accomplished performer brought in with that original cast was his singing background during the folk boom, a piece of pop culture history I had never heard.

Here he is with the Harry Belafonte Folk Singers, years before “Live from New York,” verifying that bit of lore tossed into “Saturday Night.”

You’ll recognize him.

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About Roger Moore

Movie Critic, formerly with McClatchy-Tribune News Service, Orlando Sentinel, published in Spin Magazine, The World and now published here, Orlando Magazine, Autoweek Magazine
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