(audience clapping) - Here on this show,
we don't just love a Prince song,
we also can't resist a good Prince story.
Back in 2015 Saturday Night Live,
when all out and celebrating their 40th anniversary,
the audience and after party were as star studded
as the show.
But, the one guy everyone seems to remember being
there was, that's right, Prince.
The thing is, SNL cast members
all have a sorta different take
on hanging out with him after the show
and maybe even how the night went.
Take a look.
I heard about the huge 40th anniversary SNL party
and it sounds like the most epic party in all of the lands.
- It was an insane party.
- I mean, it was the party
that only exists in works of fiction.
- It was so incredible.
I have such little memory (laughing).
- My friend Questlove said, "Prince is here".
and I was like.
- Prince, if you're there,
I'd love to have you come up and sing a song.
- My wife and I we're weaving through the crowd right
as Prince was on stage.
- And he was floating across the room.
- Prince. - Prince.
- [All] Prince
- I feel like Prince was there or he went
into the kitchen and then left.
- I love that everyone has a different version
of Prince in this party.
(laughing) - Oh my God.
What is their story?
Did he perform?
- What did actually happen with Prince in this party?
(audience laughing)
(audience clapping)
So, the truth is in there somewhere.
Probably made a little foggy
by a number of substances we cannot mention on daytime TV,
unless you live in L.A. (laughing).
One of the most, let's say enlightening versions
of this classic Prince story came from Leslie Jones.
Wait for the ending because, well, you'll see.
See, that's you're the only person
that didn't talk about Prince.
- See. See. - What's your Prince story?
- Oh, baby, let me tell you,
and this is a true story. (Kelly laughing)
Okay, I've loved Prince, oh my God,
all my life, child.
Prince brought me into the life.
Prince brought me into the world.
I knew Prince when he was naked on the horse.
You know what I'm saying?
(audience laughing) - Naked on the horse.
- That's the real Prince right there.
The Prince y'all see, that's the Prince after the horse,
you know what I'm saying?
So, I was like, when he came to SNL,
I was like, "Oh my God, I gotta meet Prince."
So, we went to the rehearsal
and I'm just sitting there going,
"Oh my God, Prince in front of me, this is incredible."
So, I'm standing in the back and that week, Chris Rock
was the host. - Oh, wow.
- So I'm standing in the back.
I'm standing in the back, full (indistinct) and everything.
All you could see is my teeth in the dark,
'cause I'm just like. (audience laughing)
(Kelly laughing)
Prince.
So, he comes off the stage and starts heading towards me.
And it's like he's coming towards me.
And I'm like, "Prince is headed towards me.
"Prince is headed towards me.
"Prince is headed towards me."
So, he gets about right here
and you could see in his face that he made a mistake.
- Oh, no. (audience laughing)
- But he's very sweet, so he kept coming,
and he grabs my hand and I said,
"You thought I was Chris Rock, didn't you?"
- [Kelly] Wait, what?
(audience laughing)
- Wait, what?
(audience applauding)
You do not look like Chris Rock.
- He went,
(audience laughing)
"Yes, I did."
- Oh, my God. - "Yes, I did."
- He owned it.
Oh, my God.
You don't look anything like Chris Rock (laughing).
(audience laughing) - I do in the dark.
Teeth and head.
- [Kelly] Oh, my God, I love you so much.
- It's just incredible (laughing).
(audience laughing)
It's incredible, I don't know.
He's gon' kill me for that. - Oh, my God.
- He's gon' kill me.
- I love though that you saw the oh, (beep) face.
- His face was like.
(audience laughing)
- [Kelly] You (laughing).
- You.
- Oh, my God.
Today we're bringing you Prince
and other stories worth saving.
As you saw earlier, people at the SNL 40th anniversary party
had different opinions of how the night went down,
especially once Prince floated
in on a magnificent purple mist.
Jimmy Fallon, looking at you (laughing).
Just look at this.
- I would say one of my biggest,
most fun nights we ever had was a 40th anniversary
of the show.
And, at the end, at the after party,
we just had an empty stage with instruments all set up.
No band booked, no one's booked.
And one at a time, everyone
just grabbed guitars, drums, started their own band
and everyone got on stage and Aykroyd started this party,
and he called me up and it was him,
it was Jim Belushi and Paul McCartney.
And they're like, "Where's Jimmy Fallon?
"Where's Jimmy." - What?
- I got up and he tapped me. He goes, "All right, kid.
"This is your turn now."
And gave me the mic, and I ran it like a human karaoke box.
(indistinct) (Kelly laughing)
I was like, "Anyone who is (indistinct)."
I go, "Taylor, do you wanna get up and sing something?"
She's like, "Yep."
Taylor got up, sang some, Ariana got up and sang something.
- Oh, my God.
- Blondie, B-52s.
- This is the party that everyone was at.
- Get ready for the ending. - Yeah.
- So, it's everybody you can think.
Open with Paul McCartney close with-
- Who do you close with after- - Take a wild guess.
- Oh, wait, I've heard Prince.
- Prince. - Yeah, okay.
(audience applauding)
Prince is the guy with this party.
- So, we're onstage and Chris rock says to me,
"Hey, Princes is here, by the way.
"If you'd probably ask nicely,
"he might come up and do something, I don't know."
And I just grabbed the mic like, "Prince, are you here?"
(audience laughing) Prince.
And then the crowd parted.
It was like a purple kind of smoke.
And I swear, his feet weren't touching the ground.
His legs were just kind of floating.
(audience laughing)
And he kinda floated up and he floated up towards me
and I go, "Wow, I gotta embrace the moment, it's happening.
"This might be death, this is what death is,
"I don't know. "Maybe it's life, I don't know."
He came up, he pulled out these long gloves,
I took them, I handed him the guitar
and he saying, "Let's go crazy at four in the morning
"in New York City." (audience applauding)
- Can I tell you my favorite part of that story?
Is he took off his long gloves.
(laughing)
- That's how you now the story is real.
- He took off his long gloves and he was like, "Hold these."
- (laughing) I was like, "Oh, yeah."
Exactly, I held his long gloves.
- That's amazing.
Oh, my God.
Your life is awesome.
- Yes, I have some good moments.
- "Hold my long gloves," says Prince.
- I got (indistinct). (laughing)
- This hour we have been sharing Prince
and other stories worth saving.
Back when Max Greenfield was on "New Girl,"
he found himself onstage next to Prince.
Yep, nobody would know what to do.
You'd freak, all of us would be sweating.
Here's how that went down for Max.
On "New Girl," you guys had Prince as a guest
and we love Prince stories. - I've heard.
- You have no idea. (audience cheering)
Almost everybody has a Prince story.
It's like when this show ends one day,
we're just gonna put this all together for one episode.
Everybody has a Prince story.
So, what's your Prince story?
- Well, obviously Prince did an episode on "New Girl."
- [Kelly] Yeah, which is so cool.
- Well, it really is.
That's exactly what it was. - He didn't do TV shows.
- No, that's exactly what it was.
It was forever, we can point to the fact
that he did the show-
- [Kelly] Prince did your show (indistinct)
- (indistinct) was on a cool show. Oh, it wasn't cool?
Oh really?
'Cause Prince was on it.
(audience laughing) - Prince came on it, yeah.
- So, we were with him for two nights.
(chuckling) And I guess my best story
from those two nights was the premise of the episode
was that we all go to a party at Prince's house.
And he, at the very end of the episode
is up on stage and sorta deejaying.
He didn't wanna be playing guitar,
he wanted to be deejaying.
And then, he had written a song for the show.
- What? - Yes.
That he and Zooey Deschanel sing at the end of the episode.
And so, it's him and Zooey up on stage
and Zooey is sort of like- - She's terrified.
- She lives in that area.
- Okay, she's fine. - That's a good zone for her.
- I live in the musical area and I would be terrified.
- I mean, I don't know, but you couldn't tell
if she was terrified. - Okay, well, she's an actor.
Okay (laughing). (audience laughing).
- She's center stage and the idea
of the moment was that they were gonna pull the gang
up on stage.
So, we're coming up on stage and it was the first time
as an actor I was like, "What do I do here?
(laughing)
"I don't know how anyone would play this."
And so, I'm walking up and I really took a moment
to go, "Forget about the show for a second.
"Prince is right there."
And I was as close to Prince as anybody in this lineup.
He's deejaying right here.
And I said, "Just be present, be with Prince
"and experience this."
And the song's going, and we're up on stage,
and we're supposed to be having fun.
And I start just dancing
as I would (audience laughing)
to the music.
And, I let myself be free.
And at some point, I looked over
and Prince and I made eye contact and he looked
at me like, "Yeah, man."
(audience laughing) (audience applauding)
- I was hoping he would be like, "You should stop."
- No.
No.
And I looked at him like, "Yeah."
(audience laughing)
And I've seen the footage and it is ridiculous.
(laughing)
- You're like (indistinct).
- I could never even recreate the dance
that I was doing on there, but my body was moving
in a way- - The spirit(indistinct)
- That you- - Unleashed.
- It was the purest form of movement
that I've ever experienced.
- (laughing) Next to Prince.
I love that.
- That's what it is.
He just dials you down to your truth.
And, sometimes that truth, it's tough to see.
- But it's unleashed and we like it.
It's raw (laughing).