by 
Drublic
ANSWERS: 4
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Ah, the cowbell. Some call it the "cymbal's evil third cousin." It may well be the only prescription your fever ever needs. At least, that's what Christopher Walken says. And when Walken speaks, you'd best listen. He extolled the virtues of the cowbell in an April, 2000 "Saturday Night Live" sketch that parodied the VH1 show "Behind the Music." Featuring a faux version of the band Blue Oyster Cult, the sketch introduced Walken as a famous record producer. He was going to make the band's next song, "Don't Fear the Reaper," a mega-hit, and the key to success would be the cowbell. The band's lineup included a fictional cowbell player, portrayed by SNL regular Will Ferrell. In the course of the sketch, Walken kept demanding "more cowbell," much to the ire of the band. Unlike some SNL-inspired catch phrases, "more cowbell" wasn't an immediate hit. It slowly percolated over the years, turning up on web sites and hipster T-shirts. These days, both Blue Oyster Cult and Christopher Walken say they hear it all the time, and they don't seem to mind the clanging addition of this unique instrument. http://ask.yahoo.com/20061219.html
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I believe it originated from a sketch on SNL (Saturday Night Live), where Christopher Walken appeared as a guest host. During the sketch, Christopher Walked plays a music producer, and Will Ferrell plays a cowbell player. During the recording of the band, Blue Oyster Cult's, song "Don't Fear The Reaper", Ferrell loudly and somewhat obnoxiously "plays" the cowbell. The band pause, waiting for a reaction from Walken's character, who says that the recording is good, but that he feels it needs "A little more cowbell". At the end of the sketch, one of the band members says: "I've got a fever, and the only prescription is ... more cowbell!" Thus injecting the line's status into the realms of pop culture catch phrases.
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A phrase that came into popular culture through a Saturday Night Live skit with Will Farrell. In the skit, Farrell portrayed a member of the 80s rock band Blue Oyster Cult as they recorded their classic hit "Don't Fear the Reaper" in the studio. Farrell played the cowbell quite forcefully on that track, much to the dismay of the rest of the band. Yet surprisingly, the studio producer loved Farrell's cowbell playing, and demanded "more cowbell" on the track. More cowbell is the reason that Blue Oyster Cult's mega-hit "Don't Fear the Reaper" reached such heights. While recording the song, the cowbell track was barely audible. It was the sharp ear of the producer who stepped in and demanded "more cowbell."(After all, he did know how to make hit records.) An element of music synonymous with more rocking. Something everything needs more of. A remedy. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=more+cowbell idiom. Something extra that will take a project or endeavor to a higher level. http://www.wordspy.com/words/morecowbell.asp
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Saturday Night Live - one of the skits. It's a pop culture legendary thing now.
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