When you've got Paul McCartney as your musical guest, you need to take full advantage of his presence -- and that's exactly what 'Saturday Night Live' did on this past weekend's (Dec. 15) episode, finding a way to wedge in three performances from the former Beatle, with talented backing bands that included Joe Walsh and members of Nirvana.

Unlike a lot of so-called heritage rock acts, McCartney always has a wealth of new material to draw from when he makes the promotional rounds, and even when he opts to dip into his sizable vault of golden oldies, he usually manages to throw in one or two new numbers -- like a few years ago, when he dropped a song from his Fireman side project into the set list for his rooftop concert during 'The Late Show with David Letterman.'

His 'SNL' appearance was no exception, featuring a pair of newer numbers alongside 'Wonderful Christmastime,' the perfect song for SNL's Christmas episode. In addition, audience members and viewers were treated to 'My Valentine' from his 2012 set, 'Kisses on the Bottom,' complete with a guest appearance from Joe Walsh, and a fresh run-through of the new song 'Cut Me Some Slack' with Nirvana members Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear.

As an added bonus, 'Christmastime' was preceded by a sketch featuring McCartney and host Martin Short that featured the two as an ill-fated duo whose tryout for the local Christmas pageant ended with Short screaming in the triangle-playing McCartney's face and storming off the set. Since most people have felt like doing that after getting 'Wonderful Christmastime' stuck in their heads for a few hours at a time, that clip should be particularly enjoyable. Watch all three of the performances, embedded below.

Watch Paul McCartney Perform 'Wonderful Christmastime' on 'SNL'

Watch Paul McCartney Perform 'My Valentine' on 'SNL'

Watch Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear Perform 'Cut Me Some Slack'

 

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