"The Simpsons" Adds Coldplay's Martin to List of Musical Guests

Over the past 20 seasons, The Simpsons has recruited the biggest names in music to guest-voice on the show, and Season 21 will continue the tradition: EW's Hollywood Insider reports Coldplay's Chris Martin will lend his voice to an upcoming episode. Martin and Coldplay will appear as themselves as Homer Simpson, after winning the lottery, hires the band to play a private performance for himself and Bart. "When Bart goes to the bathroom, Coldplay has to stop," Simpsons executive producer Al Jean told EW.

(Check out our "Springfield Rocks" gallery to see Simpsonified versions of some of the biggest stars in music and The Simpsons-related Rolling Stone covers.)

One of The Simpsons' first musical guests was Michael Jackson, who guested — under the alias of John Jay Smith — as a mental patient named Leon Kompowsky whose convinced he is Michael Jackson. Jackson also had a hand in penning two songs that featured on The Simpsons, "Do the Bartman" and "Happy Birthday, Lisa." (On the Sunday following Jackson's death, The Simpsons reaired the "Bartman" video, and followed that with Jackson's Kompowsky episode the following week.)

Green Day played a large role in The Simpsons Movie, performing the show's iconic theme song and ultimately getting killed after playing a concert that kick-started the film's garbage-fueled plot line. The show has also featured appearances by three Beatles: Ringo Starr, George Harrison (in the Homer's Barbershop Quartet episode) and Paul McCartney, who along with his wife Linda taught Lisa about the wonders of being a vegetarian.

Episodes have also featured U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Who, R.E.M., Phish, Sting, the Ramones, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, Blink-182, David Byrne, the White Stripes (more on that here), Aerosmith as endorsers of "Flaming Moe's" and Johnny Cash as a Guatemalan Insanity Pepper-induced coyote that talks to a hallucinating Homer. But perhaps the most memorable music-related episode of The Simpsons was "Homerpalooza," which featured appearance by Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth, Cypress Hill and Peter Frampton.

Related Stories:
• Springfield Rocks: A Gallery of Simpsons Cameos and Covers
• Video: The Simpsons Bring Pink Floyd to Life
• First Look at the White Stripes on the Simpsons

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Song Stories

“All Along the Watchtower”

The Jimi Hendrix Experience | 1968

Jimi Hendrix got hold of Bob Dylan's early John Wesley Harding tapes and in late 1967 recorded a version of "All Along the Watchtower" with the Experience in London. Dissatisfied with that first development, Hendrix brought those tapes with him to New York in early 1968 when he began work on Electric Ladyland. Eddie Kramer, Hendrix's engineer at the time, told Rolling Stone that Hendrix "was still looked upon by his basically white audience as the mammoth black guitar hero. There was a constant fight within him to expand himself." Hendrix's successful take on Dylan's work has long been recognized by the songwriter. "I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this and ever since he died I've been doing it that way," Dylan wrote in the liner notes to his Biograph box set. "Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it's a tribute to him in some kind of way."

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