The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers are a fictitious American blues and soul revue band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, who met and began collaborating as original cast members of Saturday Night Live.
This article is about the American band. For the 1980 film, see The Blues Brothers (film). For other uses, see Blues Brothers (disambiguation).
The Blues Brothers
Calumet City, Illinois, U.S.
1978–1982, 1988-present
- Elwood J. Blues
- Zee Blues
- Blues Brothers Band:'
- Steve Cropper
- Lou Marini*
- Alan Rubin*
- Jonny Rosch
- Eddie Floyd
- Jake Blues
- Donald "Duck" Dunn
- Steve Jordan
- Willie Hall
- Tom Malone
- Matt Murphy
- Paul Shaffer
- Murphy Dunne
- Tom Scott
- "Mighty Mack" McTeer
- Larry Thurston
- Tommy McDonnell
A common misconception is that the act also originated on SNL. The Blues Brothers, however, was an independent project of Belushi and Aykroyd, first appearing as the opening act for comedian Steve Martin. Martin later appeared on Saturday Night Live as host, and the Blues Brothers appeared as musical guest.
The Blues Brothers Musical Revue consisted of lead vocalist 'Joliet' Jake Blues (Belushi) and his brother, Elwood (Aykroyd), who played a harmonica which he carried onstage in a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist. The duo were dressed in matching black suits, black pencil ties, black trilby hats and black sunglasses. The band itself was carefully constructed, and made up of experienced musicians of the time, including Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Matt "Guitar" Murphy, "Blue" Lou Marini, Tom "Bones" Malone, and Alan "Mr. Fabulous" Rubin.
In 1978, the band released their debut album, Briefcase Full of Blues, which was a recording of their original appearance with Steve Martin. Several subsequent albums followed. The act opened for the Grateful Dead at the closing of Winterland Arena in San Francisco, and gained further fame after spawning the Hollywood comedy film The Blues Brothers in 1980. They remain the most successful blues revue act of all time.
Belushi died in 1982, but the Blues Brothers continued to perform with a rotation of guest singers and other band members. The band re-formed in 1988 for a world tour and again in 1998 for the sequel film Blues Brothers 2000.
Full stage musical[edit]
The Blues Brothers Musical
In 2020, the first Blues Brothers full stage musical premiered in Tauranga, New Zealand. Written and directed by New Zealand writers Gordy Lockhart and Liam Hagan, the pair spent years in discussions with Judy Belushi prior to signing an agreement with Belushi and Aykroyd to use Blues Brothers intellectual property.
The main task of the writers was to create a stage show based on a new storyline as complications with rights ownership meant the original movie script could not be adapted for the stage. The result was The Blues Brothers - First Contact.
The Blues Brothers - First Contact
Show Synopsis
Jake and Elwood Blues are conditionally released from Joliet Detention Facility and are conscripted to the US military on direct orders from the Commander in Chief.
Five years previously, SETI Project Scientists detected a faint signal from Gamma Proteous 5 in the Carina Nebula. Now, in a highly classified CIA led operation, First Contact and the arrival of alien visitors on Planet Earth is scheduled for 7-23pm on Tuesday 24th August at Area 56 in the Dark Mountains of Global Region Echo.
However, the President has intelligence that suggests the morale of American forces, Joint Special Forces Operations Command (JSOC), based at Area 56 are at an all-time low.
POTUS believes that following five years of arduous preparation far from home, the appalling quality of entertainment at the region's main base to be the core of the issue.
His solution? He instructs the Joint Chiefs to find the only musical act that has a hope of raising moral, so saving the world and developing intergalactic relations.
COVID 19
The show's creators hadn't considered a factor even Jake and Elwood couldn't counter. COVID 19! The show was due to premier in early April of 2020. When the New Zealand government declared a national lockdown with effect from 25th March of that year the cast and crew were forced into hiatus.
Lockdown lifted six weeks later; however, the various health restrictions and further lockdowns prevented The Blues Brothers - First Contact from finally premiering until September of 2020.
Famously, then Prime Minister of New Zealand, Dame Jacinda Ardern, recorded a short pep-talk for the cast of the show discussing how she felt, at least in part, responsible for the delays to the production.
It seemed, in the end, not even a worldwide pandemic could stop Jake and Elwood.