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Mar 19, 2024 · The first half of that line came from Dan Aykroyd ’s original script for “The Blues Brothers,” a 324-page tome that he delivered to producers wrapped in the cover of an L.A. telephone book....
- 15 The Blues Brothers Touring Band Played Themselves
- 14 Aretha Franklin Struggled to Lip-Synch For Her Blues Brothers Scene
- 13 Ray Charles’ Blues Brothers Scene Featured Non-Professional Dancers
- 12 The Blues Brothers Has The Vatican's Stamp of Approval
- 11 Cab Calloway Wanted Minnie The Moocher, But The Disco Version
- 10 Chicago Police Officers Loved John Belushi
- 9 The Film Once Held A World Record
- 8 John Belushi Got Paid Twice as Much as Dan Aykroyd
- 7 That Chase Scene Took Place in A Real Shopping Mall
- 6 Dan Aykroyd Proposed to Carrie Fisher During Filming
Real Blues Brothers, Real Instruments
When Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi decided to transition their Blues Brothers act from a comedic sketch to a serious musical endeavor, they didn't just bring their characters to life on the stage; they brought together a supergroup of musicians to back them. The band, featuring legendary figures like guitarist Steve Cropper and saxophonist "Blue Lou" Marini, wasn't just a backing band; they became an integral part of the Blues Brothers' identity. This group of musicians, who were among the bes...
Queen of Soul Couldn't Fake It?
The inclusion of music legends inThe Blues Brothers film added a layer of authenticity and excitement, bringing their iconic sounds to a new audience. Among these legends was Aretha Franklin, whose performance of "Think" is one of the film's highlights. However, Franklin faced a challenge unfamiliar to most professional singers: lip-synching to her own recording. According to John Landis in a tribute written for The Hollywood Reporter, this was a struggle not unique to Franklin; many of the f...
Street Cast For Ray Charles?
Ray Charles’ unforgettable appearance in The Blues Brothers as a music shop owner is not just memorable for his musical prowess but also for the spontaneous dance it incites. What makes this scene truly special, as John Landis revealed (via Yahoo), is that the dancers were not professionals but rather everyday peoplefound on the streets of Chicago. This decision was partly due to the fact that the film's stars, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, were not particularly skilled dancers themselves. By...
Blues Brothers: Surprisingly Holy?
Despite its R-rated content and behind-the-scenes controversies, The Blues Brothers received an unexpected endorsement from the Vatican in 2010,being declared a "Catholic classic" alongside films like The Ten Commandments and It's a Wonderful Life. This recognition, bestowed by the Vatican's official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, in celebration of the film's 30th anniversary, underscores the movie's underlying message of redemption and mission. The film, which tells the story of two brothe...
Calloway's Disco Moocher? Not This Time!
Cab Calloway's performance in The Blues Brothers is a standout moment, perfectly capturing the film's celebration of classic music. Calloway, a jazz icon, delivers a rendition of "Minnie the Moocher" that harks back to its original 1931 release. However, this nearly wasn't the case. John Landis recalls in The Blues Brothers DVD commentary that Calloway had initially wanted to perform a disco-style version of the song, a recent re-recording that veered away from its jazz roots. Landis's decisi...
Cops Dig Jake Blues?
The Chicago Police Department loved John Belushi. By the time The Blues Brothers was released, Belushi was a massively popular comedian due to his time on Saturday Night Live and the success of National Lampoon’s Animal House. In short, Belushi was so famous that he could essentially do whatever he wanted. Producer and writer Mitch Glazer even recalled times when police officers would recognize Belushi on the street and give them a ride home. Aykroyd even went as far as calling Belushi the “u...
Blues Brothers: Record Breakers?
There were plenty of explosions, special effects, and car chases in The Blues Brothers. After Jake and Elwood escape from The Palace Hotel Ballroom, they rush to Chicago City Hall to pay the Roman Catholic Orphanage’s tax bill. This led to a police chase, with the two characters in the run. Dozens of police cars chased them through the streets of Chicago, and a total of 103 cars were destroyed during filming. They held the world record (via Jalopnik) for most cars destroyed in a film for two...
Belushi's Bigger Payday?
John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd were two of the original cast members on Saturday Night Live, but Belushi hit fame before Aykroyd did. Aykroyd would, of course, go on to star in films like Ghostbusters and Coneheads, but Animal House really kickstarted Belushi's career. Because of Belushi’s previous acting experience, his paycheck reflected it. Aykroyd got paid $250,000 for The Blues Brothers while Belushi got double that at $500,000 (via Vanity Fair). Belushi could have continued his acting car...
Real Mall, Real Mayhem!
While many films build giant sets to destroy for filming purposes, The Blues Brothers destroyed an actual mall. The iconic scene was filmed in Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, Illinois, which had recently been closed due to crime and gang activity in the area. According to a documentary on the 25th Anniversary Edition of The Blues Brothers, the then-empty mall was filled with actual merchandise from stores, with the promise that any merchandise undamaged would be returned. The parking lot of the...
Love on the Set: Blues Brothers Style
The Blues Brothers came out three years after the massive success of Star Wars and snagged one of the film’s stars: Carrie Fisher. Fisher played the mystery woman who was Jake's ex-fiancée. In real life, though, she was engaged to Dan Aykroyd. Belushi set them up on set after Aykroyd gave her the Heimlich maneuver when she choked on a Brussels sprout (via People). They fell in love and eventually got engaged. Aykroyd even revealed they thought about having children together, which didn’t end...
- John Landis
- John Belushi
All of the above, yes. The musical-comedic duo of Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi turned a ludicrous beginning in bumble bee costumes — not dark suits, fedoras, and Ray-Bans — into a musical act that “exposed a generation to the brilliance of blues and soul legends like John Lee Hooker and Aretha Franklin,” as Dar ...
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Nov 28, 2023 · Categories: Anniversaries, Longform. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd released the platinum-selling No. 1 smash 'Briefcase Full of Blues' as the Blues Brothers on Nov. 28, 1978.
Jun 20, 2005 · Comedians John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd played Jake and Elwood, characters they'd originally used to warm up the studio audience on NBC's "Saturday Night Live." They pretended to be the...
By Stacie Seifrit-Griffin. John Belushi with Dan Aykroyd on the set of "The Blues Brothers" (1980) I grew up watching Saturday Night Live, “The Blues Brothers,” and so many of your movies. Your whole career has been in front of me, and I find you incredibly talented, funny and very smart.
Oct 26, 2021 · Courtesy Everett Collection. A docuseries about Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi’s classic characters the Blues Brothers is in the works. For the series, Aykroyd and Belushi’s widow...
