There has been a lot of hype today because fifty years ago today (June 20, 1975) the movie Jaws was released. This is obviously a huge milestone because Jaws is an all-time classic and deserves to be celebrated (along with the John Williams composed soundtrack)!
However, I’d rather celebrate another movie that was also released on June 20th, but five years later: The Blues Brothers was released forty five years ago today! (June 20, 1980)
The Blues Brothers is easily my favorite movie of all time. I’ve watched it countless times, have the soundtrack in vinyl, cassette and compact disc formats (which I’ve likely listened to hundreds of times). The Blues Brothers soundtrack is today’s pick!
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The story is funny and interesting (“We’re on a mission from God!”), the car chase scene, involving hunders of cars, was the most expensive filmed at the time (costing 3.5 million 1980 dollars).
The movie had a huge list of big name guest stars. Of course, the music is top-notch. Some of the best blues rock music ever recorded.
The actual concept of The Blues Brothers was started by John Belushi and Dan Akroyd on Saturday Night Live. They started as skits, but eventually turned into a full-fledged band. Here is an early performance of the full band, as a cold-open for Saturday Night Live in November, 1978:
This version of “Soul Man” is absolutely insane! The music is incredibly tight and high energy…and look at the dance moves!! You can tell everyone in the band is having a great time.
Speaking of the band, the membership was full of A-list players: Steve Cropper (guitar) and Donald “Duck” Dunn (bass) were part of the house band at Stax Records (playing on recordings with Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave and many many more), and also members of Booker T. and the M.G.s. Paul Shaffer (keyboards) went on to be the bandleader with David Letterman. Matt “Guitar” Murphy played with blues greats like Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Koko Taylor and Etta James. Willie Hall (drums) played with The Bar-Kays and Isaac Hayes. Lou Marini (Saxophone) played in Blood, Sweat & Tears.
To say that these guys were legendary musicians by the time they were in The Blues Brothers is a massive understatement. The Blues Brothers were a legit band in every conceivable way.
The first show The Blues Brothers played outside of Saturday Night Live was opening for comedian Steve Martin at The Universal Amphitheater. Here they are playing “Hey Bartender” and “Rubber Biscuit” from this incredible show:
Songs from this concert was released on the album Briefcase Full of Blues which is worth checking out.
They also played a New Years Eve show on December 31, 1978, opening for The Grateful Dead and New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was the final concert at the Winterland Arena. Here is “Flip, Flop & Fly” from that show:
Let’s get back to the movie! As I previously mentioned, the music throughout the whole film is awesome! Let’s start with the songs involving the guest stars…first up: Aretha Franklin singing “Think”:
Ray Charles sings and plays like a madman on “Shake a Tail Feather”:
Finally, James Brown brings the house down with “The Old Landmark” (Chaka Khan is also singing in the choir):
I just also want to highlight that the dancing and choreography in all these scenes are out of this world.
Their version of “She Caught The Katy” opens the movie and the soundtrack. Notice how there is no music and barely any sound / dialog at all until the brothers reunite and hug and then the song kicks in. Way cool!
Some of the scenes involving the music is also very funny. One great example is when they pretend to be a country band. They first try playing “Gimme Some Lovin’” but eventually read the room and play “Theme From Rawhide” instead:
Speaking of “Gimme Some Lovin’” it was released as a single from the soundtrack and it was a huge hit:
Perhaps the best performance in the whole movie was near the end when they play a final show / fundraiser. They open the show with “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love” and it is a barn burner!
The movie ends with The Blues Brothers back in prison performing “Jailhouse Rock” and it is a fitting end for a great film (if you look closely you can see Joe Walsh as one of the prisoners dancing on a table):
All of these songs are included on the soundtrack. It is forty minutes of pure joy. I will never get tired of this movie or soundtrack. If you haven’t watched the movie or listened to the soundtrack, you are in for a treat!
