HIP CHECK: In Praise of the Blues Brothers
Yes, the Blues Brothers.
The 43rd anniversary of their classic album, “Briefcase Full of Blues (11/28/78),” reminds me of what a tail-feather shaking record that was. Belushi was a poor-to-average singer. Aykroyd could play the harp… some… and mostly was silly. What, then, made anything about two comedians publicly living out their wildest musical fantasy “ground-shaking?” Simply put, they provided a unique and fun musical gateway to a treasured selection of American culture. Please consider…
The Band
Speaking primarily of the original BFOB guys, they were serious sessions players who took on this gig on for a lark, and found it actually turned into something. For me at least, former MG’s Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn holding down rhythm and bass guitars brought serious gravitas to whatever songs the band took on right from the start. The Colonel and Duck had earned their bones years prior. Paul Shaffer, Matt Murphy and Steve Jordan brought finesse rarely found in one room. And the horn section of Lou Marini, Alan Rubin, Tom Scott and Tom Malone just sent the whole act – and me – into orbit. They could’ve played anything well. This group proves that once in a long while, the stars do align.
The Material
In 1978, at age 14, I’d never heard of Cab Calloway, James Brown, Floyd Dixon, Jr. Wells, Ray Charles, The Chips… or any of the acts Jake and Elwood covered. It was wonderfully fun, novel and new to me. So smitten was I by their fabulous (winking at you, Alan Rubin) taste, I saw them live at the first opportunity, July of 1980, during their first headlining tour. This music was simply wonderful… and I wanted MORE. That is the true value of this act: whetting appetites and inciting ravenous curiosity about blues, soul and R ‘n’ B. No one’s done it before or since.
The Movies and Soundtracks
John Lee Hooker, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Cab Calloway, James Brown, I’ve often wondered if John Landis and John Belushi include such wonderful guest musical appearances to preserve these performers for posterity. What better way to remember Ray, Aretha, John Lee, etc, than with the full Hollywood treatment?
The Legacy
One original album, a soundtrack, two movies and a ton of compilations later, what Jake, Elwood, John Landis, the band, et.al., have left behind is a carefully curated collection of America’s finest cultural treasure — before “curating” was even a thing. Who didn’t make the cut for the movie soundtrack, the performance set lists, the TV show performances? It might not matter. Those nuggets the Blues Brothers gave us were a taste of what was out there and that was enough. Their loving look in time’s rear-view mirror exposed a goldmine that is still worth exploring to this day.