The Blues Brothers.
Posted by: S10
N 41° 30.658 W 090° 34.488
15T E 702387 N 4598321
The Blues Brothers in Rock Island.
Waymark Code: WM2BQT
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 10/08/2007
Views: 78
The Blues Brothers are an American blues, rhythm and blues, and soul revue band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live. Belushi and Aykroyd, respectively in character as lead vocalist "Joliet" Jake Blues and harpist/vocalist Elwood Blues, fronted the band, which was composed of well-known and respected musicians. The band made its debut as the musical guest on the April 22, 1978, episode of Saturday Night Live.
The band then began to take on a life beyond the confines of the television screen, releasing an album, Briefcase Full of Blues, in 1978, and then having a Hollywood film, The Blues Brothers, created around its characters in 1980.
After the death of Belushi in 1982, the Blues Brothers have continued to perform with a rotation of guest singers and other band members. The original band reformed in 1988 for a world tour and again in 1998 for a sequel to the film, Blues Brothers 2000. They make regular appearances at musical festivals worldwide.
Original lineup
While not all members appeared in the original film, the full band included:
"Joliet" Jake E. Blues – vocals
Elwood J. Blues – harmonica, vocals
Steve "The Colonel" Cropper – lead and rhythm guitar (former Booker T & the M.G.'s)
Donald "Duck" Dunn – bass guitar (former Booker T & the M.G.'s)
Murphy Dunne – keyboards (brought in to act in the film due to Paul Shaffer's commitment to perform with Gilda Radner in Gilda Live!)
Willie "Too Big" Hall – drums, percussion (formerly of the Bar-Kays, Isaac Hayes' band, appears in the movie)
Steve "Getdwa" Jordan – drums, percussion (Saturday Night Live Band, appears only on the albums)
Tom "Bones" Malone – trombone, trumpet, saxophone (Saturday Night Live Band)
"Blue" Lou Marini – saxophone (Saturday Night Live Band)
Matt "Guitar" Murphy – lead and rhythm guitar (Howlin' Wolf, other artists)
Alan "Mr. Fabulous" Rubin – trumpet (Saturday Night Live Band)
Paul "The Shiv" Shaffer – keyboards, arranger
Tom "Triple Scale" Scott – saxophone (doesn't appear in the movie, though his horn can still be heard on the soundtrack)