The Blues Brothers

The Blues Brothers biography

The Blues Brothers (or, more formally, The Blues Brothers' Show Band and Revue) are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedy actors 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 harmonica player/backing 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 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 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.

On August 31, 2011 it was announced that Dan Aykroyd and Judith Belushi Pisano were pitching a new Blues Brothers TV series to primetime networks.

Band members

Original lineup

While not all members appeared in the original film, the full band included:

• "Joliet" Jake E. Blues (John Belushi) - lead vocals
• Elwood J. Blues (Dan Aykroyd) - harmonica, backing vocals
• Steve "The Colonel" Cropper - lead and rhythm guitar (formerly with Booker T & the M.G.'s)
• Donald "Duck" Dunn - bass guitar (formerly with 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!, toured with the band in the summer of 1980)
• 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)
• Birch "Crimson Slide" Johnson - trombone (Does not appear in movie)
• 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 (does not appear in movie, but live)
• Tom "Triple Scale" Scott - saxophone (L.A. Express, does not appear in the movie, though his saxophone can still be heard on the soundtrack)

Other members

At various times, the following have been part of the act:

• "Brother" Zee Blues - vocals
• "Mighty Mack" McTeer - vocals
• Buster Blues - harmonica, vocals (acted by J. Evan Bonifant in Blues Brothers 2000, actual harmonica recorded by John Popper)
• Cabel "Cab" Chamberlain - vocals
• Cab Calloway - vocals
• Larry "T" Thurston - vocals
• Eddie "Knock on Wood" Floyd - vocals
• Sam "Soul Man" Moore - vocals
• Jason "Sunshine" Say - rhythm guitar
• Tommy "Pipes" McDonnell - harmonica, vocals
• Rob "The Honeydripper" Paparozzi - harmonica, vocals
• David Spinozza - Guitar
• Leon "The Lion" Pendarvis - piano, vocals, arranger
• Danny "G-Force" Gottlieb - drums
• Jimmy "Jimmy B" Biggins - saxophone
• Anthony "Rusty" Cloud - keyboards
• Eric "The Red" Udel - bass
• John "Smokin" Tropea - guitar
• Lee "Funky Time" Finkelstein - drums
• Steve Potts - drums
• Anton Fig - Drums
• Larry "Trombonius Maximus" Farrell - trombone
• Alto Reed - saxophone
• Jonny "The Rock & Roll Doctor" Rosch - vocals, harmonica

Band history

Origins

The genesis of the Blues Brothers was a January 17, 1976, Saturday Night Live sketch. In it, "Howard Shore and his All-Bee Band" play the Slim Harpo song "I'm a King Bee", with Belushi singing and Aykroyd playing harmonica, dressed in the bee costumes they wore for the "Killer Bees" sketch.

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