Atlantic 19217
Producer: Bob Tischler
Track listing: Hey Bartender / Messin’ with the Kid / Almost / Rubber Biscuit / Shot Gun Blues / Groove Me / I Don’t Know / Soul Man / “B” Movie Box Car Blues / Flip, Flop & Fly
February 3, 1979
1 week
Much like the Monkees, the Blues Brothers began as characters on a TV show before developing into a recording act. By the fall of 1977, NBC’s two-year-old Saturday Night Live had become one of the best-rated late-night shows on television. Funnymen Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi were among the most popular of the show’s “Not Ready for Prime-Time Players,” but the duo also had other ambitions.
“The Blues Brothers were born when John and Danny decided to play a little blues to warm up the audience before the Saturday Night Live show,” says Paul Shaffer, the musical director of both SNL and, later, the Blues Brothers Band. For the performances, Aykroyd and Belushi would slip into the alter egos of Elwood Blues and Jake Blues, respectively, complete with black ’50s-styled suits, skinny ties, fedoras, and Ray-Bans.
The warm-up performances became so popular that they were soon included on the actual Saturday Night Live broadcasts, and Aykroyd and Belushi decided to cut an album. Shaffer helped Belushi put together a band. “We hired each person one by one,” says Shaffer. “Sort of like the way it was depicted in the [1980 Blues Brothers] movie.” This wasn’t just any band, though — Belushi and Shaffer turned to some of the most acclaimed session players in the business, including guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Donald Dunn of Booker T. & the MG’s.
Despite Aykroyd and Belushi’s comedic backgrounds and the often humorous songs performed by the Blues Brothers, the duo’s love for the blues was no joke. “Danny had considerable experience playing harmonica in a Canadian blues band,” says Shaffer. “John was in a rock band in high school. He fell in love with the blues while filming National Lampoon’s Animal House.” While working on the 1978 film, Belushi met bluesman Curtis Salgado, who fronted a band led by guitarist Robert Cray. “It was Curtis, in some all-night sessions after filming, who really turned John onto the blues,” Shaffer says. “By the time we met to pick the material, John was quite an expert on the seminal blues musicians.”
With the all-star crew backing up Belushi’s Jake and Aykroyd’s Elwood, the Blues Brothers rehearsed before hitting the road to record Briefcase Full of Blues. “Everyone knew that John and Danny were so hot that there would be a lot of attention paid to what they did,” says Shaffer. “But once the band started rehearsing, you couldn’t deny the energy. The first time we ran through ‘Soul Man,’ [drummer] Steve Jordan and I were so excited that we grabbed each other and started to jump up and down. This was the ultimate soul band.”
With enthusiasm from within the band overflowing, the group hit the road in support of comedian and frequent Saturday Night Live host Steve Martin. Briefcase Full of Blues was recorded live at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles during a multi-night stand in September 1978.
Seven weeks after its December release, Briefcase Full of Blues hit Number One, spurred by the top 20 hit cover of Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man.” For Cropper and Dunn it was deja vu, since both had played on the 1967 original as members of the Stax house band.
The Blues Brothers’ subsequent releases failed to match the success of their debut, and the original band’s career came to a close when Belushi died of a drug overdose in March 1982 Years later, Aykroyd revived the act with John’s brother, Jim.
THE TOP FIVE
Week of February 3, 1979
1. Briefcase Full of Blues, Blues Brothers
2. Blondes Have More Fun, Rod Stewart
3. 52nd Street, Billy Joel
4. You Don’t Bring Me Flowers, Neil Diamond
5. Barbra Streisand’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 Barbra Streisand