The Blues Brothers 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…..when Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band in character respectively, as lead vocalist ‘Joliet’ Jake Blues and harmonica player/vocalist Elwood Blues.
The band was composed of previously well-known musicians……and debuted as the musical guest on the April 22, 1978, episode of Saturday Night Live, opening the show performing “Hey Bartender”, and later “Soul Man”…..as seen in this video herewith.
In 1978, the band released their debut album, Briefcase Full of Blues….and opened for the Grateful Dead at the closing of Winterland Arena in San Francisco. They gained further notoriety after spawning a Hollywood comedy film in 1980, The Blues Brothers….which was a huge box office hit.
After Belushi’s death in 1982, the Blues Brothers 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 film, Blues Brothers 2000.
We cannot even begin to tell you how delighted we are at ImaSportsphile to have as much Blues Brothers music as we have in our music library….as it simply goes with the greatest collection of John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd video footage as two of the great comedic geniuses of all time.
