One of the most expensive comedies ever produced!
In 1980, after a very long and expensive production (due to the shenanigans of lead actor John Belushi) musical comedy The Blues Brothers was launched in cinemas around the world.
The film saw two brothers “put the band back together again” in order to raise some money to prevent the closure of the orphanage where the two were raised by nuns. As they describe it, “we’re on a mission from God”.
Chased by the Police due to unpaid parking tickets and driving without a license, the brothers drive around the country to do gigs, aiming to raise money for their holy cause.
Tunes played in the movie are covers of old classics such as She Caught The Katy, Gimme Some Lovin’, Rawhide, Shake A Tailfeather, Everybody Needs Somebody, Think, Minnie The Moocher, Soul Man, Sweet Home Chicago, and Jailhouse Rock.
The cast includes superstars Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway, James Brown, Steve Cropper and Donald Duck Dunn, John Lee Hooker, Joe Walsh, and Chaka Khan.
The two lead characters played by John Belushi and Dan Akroyd were based on the duo Sam & Dave.
The movie would become a cult classic, even generating tribute bands that still to this day perform the tunes performed in the film.
It also brought a revival of Blues and Soul music back into the consciousness of popular culture which by 1980 had just come out of a Disco craze and was looking for something new.
The Blues Brothers is a must-see for any musician, only comparable to The Commitments, released a decade later.
The Blues Brothers tunes | Related pages
Gimme Some Lovin’
| G | Bb | C | Eb |
So glad we made it. So glad we made it. You’ve got to.
| G7omit3 | G7omit3 |
Gimme some lovin’ (gimme, gimme some lovin’).
Jailhouse Rock
| E | E Eb |
The warden threw a party in the county jail.
| E | E Eb |
The prison band was there and they began to wail.
Shake A Tail Feather
| D5 (D6) | G (G6) |
Well, I heard about the fellow you’ve been dancin’ with,
| D5 (D6) | G (G6) |
all over the neighborhood.
Soul Man
| G G7 G | G G7 G |
Coming to you, on a dusty road,
| G G7 G | G G7 G |
good loving, I got a truckload.
Think
| Bb | Eb Bb |
You better think (think). Think about what you’re trying to do to me.
| Bb | Eb Bb |
Think (think, think). Let your mind go, let yourself be free.
Blues Brothers on the web
