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Dan Aykroyd Opens Up About How Blues Brothers Movie Came to Life; SNL Producer 'Didn't Dig' the Act
Discover the story behind The Blues Brothers in Audible's Blues Brothers: The Arc of Gratitude, featuring insights from Dan Aykroyd and others, plus recordings from John Belushi. Know more!
The Blues Brothers is a beloved 1980 comedy, but its creation wasn't as easy as it seems. Blues Brothers: The Arc of Gratitude, an Audible Original, features Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi, Paul Shaffer, Curtis Salgado, John Landis, Steve Jordan, and Judy Belushi Pisano talking about the film's history. This Audible project features recordings from the late John Belushi, exploring the emotional and hilarious backstory of the Blues Brothers, their music, and their Saturday Night Live days.
Making the classic 1980 film Blues Brothers wasn't quite so carefree
It tells the history of the movie, as well as the music and Saturday Night Live sketch that inspired it all, in the new Audible Original Blues Brothers: The Arc of Gratitude by Dan Aykroyd with collaborators and colleagues Jim Belushi, Paul Shaffer, Curtis Salgado, John Landis, Steve Jordan, and Judy Belushi Pisano. (plus recordings from late friend and co-star John Belushi).
As reported by People, Aykroyd said, "I hope people take away the emotion of the love story between John and me.". In addition, he added, "I hope people take away laughter, knowledge, and inspiration to keep going."
According to Aykroyd, Belushi inherited Aykroyd's deep love for Blues music, which was the inspiration for the Blues Brothers. Together, they created Jake and Elwood, characters who appeared on stages and jammed. Later on, they developed the characters further, and attempted to get them on the SNL stage during the show's inaugural season.
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Lou Marini, saxophonist for the Blues Brothers, tells Audible that SNL producer Lorne Michaels "didn't dig it". During one of the late-season shows, they were short, so he asked, 'Do you want to do your silly song?' And so we did it on the show, and it was an enormous hit; people just loved it."
Eventually, Aykroyd and Belushi formed a musical act, the Blues Brothers, with a talented band of musicians and an ever-growing audience. Their 1978 album, Briefcase Full of Blues, went double platinum.
For director John Landis, a movie penned in part by Aykroyd made sense
According to Landis via Audible, "John and Danny have the number one album in the country, they're on the number one TV show, and John is in the biggest movie in the world, Animal House." According to Landis, "a Universal Studios executive named Sean Daniel connived with me to do a movie."
Despite wanting to call "Cut," he stopped himself.
Seeing this amazing woman sing, what we were about to do, the music, and being able to dance with her and celebrate and venerate the music we loved as kids and beyond was overwhelming. However, I got up and danced."
Additionally, the Audible project opened doors to less happy memories, such as Belushi's death in 1982. According to Aykroyd, his first impulse was to run down Fifth Avenue to their townhouse on Morton Street as soon as possible after getting the call from Bernie Brillstein. "Arriving at Judy's house, I burst in and saw that she was standing at her fridge and did not know yet."
"Telling Judy John had passed away is a piece of trauma that will stick with me forever," Aykroyd said. (Judy died on July 5, 2024.)
Wistfulness isn't enough for him; he's lamenting deeply. "Losing him set me back for a full year," Aykroyd admits. His grief didn't stop him from moving forward, driven by the desire to honor Belushi's legacy and keep working.
However, there was a silver lining to the Audible Original as well: "I loved hearing John speak again," says Aykroyd. "He was a very sensitive and honest performer."
Audible Original touches upon the importance of such performances in keeping his memory alive.
Blues Brothers' legacy introduced a new generation to Blues, Rhythm and Blues, says saxophonist Lou Marini. Marini says the band's influence was instrumental in spreading awareness of these genres and their great artists to younger people. There's no doubt about the band's importance in popularizing this music, he says. Audible is now offering Blues Brothers: The Arc of Gratitude exclusively.
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