I've mentioned the Blues Brothers on Clair's blog recently, in the middle of a discussion on movie celebrities and their surprising crossovers into music. (Steven Seagal was the primary topic of conversation there.)
For those not in the know, the Blues Brothers are made up of Elwood Blues and Jake Blues -- in actuality, Dan Aykroyd and the late John Belushi -- as well as a band made up of some of the finest blues musicians in history: Tom "Bones" Malone, Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn, and Matt "Guitar" Murphy, among others. They are perhaps most well-known for two feature-length movies: 1980's The Blues Brothers, and 2000's Blues Brothers 2000.
While the movie productions themselves are not known for their writing or technical achievement, the Blues Brothers carry a heavy amount of respect in the American Blues scene. The original The Blues Brothers movie capped off a musical career that had already seen highlight performances in various venues (including Saturday Night Live). Despite the band's post-production breakup and John Belushi's subsequent death in 1982, their music has simply refused to die.
At present, the Blues Brothers band continues to put out albums, some based on archived recordings and some based on sessions with guest artists. The Blues Brothers 2000 movie introduced three new members of the family to the fold: Mighty Mack Blues (John Goodman), Cab Blues (Joe Morton), and Buster Blues (J. Evan Bonifant). Even now, Dan Aykroyd runs a chain of performance spots known as "The House of Blues", and the Blues Brothers band always gets the privilege of performing on opening nights.
The Blues Brothers' music, for the most part, is unique. The band has this uncanny ability to take standard performance songs (blues or otherwise) and let them out in their own style. For the moment, it is one of the few examples of a musical legacy that has turned into an urban legend, something that has long outlived its creators, and something that will keep us tapping the soles of our feet long after the last note has sounded.
Their original composition Everybody Needs Somebody to Love, from the original The Blues Brothers soundtrack:
We're so glad to see so many of you lovely people here tonight, and we would especially like to welcome all the representatives of Illinois' Law Enforcement Community who have chosen to join us here in the Palace Hotel Ballroom at this time. We do sincerely hope you'll all enjoy the show, and please remember people, that no matter who you are, and what you do to live, thrive and survive, there are still some things that make us all the same.
You...
Me...
Them... everybody.
Everybody.
Everybody needs somebody
Everybody needs somebody to love (someone to love)
Someone to love (someone to love)
Sweetheart to miss (sweetheart to miss)
Sugar to kiss (sugar to kiss)
I need you you you
I need you you you
I need you you you In the morning
I need you you you When my soul's on fire
Sometimes I feel
I feel a little sad inside
When my baby mistreats me
I never never never have a place to hide
I need you you you
I need you you you
I need you you you
I need you you you
I need you
You know, people, when you do find that somebody
Hold that woman, hold that man
Love him, hold him, squeeze her, please her, hold her
Squeeze and please that person, give 'em all your love
Signify your feelings with every gentle caress
Because it's so important to have that special somebody
to hold, kiss, miss, squeeze and please
Everybody needs somebody
Everybody needs somebody to love
Someone to love
Sweetheart to miss
Sugar to kiss
I need you you you
I need you you you
I need you you you... (fade)
* Blues Brothers image from Answers.com. "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" lyrics from The Blues Brothers Links Archive. Don't sue me, please; I'm on a mission from God.
2 comments:
RE: 2 CENTS WORTH
"I believe that it's unrealistic to expect that everyone out there is an open-minded person, though."
--> Totally agree with that...
"In that sense, leaving a notice as to one's "two cents' worth" would merely be a subtle method of getting one's message across. "
--> Come to think of it, I used to use that word in a speech but my prof told me not instead.
That little phrase, I think, would be tantamount to saying "this is just a small opinion that you may or may not choose to consider".
--> I guess so.
"For that matter, we should always be welcome to throw in whatever comments we please (just as long as we maintain certain modicums of respect). We may think that they're worth only two cents, but in truth, they might just mean a whole lot more than that."
--> Just my 2 cents worth too.
Hey! Wonderful of you to post about the Blues Brothers... I know you wouldn't ever post about Steven Seagal *laughs*
Well, I have yet to hear them =)
And it's great that you have opened your blog to anonymous commenters. Actually, they might leave their blog URLs and it would be interesting to find out who else are reading your blog - those outside of Blogger, that is =)
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