Saturday, January 25, 2014
The Blues Brothers
In the summer and fall of 1979, there was a sharp presence around Chicago. It was a whirlwind of frantic activity, mixed with the excitement of fun being created. This kind of energy had never been seen in the city because The Old Man, Richard J. Daley, had decreed that this type of behavior would not darken his beloved city. You see, some network in the 1960's had shown the audacity to have a show set in Chicago. That was fine with the mayor, for he was the cheerleader of all things that were good in Chicago. But, this show, now lost to history, had the nerve to show a Chicago police officer taking a bribe!!! A corrupt cop on the mob payroll!!! Well, Mayor Daley was so horrified that he firmly rejected any further attempt by that evil and vile Hollywood to show his city in any kind of light, good or bad. Therefore, while he was alive, the city of Chicago did not have any TV or movies made here. The Old Man was steady fast in his resolve, a feeling that lasted until his last breath in 1976. By 1979, Chicago had a new mayor, Jane Byrne, who saw the opportunity, and, most importantly, the riches, in opening up the city to Hollywood again. She approved the first movie that came calling. It was the movie that created all of the whirlwind and havoc in that magical summer and fall of 1979. It was the story of two down-and-out blues musicians named after the music they loved. Joliet Jake Blues and his brother Elwood, The Blues Brothers....... The genesis of this act actually came from the first meeting of its principals. It was 1973 and Dan Aykroyd, a most versatile and talented performer at the tender age of 21, was backstage at his gig at the Toronto branch of the famous ''Second City'' theater. Dan and his fellow performers, John Candy, Gilda Radner, and Eugene Levy, were preparing to go finish the show with the nightly improv set when, suddenly, the backdoor of the stage came flying open, and, according to Aykroyd, an enormous force of nature walked through the door among the whirling snow in the background. This was the man they had all heard of in the cast but had never met. His name was Belushi, John Belushi, age 24, a walking genius of unbridled talent and energy. He had been a star in Chicago at the ''Second City'' [among many brilliant impressions, John did a flawless Mayor Richard J. Daley]. They knew he had moved to New York to star in the ''National Lampoon'' show ''Lemmings'' and was now the director of the ''National Lampoon Radio Hour''. Belushi was in Toronto scouting talent for the ''Radio Hour'' and had heard about this extraordinary cast of talented people. After a quick introduction, Belushi joined the cast onstage for the improv set. Afterwords, the cast went to a bar that Aykroyd ran, an illegal bootleg joint. While all of the cast mingled well, both Belushi and Aykroyd sensed a special and immediate kinship with each other. It was if two long-lost brothers had been reunited at last. As they sat at the bar throwing back shots of the bootleg booze, a deep and lasting friendship was forged. And, while they talked of their lives, Aykroyd would play the music he loved. Blues music. Belushi had never really gotten into the blues, he was a rock and roll fan. But, sitting there listening to the sounds of the blues--- of people down-and-out, victims of life's cruelty---- a new musical bond was formed. That night they made the decision that someday down the line, if they ever worked together, they would put together a band for themselves, celebrating the blues......... Then came ''Saturday Night Live'' in 1975. Gilda, John, and Dan were all hired for the show, which would revolutionize comedy. During the course of the show, Belushi and Aykroyd's friendship deepened. And, that dream of the musical group finally came to fruition. It started in early 1976 as ''The Bees'', a silly running bit that the cast hated. But, John and Dan had convinced their producer, Lorne Michaels, to let them sing a blues number on the show. Lorne said fine, but, you must wear the Bee costumes. After much arguing, the boys finally agreed. They went on the show and sang the old blues number, ''King Bee''. The performance was a fun bit which really did not show much in terms of musical ability. But, it was a start and the audience loved them. For the next couple of years, John and Dan would warm up the studio audience before the show. Finally, in April of 1978, the Blues Brothers were the musical guests on the show. It was a warm response. The host of the evening, Steve Martin, was so impressed by his friends performance that he suggested that the Blues Brothers open for him when he played the Universal Amphitheater in September of 1978. John and Dan agreed and then a deal with made with Atlantic Records to record the band and release the recording as a live album........ No one expected the magic that came out of those nights. The Blues Brothers--- which included some of the finest musicians alive, such as, Steve Cropper, Donald ''Duck'' Dunn, Matt ''Guitar'' Murphy, and Paul Shaffer---- blew the roof off the building. All of Hollywood showed up and was instantly captivated by the raw energy and fun the band displayed. The recording of the album, named ''A Briefcase Full Of Blues'', was released in December of 1978. It quickly shot to the top of the charts and rested at Number 1. John Belushi, riding high with his film ''Animal House', and the enormous success of ''Saturday Night Live'', and now, the Blues Brothers, was the hottest performer in show business. So, in early 1979, Universal came begging Belushi and Aykroyd for a film of the Blues Brothers. They signed up the director from ''Animal House'', John Landis, to helm it and a summer 1979 date was selected to begin filming. It didn't matter to the studio if no script was available. Or, a budget. The studio just wanted John and Dan to make the movie. Chicago was chosen to be the place to film it......... Anyone who was old enough at the time and lived in Chicago remembers this movie being filmed. It was a big news story at the time. Everyone seemed to be talking about this movie and the action that was being generated. There were reports of them driving an old car through the Daley Center, wreaking havoc [ The Old Man must have really hated that wherever he was ] and the bizarre sight of a big helicopter dropping a car several hundred feet. The Blues Brothers were running the city and the crazy antics being filmed also spilled over into real-life. There were constant stories of Belushi and Aykroyd being spotted at this place and that spot. They were jumping onstage with bands and hailing police cars as taxis. The city was an open playground for the boys and they sure used it for their fun. Director Landis remembers going to Wrigley Field with Belushi. He said it was like walking with Mussolini in Rome. The crowds would part for him. And, Belushi, the hometown hero who had made good, reveled in all of the attention. He was a good-hearted man who was the life of any party. But, for him, he did not know how to turn the party off and go home to bed. His cocaine addiction, which would later kill him, became rampant during this time. As there were the scenes they were shooting of cars piling up, there were also the stories piling up about his nocturnal partying. He was spinning out of control and no one around him that loved him--- his wife, Judy, Dan Aykroyd--- could stop him. The same manic comic energy that made him a star was starting to bring him down in his personal life. It wasn't until after filming stopped that he made the effort to kick drugs. And, he did succeed, for a while. But, addiction never really goes away. It hides in the corner of your soul, awaiting a dark moment to spring forward again. It did for this great comedy giant and sweet man in 1982....... The plot of ''The Blues Brothers'' isn't really that much. Two orphan men return to the orphanage where they grew up and learn that it is about to close due to unpaid taxes. The brothers decide to reunite their old band and make enough money to pay off the debt. This plotline goes back to the Mickey Rooney--Judy Garland musicals of the thirties and forties [ ''Hey, kids, lets put on a show!'']. But, the plot is not important in this movie. It is just an excuse to take us from one musical number to another. And, these numbers are quite exceptional. Start with the boys visiting a church to get some spirit. The pastor, the Reverend Cleophus James, is played by James Brown. After some verbal words to the faithful, Ole James gets into the music. Suddenly, the music starts blasting, the congregation feels the Spirit Of The Lord, and there is joyous dancing and singing spreading through the church. The Blues Brothers eventually see the light and join in, with Belushi doing flips down the aisle, and Aykroyd doing his two-step dance, like a football player running through the tires at practice. This is the part in the movie when the boys get the idea to reunite the band. The first half of the flick is the brothers gathering the old band back together. Along the way, they manage to piss off the police, the American Nazi Party, and a white trash country and western band. These moments are all played with wonderful comic invention. They drive through a shopping mall, drive the Nazis off the bridge they are spewing their hate from, and, in the best comic scene in the movie, play a dive bar that only has plays ''both types of music: country and western''. Theyhave to immediately ditch their set music and come up with country music to please the hostile crowd. This segues into two hilarious versions of songs, ''Rawhide'', and ''Stand By Your Man'', [ a man in the crowd cries into his beer during this ]. Intercut with these comic gems is the central part of the movie: the music. The movie was designed by Belushi, Aykroyd, and Landis to showcase the great R&B music that was slowing fading away. With an enormous audience out there for them, the three creators of this movie decided to have such established stars such as James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway, and Ray Charles perform, hoping to restart their sagging careers. And, it did. All of the black performers testify that the success of this movie gave them a second career. It is plain to see why while watching this movie. Aretha, James, Brother Ray and Cab are all electrifying in their numbers. Aretha blows the movie away with her song ''Think''. Ray Charles sings the chestnut fun dance number, ''Shake Your Tailfeather''. And, Cab brings out his biggest hit from the Cotton Club era, ''Minnie The Moocher''. All of these numbers were revelations for the audience that came to see Belushi and Aykroyd. These audiences, mostly white, were exposed to the great music that they did not know existed. And, from this movie on, white audiences have kept the blues alive by visiting the numerous blues clubs around the city and around the world. Sadly, black audiences have moved away fro this music and embraced the vile sounds of rap....... When the movie was released in June of 1980, the reviews were mostly pans. Many white critics were indignant that two white performers were, they felt, denigrating the black music in the movie. These simple-minded critics failed to see that the movie was celebrating this golden music. The black artists in the movie stated this forcefully.Thankfully, the movie was a big box office hit here and around the world. In Australia, it has become such a cult movie that on Friday nights, there are midnight showings of the movie where people show up in full costume as Jake and Elwood and recite the lines of the movie in tandem with it playing........ The final analysis of this movie is its impact on the culture. Blues music continues to bounce off the walls of clubs all around the planet, as men and women sing of their pain of lost love and broken dreams. But, blues is also good dance music, a celebration of life. ''The Blues Brothers'' movie and act helped give this music the shot in the arm it deserved. It still rankles me that John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd have not gotten the proper respect that is due to them. They helped reinvent a cultural source of pride, while spreading out to all different colors and ethnic groups..... And, to think, it all started in a bootleg bar in Toronto when two comic geniuses met for the first time......
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment