49 Fun Facts About The Blues Brothers

Who directed the 1980 film The Blues Brothers?

John Landis directed it; he had directed Belushi in Animal House (1978) and co-wrote The Blues Brothers screenplay with Dan Aykroyd.

Jake and Elwood set out on 'a mission from God' to save what?

The orphanage where they were raised, St. Helen of the Blessed Shroud, faces closure over an unpaid property-tax bill; Sister Mary Stigmata, 'the Penguin', breaks the news.

In The Blues Brothers, how much must Jake and Elwood raise to pay the property tax bill on their old orphanage?

$5,000 is the bill; a record executive's $10,000 advance at the Palace Hotel Ballroom concert finally covers it, plus their bar tab IOU.

Jake is paroled at the start of the film from which Illinois prison, whose name is also his nickname?

He has served three years of a five-year sentence for armed robbery; the scenes were shot at the real Joliet Correctional Center.

The Bluesmobile is what make and model of car?

The Bluesmobile is a 1974 Dodge Monaco, a decommissioned Mount Prospect police car with a 440-cubic-inch engine; Elwood traded the old Cadillac for a microphone.

In The Blues Brothers, Elwood shows off the Bluesmobile's capabilities right after picking Jake up from prison by doing what?

Jumping an open drawbridge settles Jake's complaint about the ex-police car; the Bluesmobile finally falls to pieces outside the Daley Center after months of rigging.

Which soul legend plays the Reverend Cleophus, whose sermon gives Jake his epiphany?

The scene is set at the Triple Rock Baptist Church and Chaka Khan is the choir soloist; Brown re-recorded 'The Old Landmark' live on a soundstage.

What is the name of Cab Calloway's character, the orphanage janitor in The Blues Brothers?

The name honours Curtis Salgado, an Oregon blues singer who inspired Belushi while he was filming Animal House.

In The Blues Brothers, Cab Calloway stalls the Palace Hotel Ballroom crowd with which of his signature songs?

Minnie the Moocher was the number; Calloway wanted a disco arrangement, but Landis insisted on the original big-band version.

In The Blues Brothers, Aretha Franklin, as the wife of guitarist Matt Murphy, sings which song to stop him rejoining the band?

Think is belted out in the couple's Maxwell Street soul food restaurant; Franklin needed several takes because she was unused to lip-syncing.

In The Blues Brothers, Ray Charles plays the blind owner of what kind of shop, performing 'Shake a Tail Feather' there?

A music store is Ray's; he performs to prove the effectiveness of the instruments he sells, and of his aim.

Who plays the 'Mystery Woman' trying to kill Jake with rocket launchers, bombs and an M16?

She is Jake's ex-fiancee, jilted at the altar; Fisher was Aykroyd's girlfriend at the time.

The famous car chase through a shopping centre was filmed at which real, shuttered location?

Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, Illinois, had closed in 1978; the production re-dressed its empty stores for the chase, and the mall stood derelict until its demolition in 2012.

Where does Elwood run the neo-Nazi demonstrators off a bridge?

Jackson Park, on Chicago's South Side: the Illinois Nazis are rallying on its lagoon bridge when Elwood drives through them, and Henry Gibson's leader swears revenge.

The band plays Bob's Country Bunker, a honky-tonk in Kokomo, Indiana, by impersonating which booked act?

The Good Ole Boys are the booked act; the real band, fronted by Charles Napier's Tucker McElroy, turns up late in a Winnebago and joins the pursuit for the rest of the film.

At Bob's Country Bunker in The Blues Brothers, Elwood sings lead on which TV Western theme to win over the crowd?

Rawhide is Aykroyd's only lead vocal on the soundtrack; the band also plays 'Stand By Your Man' from behind chicken wire.

The Palace Hotel Ballroom in The Blues Brothers was filmed inside what kind of Chicago building?

A country club: the former South Shore Country Club clubhouse, which the Chicago Park District had taken over and later reopened as the South Shore Cultural Center.

Which famous director cameos as the Cook County clerk who takes the brothers' tax payment?

Steven Spielberg, a friend of Landis, plays the Cook County clerk who stamps the receipt; the brothers are arrested by a small army the moment he does.

Muppet performer Frank Oz plays which small role at the very start of the film?

The possessions include one unused prophylactic and one soiled; Oz turns up again in Blues Brothers 2000.

Before he was Pee-wee Herman, which future star appears as a snooty waiter at the fancy French restaurant?

Paul Reubens plays the waiter at Chez Paul, offering a Dom Pérignon '71 at $120, five years before Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985).

Which model appears as the 'chic lady' in a Jaguar whom Elwood propositions at a gas station?

Twiggy plays the 'chic lady' in the Jaguar; Elwood promises to meet her at a motel and stands her up, a cutaway late in the film showing her waiting there alone.

Who plays Jake's parole officer, Burton Mercer, who rides along with the police?

Candy's parole officer tags along with the state troopers for the entire chase and ends up in the mob outside the Assessor's office.

What home address on Elwood's driver's licence sends the Nazis to a famous ballpark?

It is the address of Wrigley Field, whose entrance sign 'Save lives, Drive safely, Prevent fires' gets a brief cameo.

For the big chase scenes the production bought roughly how many police cars, at $400 apiece?

About 60 retired police cars were bought at $400 apiece and most were wrecked; 13 different cars stood in for the Bluesmobile alone.

The Illinois Nazis' Ford Pinto was really dropped from a helicopter from about what height?

About 1,200 feet: the FAA required a special permit for the helicopter drop, and the unfinished freeway ramp the Pinto sails off was filmed in Milwaukee, not Chicago.

How long was Dan Aykroyd's first-draft screenplay, and how did he deliver it?

Aykroyd's 324-page first draft arrived bound in a Yellow Pages cover; he had never written a screenplay, and Landis cut it to shootable length before filming began.

The Blues Brothers first appeared on Saturday Night Live in January 1976 wearing what unlikely outfits?

Bee costumes from the 'Killer Bees' sketches: billed as the All-Bee Band, they played Slim Harpo's 'I'm a King Bee', Belushi singing and Aykroyd on harmonica.

The Blues Brothers made their proper debut as SNL musical guest on April 22, 1978, on an episode hosted by which comedian?

Steve Martin then had them open for him at the Universal Amphitheatre that September, where their first album was recorded live.

The band's 1978 live debut album, which went to number one on the Billboard chart, was titled what?

Briefcase Full of Blues, recorded live at the Universal Amphitheatre, topped the Billboard 200 in early 1979, went double platinum and spun off 'Soul Man', a number 14 hit.

Elwood carried his harmonica on stage in a briefcase attached to him how?

Handcuffed to his wrist: Elwood's briefcase holding his harmonicas was cuffed to his arm on stage, the image that gave the debut album Briefcase Full of Blues its title.

Steve Cropper and Donald 'Duck' Dunn joined the Blues Brothers Band from which instrumental group?

Booker T. & the M.G.'s, the Stax house band: Cropper plays guitar on Sam & Dave's original 'Soul Man', where Sam Moore's 'play it, Steve' calls out his part.

Who played piano in the original act but was replaced on film by Murphy Dunne?

Paul Shaffer, committed to Gilda Radner's Broadway show, was replaced by Murphy Dunne, whose father George Dunne was President of the Cook County Board.

The Blues Brothers sealed their bond by cutting their fingers with a guitar string said to have belonged to whom?

Elmore James: the backstory in the Briefcase Full of Blues liner notes has the brothers slice their fingers on a guitar string said to be his, sealing a blood pact.

Jake's character was modelled partly on the lead singer of which Canadian blues band?

Downchild, the Toronto blues band of brothers Donnie and Richard 'Hock' Walsh: Jake drew on Hock's singing and Elwood on Donnie, and the Blues Brothers covered Downchild's 'Shotgun Blues' on their debut album.

Belushi borrowed the Wayfarers and soul patch from which bluesman, who also appears in the film?

John Lee Hooker, credited as Street Slim, performs with his band on Maxwell Street outside the Soul Food Cafe; Belushi copied the bluesman's dark glasses and tuft of beard.

Where was the film's soundtrack mostly recorded?

Chicago, during filming: the band cut most of the soundtrack there in 1979, the exception being 'Gimme Some Lovin'', recorded at the Record Plant in Los Angeles.

The final song, performed for the inmates in prison, is which Elvis Presley hit?

Jailhouse Rock closes the film, played for the inmates once the whole band is jailed; Elvis's 1957 original topped the US chart.

The 1998 sequel Blues Brothers 2000 paired Aykroyd with which actor as new frontman 'Mighty Mack' McTeer?

John Goodman plays Mighty Mack McTeer, a bartender recruited as the new singer; Joe Morton is Cabel Chamberlain, Curtis's son and a state police commander who also joins the band.

In Blues Brothers 2000 the band loses a Battle of the Bands to a supergroup of blues legends called what?

The Louisiana Gator Boys, led by B.B. King, lined up legends such as Eric Clapton, Bo Diddley and Koko Taylor; Erykah Badu's Queen Mousette hosts the contest.

The Blues Brothers was added to the US National Film Registry in which year?

2020: The Blues Brothers joined the National Film Registry in the Library of Congress's December 2020 class, alongside Shrek, Grease and The Dark Knight.

Which Chicago mayor cooperated with The Blues Brothers, credited with putting the city on the filmmaking map?

Jane Byrne, mayor from 1979 to 1983, opened the city to the production, even letting the Bluesmobile crash through the Daley Center lobby's glass.

Whose idea was the name 'The Blues Brothers'?

Shore, then SNL's musical director, went on to score The Lord of the Rings; Aykroyd built the backstory with story consultant Ron Gwynne.

Which film kept The Blues Brothers off the top of the box office in its opening week in June 1980?

The Empire Strikes Back, released a month earlier, held first place; The Blues Brothers opened second in 594 theatres and went on to gross over $115 million worldwide.

What world record did The Blues Brothers hold at the time of its release?

Most cars destroyed in one film: the chases wrecked over 100 vehicles, a record that stood until Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) deliberately beat it.

Which song is performed live in the film's Maxwell Street market scene?

Boom Boom, John Lee Hooker's 1962 hit, is played live on Maxwell Street with Big Walter Horton on harmonica and Pinetop Perkins on piano.

At which Melbourne cinema did the film evolve into a regular audience-participation show?

The Valhalla Cinema, in Richmond and later Northcote, ran The Blues Brothers for years with fans in black suits and hats shouting the lines and dancing in the aisles.

Which Japanese manga and anime franchise was inspired by the film?

Nerima Daikon Brothers, a 2006 musical comedy anime from Studio Hibari about a daikon-farming trio, borrowed its name, black suits and song-and-dance structure from The Blues Brothers.

How did John Belushi seriously injure his knee just before The Blues Brothers' final concert sequence was shot?

Falling off a borrowed skateboard nearly cost the scene; Lew Wasserman got a top orthopaedic surgeon to numb the knee so Belushi could sing, dance and cartwheel.

Horn players Lou Marini, Tom Malone and Alan Rubin had all previously played in which band?

Blood, Sweat & Tears: saxophonist Lou Marini, trombonist Tom Malone and trumpeter Alan Rubin had each passed through its horn section before joining the SNL band.