Unearthed Interview Has John Belushi Responding to Critics of the Blues Brothers
Dan Aykroyd is diving into the history of the Blues Brothers in the Audible Original Blues Brothers: The Arc of Gratitude, which is coming this Thursday. In a preview, Aykroyd shares a previously unheard interview with the late John Belushi, the other half of the Blues Brothers, who died in 1982. It will also include interviews with Aykroyd, Belushi’s brother Jim Belushi, musician Paul Shaffer and Blues Brothers film writer/director John Landis.
In the preview, Belushi is heard talking to music critic Steve Bloom from the Soho Weekly News back in 1979, responding to critics who didn’t like the Blues Brothers. At the time, the group came under fire from some people who didn’t believe that two white men playing blues music should be given so much attention over Black artists.
Universal/Everett Collection
Bloom can be heard saying, “I have this stuff in front of me. Daily News: ‘Can Belushi sing the whites?’ The Real Paper: ‘Why the Brothers ain’t got no blues.’ How do you respond to all of this?” Belushi responds, “It’s just weird, you know? Why would I do these things? The people watching me understand why I do it, and the band members do. The other people — there’s a certain amount of jealousy, I think, involved … Why do I do what I do? First of all, it has nothing to do with ego, it has nothing to do with money, you know, or the need to be loved by an audience. I don’t have any of those feelings.”
“What the f— do these people think I am, anyway?” Belushi continued. “I can’t f—in’ understand why they would attack — see, when they attack me, they attack the band, and I hate when they attack the band, because then it makes them look like schmucks for doing what they did for me.” The conversation goes on with Bloom trying to explain the critics’ side further and Belushi defending his side. Listen to the entire conversation in Blues Brothers: The Arc of Gratitude on Audible.
Universal/Everett Collection
Belushi and Aykroyd became friends while working on Saturday Night Live and later dreamed up the idea of becoming a musical duo. Their first album, 1978’s Briefcase Full of Blues, did very well and led to the creation of the 1980 film. Sadly, Belushi died just two years later at the age of 33 of a drug overdose. In 1998, Aykroyd led the sequel film Blues Brothers 2000. The film is still celebrated with an annual Blues Brothers Con held at the Joliet prison where it was filmed. Click here for info if you are interested in learning more about it.
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Oh What A Year: 1980
January 2020
Take a look back at our retrospect of the year 1980 where we celebrate the hottest in movies, music and TV.
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