More than just ‘a bunch of white guys’: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and the birth of the Blues Brothers

• On September 9, 1978, the band of Joliet Jake and Elwood Blues – The Blues Brothers – opened for Steve Martin at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles, the first show in a nine-night run, where the band recorded a best-selling live album, Briefcase Full of Blues. More than a novelty act or a movie – and certainly more than wedding disco-favourite Everybody Needs Somebody to Love – the Blues Brothers band was a handpicked ensemble of heavy-duty musicians. By this time, the men behind the porkpie hats and shades – comedy soulmates John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd – were major names on Saturday Night Live. Animal House had made Belushi a movie star. And Briefcase Full of Blues would soon go double-platinum. Sax player Lou Marini, an original member of the band, recalls the celebrity attention at those Universal Amphitheater shows. “It was showbiz central in the rehearsals,” says Marini. “Saturday Night Live was so popular and Danny and John’s star has risen so high and so brightly. I remember Mick Jagger being in rehearsals. We were getting standing ovations every night. People were freaking out. “I was the outside horn player, closest to the audience. At one point I looked over and Jack Nicholson was sitting in the front row. He looked back at me, raised his sunglasses up, and went ‘WOW!’ It was pretty cool…”