June 20, 1980: “The Blues Brothers” Premieres

Dan Aykroyd (left) as Elwood, and John Belushi as Jake

June 20, 1980: The Blues Brothers premieres, one of the few Saturday Night Live flicks that was turned into a good movie.

SNL castmembers Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi had previously appeared as the Killer Bees, singing blues songs. Belushi, from Wheaton, Illinois, outside Chicago, and Aykroyd, from Ottawa, both loved the blues, but Belushi told show creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels, "I hate the fucking Bees!" So the sketch was reworked into The Blues Brothers, who debuted on April 22, 1978.

Belushi was Joliet Jake, so named because he'd done time at Illinois' Joliet Correctional Center outside Chicago. (One of the most famous prisons in America, it closed in 2002 and is now open to tours.) Aykroyd was his brother Elwood. While Jake sang lead, Elwood could also play a mean harmonica.

While "Blues" was technically their surname, they sang mainly rhythm & blues (R&B) and soul music. They were backed by Booker T. & the M.G.'s: Guitarist Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, bass guitarist Donald "Duck" Dunn," keyboard player Booker T. Jones, and Willie "Too Big" Hall, who became the group's drummer after the original, Al Jackson Jr., was murdered in 1975.

They were also backed by The Memphis Horns, who had worked with the M.G.'s on several hits by performers' on Stax Records in Memphis: "Blue" Lou Marini and Tom "Triple Scale" Scott on saxophone, Alan "Mr. Fabulous" Rubin on trumpet, and Tom "Bones" Malone on trombone.

Those Stax hits included the original 1967 version of "Soul Man," by Sam & Dave. The Blues Brothers made it a hit all over again, wearing black suits, sunglasses and fedoras. Both Jake and Elwood, despite their respective sizes, were fantastic dancers. Having Cropper allowed Jake to yell out what Sam Moore yelled out midway through the original version: "Play it, Steve!"

The act would be extended to a 1980 film, which is still regarded as the best film ever to be made from an SNL sketch. Jake gets out of prison, and is picked up by Elwood, who tells him that the orphanage where they grew up will be closed by the church that runs it unless $5,000 in property taxes are paid to the Cook County Assessor's office, at the Richard J. Daley Center, downtown.

So, Cliché Alert: They get the band back together. Along the way, they meet characters played by music legends Cab Calloway, who sings "Minnie the Moocher"; Ray Charles, who sings "Shake a Tail Feather"; James Brown, who plays a minister and sings "The Old Landmark"; Chaka Khan, who plays Brown's choir leader and sings backup on the song; and Aretha Franklin, who sings "Think."

They manage to put on a show 106 miles from the Daley Center, and get $10,000. On the way back, they are pursued by the Illinois State Police, seeking Elwood for driving with a suspended license, 116 parking tickets, and 56 moving violations; neo-Nazis, whom Jake had dispersed with his wild driving of the Bluesmobile; the Good Ole Boys, a country band whose gig they inadvertently stole; and Jake's ex-fiancée, played by Carrie Fisher, who apparently went nuts and swore revenge after he broke it off.

They manage to get the money delivered with seconds to spare, and are arrested on the spot. The movie ends with the Brothers back in prison, but with the band, Cab, Ray, James, Chaka and Aretha accompanying them as they play "Jailhouse Rock."

Director John Landis got 12 1974 Dodge Monacos to serve as the Bluesmobile. By the time filming was done, exactly none of them were still driveable.

The Dixie Square Mall, south of Chicago in Harvey, Illinois, had already closed by the time the movie came out, so there was no worry about damage. It sat abandoned until finally being demolished in 2012. I wonder if the guy operating the wrecking ball was told to "Hit it!"

For the record: I also hate Illinois Nazis. I also hate Nazis from the other 49 States. And so should you.

Belushi's death in 1982 seemed to kill the act, but Aykroyd later revived it with John's brother Jim Belushi, who became an SNL castmember, and actor John Goodman, a frequent SNL host. Together, the 3 of them played as The Blues Brothers in the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXI in New Orleans in 1997.

In 1998, Blues Brothers 2000, a very weak sequel, was released. Aykroyd again played Elwood, and Goodman again played Mighty Mack McTeer (not related to the brothers), but Jim Belushi was tied to a TV contract, and could not appear again as Zee Blues, leaving it unclear as to why Elwood never previously mentioned this brother.

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June 20, 1980 was a Friday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics, 15-7 at Yankee Stadium. Luis Tiant, a Yankee in 1979 and 1980, outpitched Steve McCatty. Reggie Jackson, Jim Spencer and Johnny Oates hit home runs for the Yankees. Rookie Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base for the A's.

* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Mets led, 3-2 with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th, but Pat Zachry allowed singles to Jay Johnstone and Steve Garvey. Jeff Reardon was brought in, and gave up a double to Dusty Baker to lose the game.

* The California Angels beat the Boston Red Sox, 20-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. Despite being the shortest player in baseball at the time, Angel shortstop Freddie Patek went 4-for-6 with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs. Carl Yastrzemski did not play for the Red Sox.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Eddie Murray went 0-for-4.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-5 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Johnny Bench went 0-for-4.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. John Wockenfuss doubled Lance Parrish home with the winning run in the top of the 11th inning.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-3 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. A leadoff walk to Gary Alexander and a double by Toby Harrah drove in the winning run in the top of the 15th inning.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Kansas City Royals, 10-5 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. The Brewers won without either Robin Yount or Paul Molitor playing. Nor did George Brett play for the Royals.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-2 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Houston Astros beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-4 at the Astrodome in Houston. Willie Stargell did not play.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Montreal Expos, 4-2 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Dave Winfield went 3-for-4 with an RBI.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-4. Pete Rose went 2-for-4.