"We're bringing the band back together!"

In case you are did not recognize this threads title right away - it is a quote from the orginal Blues Brothers movie
[img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/69/The-Blues-Brothers-Original-Soundtrack-Recording-LP.jpg[/img]

Why am I bringing this up?
Because both the movie and its soundtrack were a very early-age musical discovery of mine, I guess I must have been somewhere between 11 and 13 when I fell in love with the Blues Brothers and purchased the soundtrack as one of my first CDs.
That must have been around 1992, when Blues & Soul weren't really popular with teenagers (nor me), but something about the Blues Brothers caught me, and I could still recite quite a lot of lines from the movie that just stuck with me, even tho I have not watched the film for over a decade.

Now, for those who may not have seen the film, let me briefly explain the context of the "bringing the band back together" quote, to then move on to my question:
After Jake is being released from jail, him and his brother Elwood decide to contact their former band mates, who have all moved on into more or less regular jobs.
So, a good portion of the film consists of them showing up in the workplaces of their former band mates and convincing (or rather blackmailing) them to re-join the band in various, quite funny ways.
Some former band members are rightfully embarrassed to have these two dudes show up at their workplace and demand to speak to them, and whenever someone asks "what the hell are you doing here?", the answer is a straight-forward "We are bringing the band back together" from Jake (John Belushi), which really comes across without any doubt that it is going to happen, no matter what.

I do not know if anyone of you reading this can relate, but to me, watching these characters have to choose between the day job and going back on tour to play music, and all choosing the music despite clearly knowing this was not a reasonable good idea in the long run... that left an enormous impression on me.

So, some thirty years later, stuck in some non-musical 9-5 job, I sometimes secretly wish the bell would ring and someone stood there with that absolute clarity telling me I needed to get back on the bus, and I like to think that I'd be up to that - not because of my musical skills which have all caught some dust lately, but because I'd love to trade my job for something more meaningful.
I guess it could be described as some "if destiny calls, I better respond" kind of attitude that is strong in me to this day.

Since Jake & Elwood have not shown up so far, I sometimes wonder if my part in life is maybe being a Jake rounding up the band ... look at wikiloops, or especially the member meetings I organized in some years, that's me taking on that role (minus the car chases).

If any of this resonates with you and you'd like to share whether you also have a special thing with the Blues Brothers or feel listening to destiny calls is something you do or do not relate to, I'd love to read your thoughts :)

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I can say with certainty that this is the ONLY movie I ever saw more than 2 times! Watched it so many times and enjoyed it every single time. Brilliant movie, great music.

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A real fav movie of mine - and the bass player is a legend, too... :W

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I forgot to mention, a few years back I actually had the pleasant surprise to see Blue Lou Morini live at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Casino, what a treat! Actually it was 6 hours of blues music, and by mistake I was admitted to the almost empty VIP section, so I sat bang in the middle in front of the mixing table, fantastic!

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TeeGee attached the following image:

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Edited by TeeGee on 26 avril 2026 à 09:41

I still have the dream of connecting individually or collectively with members. Unfortunately that requires getting on a plane and travelling some pretty long distances. It's been done many times in the past, but somehow seems more difficult now.

My 70th birthday was celebrated at a Wikiloops big jam in Germany (thank you Richard). Now it's my 80th that's happening later this year. Will there be someone who would like to bring the band back together?

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i feared the Jake type, to me, they had more drive than me. i worried what i would do if I was put into a situation of pushing beyond and leaving comfort to pursue something out there. i played with a Jake type, totally driven, he was the organizer, the driving factor, a creative force. you just knew he was going to take it to the limit to see. to FAFO i guess :) eventually our little group/band broke up, but he continued on, because that's how he was wired. he got to tour with another group and eventually take his skillsets and work for a record producer. we always kept in touch. he'd eventually move back into area and we'd text. eventually he got into the same line of work i do (technology). again we stayed in touch, maybe a bit more now that we have similar work backgrounds. he always kept his creativity going, would show me certain things he had worked on, etc. then, a full circle moment came, a spot opened up at work and i mentioned it to him to apply. well, everyone liked him and he was hired. from band mates in the late 90s to work mates in 2026. of course, once he started, i had to pun "we're bringing the band back together" :) and maybe one day we'll jam out at work, but it's been fun reminiscing about those band days and remembering some of those stories we shared. i think we're both too old, have families and most likely those band days and wanting to jam again are behind us, but it's fun to think about it. of course, he took it further with his musical journey, and that's enough for me.

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Love the Movie, absolutely loved John Belushi...I was just talking about this movie with some co-workers:W

Fun Fact --- At the time the movie set a world record for the most cars wrecked in a movie scene, 103 cars!!!B)

Give it up for the Aretha Franklin scene and song "Think"...just killer singing and serious R&B Groove...the great Duck Dunn on bass:W

If this dont get you moving you need to check your pulse:D

[youtube]RTXszRHc0qs[/youtube]

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I forgot to mention that I actually saw the Blues Brothers band in 1992 in Germany. They were obviously without Dan and John, but they had Eddie "knock on wood" Floyd!!

Singers: Eddie Floyd, Larry Thurston

Band Members (The Original Blues Brothers Band)
Guitars: Steve "The Colonel" Cropper & Matt "Guitar" Murphy
Bass: Donald "Duck" Dunn
Saxophone: Lou "Blue Lou" Marini
Trombone/Trumpet: Tom "Bones" Malone
Trumpet: Alan "Mr. Fabulous" Rubin
Keyboards/Organ: Leon Pendarvis
Drums: Danny Gottlieb

I found this youtube video from the same tour, I don't think this is the exact one I saw, but same tour :)

[youtube]zHZGOHOvvnI[/youtube]

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