Blues Brothers: The Arc of Gratitude

The sound. The suits. The sunglasses. The Blues Brothers have firmly cemented their place as pop-culture icons in the annals of entertainment history. But how did a band that debuted as a goofy sketch on Saturday Night Live in 1976 go on to have a hit movie and a number one record in the space of just four short years? Simple. They were “on a mission from God”.

Now, nearly 50 years later, Elwood Blues (aka Dan Aykroyd) is on another mission—to tell the full story of how two young actors went from blues lovers to Blues Brothers. In this fascinating audio documentary Aykroyd “gets the band back together”, taking listeners on a road trip through time—from late nights in the early days with John Belushi at Dan’s speakeasy in Toronto, to working with blues legends Aretha Franklin, James Brown, and Ray Charles on The Blues Brothers movie, through the founding of House of Blues, the Blues Brothers 2000 sequel, and beyond.

Along the way, Aykroyd is joined by band members, friends, filmmakers, and cohorts who witnessed the Blues Brothers’ birth and meteoric rise firsthand, including Jim Belushi, Paul Shaffer, Curtis Salgado, John Landis, Steve Jordan, and more. Also featuring conversations with the late Judy Belushi Pisano, and a previously unheard interview with John Belushi himself.

Thoughtful, entertaining, and endlessly illuminating, Blues Brothers: The Arc of Gratitude is a joyous celebration of the legendary band that kick-started a blues revival and launched a lasting legacy.