The Blues Brothers: Soul Biscuit (1978)

The Blues Brothers (or, more formally, The Blues Brothers' Show Band and Revue) are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedy actors Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live. Belushi and Aykroyd, respectively in character as lead vocalist "Joliet" Jake Blues and harmonica player/backing vocalist Elwood Blues, fronted the band, which was composed of well-known and respected musicians. The band made its debut as the musical guest on the April 22, 1978, episode of Saturday Night Live. The band began to take on a life beyond the confines of the television screen, releasing an album, "Briefcase Full of Blues", in 1978, and subsequently went on to star in a blockbuster Hollywood film, "The Blues Brothers" created in 1980.Their "Briefcase Full of Blues" album was recorded while opening for comedian Steve Martin at Los Angeles' Universal Amphitheatre. It reached #1 on the Billboard 200, went double platinum, and featured Top 40 hit recordings of Sam and Dave's "Soul Man" and The Chips' "Rubber Biscuit," the latter of which featured Aykroyd's "talk-singing." The album liner notes fleshed out the fictional back story of Jake and Elwood, having them growing up in a Roman Catholic orphanage in Calumet City, Illinois and learning the blues from a janitor named Curtis. Their blood brotherhood was sealed by cutting their middle fingers with a string said to come from the guitar of Elmore James. After the death of John Belushi in 1982, the Blues Brothers have continued to perform with a rotation of guest singers and other band members. This DVD is the complete, one-hour show of the original Blues Brothers' Show Band opening for the Grateful Dead at Winterland, New Year's Eve 1978. A true testament to the brilliance of two exceptional actors and talented musicians stage prowess.