Rock Flashback: The Rest of the Blues Brothers

The Cast of "Blues Brothers 2000"

Yesterday’s flashback to Briefcase Full of Blues by the Blues Brothers reminded us that there’s more music available under the Blues Brothers name than most people think.

In the summer of 1980, The Blues Brothers hit theaters. Despite the success of the film and the high-powered guest stars on the soundtrack (Ray Charles, James Brown, and Aretha Franklin), the soundtrack missed the top 10 and sold far less than Briefcase had. At the end of 1980, a second live album and the final one with John Belushi on board appeared. Made in America featured a version of Johnnie Taylor’s “Who’s Making Love” and the same band that had played on Briefcase, but it got terrible reviews. In a little more than a year, Belushi would be dead, and with it, the Blues Brothers franchise. But only for a while.

In 1992, the Blues Brothers backing band released Red, White & Blues, with a cameo appearance by Dan Aykroyd. But a full-blown reboot had to wait until 1997, when Aykroyd teamed with Jim Belushi and John Goodman to record The Blues Brothers and Friends: Live From the House of Blues.

In 1998, Aykroyd and Goodman made Blues Brothers 2000, a sequel to the 1980 film. It commits the cardinal sin of including a cute kid, and is not remotely as good as The Blues Brothers. Its soundtrack, however, is better — although the best performances are not by Aykroyd and Goodman, but by other members of the cast. The plot revolves around a battle of the bands staged in New Orleans — and the band the Blues Brothers battles against is made up entirely of stars. See how many you can spot in this clip.

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