The Genesis of the Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers made their debut on January 17, 1976, as a sketch on Saturday Night Live. The sketch was of “Howard Shore and his All-Bee Band,” playing the Slim Harpo song “I’m a King Bee.” Belushi sang as lead vocalist ‘Joliet’ Jake Blues and Aykroyd played the harmonica as player/vocalist Elwood Blues. All the while dressed in bee costumes they wore for the already popular “The Killer Bees” sketches.
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SNL’s music director, Howard Shore, had apparently jokingly suggested that Belushi and Aykroyd call their act the Blues Brothers. But that joke got all too real, and on April 22, 1978, they made their formal debut on SNL, backed by the show’s resident band. But it came to a point when the comedians wanted to take the show on the road, and so they wanted to play with a band that was really grounded in blues and soul. Basically, they wanted to be legit.