Blues Brothers

The Blues Brothers is a 1980 American comedy film directed by John Landis. It stars John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues, characters developed from "The Blues Brothers" musical sketch on the NBC variety series Saturday Night Live. The film's screenplay was written by Aykroyd and Landis.

It features musical numbers by rhythm and blues (R&B), soul, and blues singers James Brown, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and John Lee Hooker. The film is set in and around Chicago, Illinois, where it was filmed. It features non-musical supporting performances by John Candy, Carrie Fisher, Charles Napier, and Henry Gibson.

The story is a tale of redemption for paroled convict Jake and his brother Elwood, who take on "a mission from God" to save from foreclosure the Catholic orphanage in which they grew up. To do so, they must reunite their R&B band and organize a performance to earn $5,000 needed to pay the orphanage's property tax bill. Along the way, they are targeted by a destructive "mystery woman", Neo-Nazis, and a country and western band—all while being relentlessly pursued by the police.

Links To Peel
Peel was a fan of the The Blues Brothers (film and soundtrack) and in interviews would say this was one of his all time favourite films.

In 1980, Peel played a track from the movie by the Blues Brothers on the 25 June 1980 show called 'Give Some Lovin' and would play several tracks from the movie on his shows through out the years. After playing Aretha Franklin's 'Think' track, which was from the movie, on his Peel 010 (BFBS) show in 1985, he mentioned that Charles Foster his producer, has not seen the movie and recommended him and others to see it:


 * "Even our Charles, it turns out, has never seen The Blues Brothers, and I recommend that he and everybody else goes to see it. The second best film ever made, I suppose, after Animal House. I know most people prefer to go and see Polish film festivals with subtitles in Korean or something that's really difficult, but not me. I just like a good yarn, frankly." 

Peel mentioned again on his Peel 015 (BFBS) show from 1987 that The Blues Brothers film should be recommended to see and also on his Peel 069 (BFBS) show where he proclaimed the movie as one of his two favourite films ever:


 * "I just opened another present, in fact: I should have more of these birthdays, perhaps several a year, like members of the Royal Family. I think it's only the Queen that has two birthdays, but I reckon I ought to have a couple as well. My chum Winston Smith has sent me posters and still photographs from my two favourite films ever, which are Repo Man and The Blues Brothers, so those will be up on the wall back at Peel Acres before you can say 'night'."

In 1993, Peel saw Ray Charles perform at Hammersmith and on his 03 December 1993 (BFBS) show after playing Ray's 'Shake Your Tailfeather' track, he mentioned that he would see The Blues Brothers every three or four months:


 * “I am sure it’s a much longer piece actually in the film although that theoretically is from the soundtrack of The Blues Brothers which I still watch every three or four months just to reassure myself really and the high point of it has to be of course the Aretha Franklin bit for those of you familiar with the film though I can’t believe that any of you are not actually, but the Aretha Franklin bit is just sublime but the Ray Charles bit is pretty good as well, comes second I think, where they have everybody dancing all these things like the swim and the bird and the shake and the shing-a-ling I think on some kind of motorway overpass, from memory"

On his 10 June 2004 show after Ray Charles died early on that day, he praised Ray's music contribution to the Blues Brothers movie as one of his favourite moments in any film that’s ever been made.

Plays
1980 1985 1986 1993
 * 25 June 1980: Blues Brothers: Gimme Some Lovin' (LP - Blues Brothers (Original Soundtrack Recording)) Atlantic
 * Peel 010 (BFBS): Aretha Franklin: 'Think (Compilation LP-The Blues Brothers (Original Soundtrack Recording))' (Atlantic)
 * 21 October 1986: Ray Charles: Shake Your Tailfeather (LP: Blues Brothers Soundtrack) Atlantic
 * 03 December 1993 (BFBS): Ray Charles: Shake Your Tailfeather (LP: Blues Brothers Soundtrack) Atlantic