Happy 35th: The Blues Brothers, Made in America
35 years ago this month, The Blues Brothers released their third album, but it would prove to be the final album released by duo prior to the death of “Joliet” Jake Blues, a..k.a. John Belushi.
When Belushi and his partner in crime, Dan Aykroyd, first transformed themselves into Jake and Elwood Blues, they were clearly having a ball, one which continued through the recording of their debut album, Briefcase Full of Blues, and into their motion picture, The Blues Brothers. Given Belushi's struggle with his addictions, it's hard to say how much fun was actually being had by the time they released Made in America, which emerged in the wake of the movie, but their popularity was at an all-time high at the time they recorded the album at the Universal Amphitheater in the summer of 1980.
You can't argue with the rousing opening to Made in America, which kicks off with a medley of “Soul Finger” and “Funky Broadway,” which leads into the Brothers' version of “Who's Making Love?” and, after that, their version of the Contours' “Do You Love Me” with a little bit of “Mother Popcorn (You Got to Have a Mother for Me)” thrown in for good measure. Most would probably agree, however, that Jake's take on Randy Newman's “Guilty,” while certainly passionate, kills the momentum of the album stone dead. Thankfully, it recovers relatively quickly, thanks to versions of “Riot in Cell Block No. 9,” “Green Onions,” and “I Ain't Got You.”
Unfortunately, while Made in America was undoubtedly released so quickly after The Blues Brothers hit theaters in hopes of reaping a financial benefit from the success of the film, it failed on that front: the album only hit #49 on the Billboard Top 200, and while the single, “Who's Making Love,” did hit the top 40, it only did so at #39, so that wasn't exactly a smash, either. By the following year, it seemed clear that Aykroyd and Belushi had more or less closed the door on the Blues Brothers, having released a best-of collection, and when Belushi overdosed in 1982, that seemed to have effectively ended the band.
It didn't, of course. Aykroyd revived the band, keeping things in the family by teaming with Jim Belushi, and he also revived the Elwood Blues character for a new movie, Blues Brothers 2000. But let's just pretend those things never happened and consider Made in America the last proper Blues Brothers album. Surely John would've wanted it that way.
