A 1976 Saturday Night Live skit featuring castmates John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd dressed as insects as members of an All-Bee Band inadvertently led to the creation of the Blues Brothers. With Belushi belting out notes and Aykroyd blazing along on his harmonica, the duo realized that their musical and creative juices meshed well, and they decided to focus their energy on developing an act. They spent their downtime at a bar that Aykroyd had rented, and it was there that they would hone their skills. Finally, on April 22nd, 1978, the pair made their debut on SNL as Joliet Jake and Elwood Blues. Today, DoYouRemember looks back at their rise to the top with a rundown of the 5 best Blues Brothers moments.
In 1978, Aykroyd and Belushi released an album titled Briefcase Full of Blues, which reached number one on the Billboard 200 and sold more than two million copies. Two years later, Jake, Elwood and the band hit the big screen in The Blues Brothers, a hilarious musical comedy featuring a star-studded cast including Cab Calloway, James Brown, Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin. While there were a few hiccups during the production of the film, in the end, things worked out well for Universal Pictures when it earned more than $100 million at the box office. A soundtrack for the film reached number 13 on the Billboard charts.