{"id":13624,"date":"2022-01-09T11:34:22","date_gmt":"2022-01-09T17:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kevernacular.com\/?p=13624"},"modified":"2022-01-11T10:09:57","modified_gmt":"2022-01-11T16:09:57","slug":"with-your-bloggers-hornet-as-local-color-the-blues-brothers-is-named-to-the-library-of-congress-national-film-registry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kevernacular.com\/?p=13624","title":{"rendered":"With your blogger’s Hornet as “local color,” “The Blues Brothers” is named to the Library of Congress National Film Registry"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jake Blues ( Dan Aykroyd) and Elwood Blues (John Belushi) with their now-iconic Bluesmobile in thew promotional poster the movie “The Blues Brothers.” Courtesy hourz.com<\/em><\/p>\n

History rewind to early 1980:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I was driving east on Milwaukee I-94, heading home after my slightly nerve-wracking part-time job as a school bus driver (a job to augment free-lancing for The Milwaukee Journal<\/em>). It was always stressful, yet gratifying, having other people’s precious children in your hands, to deliver them safely to school, or home (even the obligatory brat-distraction every few rides).<\/p>\n

My nose had just rid itself of the funky Red Star Yeast<\/em> smell ever-permeating the 16th street overpass (back then). So, as I now enjoyed the sunny afternoon and approaching lakefront, I noticed a car, with smoke billowing from its hood, speeding down the still-under-construction Lakefront Freeway,\u00a0<\/span>which had gone so long uncompleted, it was dubbed “<\/span>the freeway to nowhere.”\u00a0 Another car followed in hot pursuit.<\/span><\/p>\n

My God, I thought instantly, two cars headed for the end of the unfinished freeway segment which leads to pure, thin air, high above the lakefront !<\/p>\n

In the next moment, I noticed a mobile film camera unit following the cars. Crazy, man!<\/p>\n

Then I recalled the news that director John Landis had brought the production company, for his forthcoming big-budget comedy The Blues Brothers,<\/em> up to Milwaukee from Chicago, where all of the film is ostensibly set, and shot. However, for a climactic chase scene, Landis needed an elevated freeway that ended in pure nothingness, and Milwaukee had it.<\/p>\n

Having by chance seen this bit of filming in person, I looked forward to the movie, starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, which turned out to be one of the zaniest and most brilliant<\/span> car-<\/span>chase comedies since<\/span> It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. <\/em>Plus, it was a hip sort of roots musical, with one of the greatest arrays of musical talent ever performing in a scripted film.<\/p>\n

And now, The Blues Brothers<\/em> has received one of the ultimate formal recognitions, having been inducted into the 2021 National Film Registry<\/strong> of the Library of Congress<\/strong> (I didn’t know about this until my sister Sheila Lynch emailed me yesterday with the news.).<\/p>\n

There’s no question it’s a great comedy (at times over the top, of car after crashing car) worthy of the registry, and absolutely bursting with stirring blues, soul and gospel music by such legendary onscreen <\/span>performers, including Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Ray Charles, Cab Calloway, Chaka Kahn, and the Blues Brothers’ (Belushi and Aykroyd) own rhythm section, comprising the great studio musicians best known collectively as the MGs, as in Booker T and the MGs. The movie’s soundtrack is a classic of that those genres of recorded music.<\/span><\/p>\n