''Briefcase Full of Blues'' is the debut album by The Blues Brothers, released on November 28, 1978, by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. It was recorded live on September 9, 1978, at the

Universal Amphitheatre Universal Amphitheatre (later known as Gibson Amphitheatre) was an indoor amphitheatre located in Los Angeles, California within Universal City, California, Universal City. It was built as an outdoor venue, opening in the summer of 1972 with a p ...

in Los Angeles, when the band opened for comedian Steve Martin. The album consists of covers of

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and soul songs from the 1950s to 1970s. The album reached number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 and went double platinum; according to Blues Brothers member

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...

, the album has sold 3.5 million copies in all. It is among the highest-selling blues albums of all time. Three singles were released from the album: " Rubber Biscuit", which reached number 37 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, " Soul Man", which reached number 14, and " Hey Bartender", which did not chart. The album is dedicated to Curtis Salgado, the inspiration behind John Belushi's creation of the Blues Brothers characters.

Track listing

Personnel

* "Joliet" Jake Blues ( John Belushi) –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

* Elwood Blues (

) – backing vocals,

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

, lead vocals on "Rubber Biscuit" * Paul "The Shiv" Shaffer –

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

, Wurlitzer electric piano, acoustic piano, backing vocals,

musical director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the ...

Steve "The Colonel" Cropper Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as Ot ...

– guitar * Matt "Guitar" Murphy – guitar *

Donald "Duck" Dunn Donald "Duck" Dunn (November 24, 1941 – May 13, 2012) was an American bass guitarist, session musician, record producer, and songwriter. Dunn was notable for his 1960s recordings with Booker T. & the M.G.'s and as a session bassist for Stax Rec ...

– bass guitar * Steve "Getdwa" Jordan –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, backing vocals * Lou "Blue Lou" Marini – tenor and alto saxophones, backing vocals * Alan "Mr. Fabulous" Rubin – trumpet, backing vocals * Tom "Triple Scale" Scott – tenor and alto saxophones, backing vocals * Tom "Bones" Malone – tenor and baritone saxophones, trombone, trumpet, backing vocals

Charts

Singles

Certifications

References

External links

Album Information on Blues Brothers Central
(archive)

{{Authority control The Blues Brothers albums 1978 debut albums 1978 live albums Atlantic Records live albums Albums produced by Bob Tischler Covers albums Live blues albums