''Briefcase Full of Blues'' is the debut album by

the Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers (formally, The Fabulous Blues Brothers’ Show Band and Revue) are an American blues and soul music, soul revue band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, who met and began collaborating as original cast ...

, 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 the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

. 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 Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...

. The album consists of covers of

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

songs from the 1950s to 1970s. The album hit number 1 on the ''Billboard'' album chart and sold over two million US copies, going

double platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music Sound recording and reproduction, recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video ...

; according to Blues Brothers member

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Aykroyd was a writer and an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" cast on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Nigh ...

, the album has sold 3.5 million copies in total. 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 "Hey Bartender" is a song written by Dossie Terry, copyright filing EU389235 dated 10 March 1955 and renewed RE180048 on 11 March 1983. It was first recorded by Floyd Dixon in 1955 on Cat Records 114; the label credits "Terry" as composer. A co ...

", which did not chart. The album is dedicated to

Curtis Salgado Curtis Salgado (born February 4, 1954, in Everett, Washington, United States) is a Portland, Oregon-based blues, blues rock, and blue-eyed soul singer-songwriter. He plays harmonica and fronts his own band as lead vocalist. Career Salgado ...

, the inspiration behind John Belushi's creation of the Blues Brothers characters.

Track listing

Personnel

Partial credits from Richard Buskin and the album's liner notes. * "Joliet" Jake Blues (

John Belushi John Adam Belushi ( ; January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, singer and musician. He was one of seven ''Saturday Night Live'' cast members of the first season. He was arguably the most popular member of the ''Satur ...

) – lead vocals * 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 incl ...

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

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

Wurlitzer electric piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from 1954 to 1983. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptually similar to ...

acoustic piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an action mechanism where hammers strike strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a chromatic scale in equal tempe ...

musical director A music director, musical director or director of music is a 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 ...

* Steve "The Colonel" Cropper – guitar *

Matt "Guitar" Murphy Matthew Tyler Murphy (December 29, 1929 – June 15, 2018), known as Matt "Guitar" Murphy, was an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was associated with Memphis Slim, The Blues Brothers and Howlin' Wolf. In 2012, Murphy was electe ...

– 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 R ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

* Steve "Getdwa" Jordan – backing vocals, drums * Lou "Blue Lou" Marini – tenor and alto saxophones, backing vocals * Alan "Mr. Fabulous" Rubin –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

, backing vocals * Tom "Triple Scale" Scott – tenor and alto saxophones, backing vocals * Tom "Bones" Malone – tenor and baritone saxophones,

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

, trumpet, backing vocals, horn arrangements ;Production and technical staff * Bob Tischler - producer, mix engineer * Belinda Tischler - "assistant to the producer" * Laila Nabulsi - production coordinator * Warren Dewey - engineer * Jay Krugman - assistant engineer * Frank Sheiback, Bruce Spillman - crew * David Alexander - album photography * Judith Jacklin - "design and photo coloring" ;Venues * "Recorded live at the Universal Amphitheater, L.A." * "Record Plant, L.A." - remote recording, mixing location

Charts

Singles

Certifications

References

External links

Album Information on Blues Brothers Central
(archive)

{{Authority control The Blues Brothers live albums 1978 debut albums 1978 live albums Atlantic Records live albums Albums produced by Bob Tischler 1970s covers albums Live blues albums