to greatness.

can't tell you how many times I have watched it.

Aretha was the star of the show, as far as i'm concerned, although a couple of the Blues Brothers tunes were pretty good too.

another talent now gone... almost everyone in that film has passed on.

And I had forgotten that John Candy was in there too. So many members of the cast that are now gone.

At the time it was considered quite large, so much so that the suits at Universal were concerned it would wreck their bottom line for years to come. But my guess is you're being sarcastic.

I got a chance to ride the tank that appeared in the end of the movie when I was helping with a re-enactment group a few years after the film was made.

of the place my parents owned on Lake Street in Chicago when I was a kid.

Aretha Franklin comes up at about 0:14.

Lou Marini was in the backing band.

Her look at the end and those slippers are awesome

and yes, love the slippers......love the movie.

oh, the good ol days.

I always did have a little case for him.

He is a forgotten comedic genius, the kids of today, sadly don't know.

The Blues Brothers was more than a brand for them. They worked hard to give attention to old blues legends who had been all but forgotten. House of Blues was theirs (Really Ackroyd's but it was a dream they had together).

And Belushi was a brilliant creator of characters. CNN runs a great series, The History of Comedy, that really underscores how two things, depression and drugs, are the black dogs of comedy. Too, too many lost.

WHAT A BAND there is Upstairs!

All I could think about is who she's singing with now. Elvis - they share a Departure Date now. Sinatra, Ella, Dino, Sammy, and Nat King Cole. Chuck Berry, Michael Jackson. James Brown. Whitney Houston. Pavarotti. Fats Domino. Janis Joplin. Jim Morrison. Etta James. Johnny Cash. Marvin Gaye. Roy Orbison. David Bowie. Jerry Garcia. Bo Diddley. Glenn Frey. Paul Kantner. Leslie Gore. Muddy Waters. Maurice White. Natalie Cole. Chester Bennington. Lynn Anderson. Leonard Cohen. Scott Weiland. Buddy Greco. And I know I'm forgetting some more good ones.

And the backup band! Lordy Lordy! BB King, John Lennon and George Harrison. Ray Charles. Kurt Cobain. Prince. Rick Nelson. The Gibbs. Brian Jones. Carl and Dennis Wilson. Carl Perkins. Merle Haggard. Glen Campbell. Tom Petty. Hugh Masekela. Buddy Rich. Ornette Coleman. Dave Brubeck. Jimi Hendrix. Lemmy. Keith Emerson and Greg Lake. Clarence Clemons. Walter Becker. Tommy Ramone. Tom Fogerty. Phil Everly. Leon Russell. And I know I'm forgetting some more good ones.

Dick Clark and Ed Sullivan to emcee. Co-conducted by Messers Gershwin and Bernstein. Produced by Bill Graham and George Martin.

I went to the gospel music award show in the early eighties at the shrine auditorium in Los Angeles. I bought a ticket from one of our secretaries who said she was part of a church choir, I did not know what the show was and did not expect much. Her choir was the many Grammy award winning James Cleveland Gospel Choir. Incredible performances each one topping the last culminating with the show stopper Aretha. The House band was the Barry White Orchestra, a to die for musical evening. It was a very large hall but Aretha would not have needed a microphone. What shocked me was the power of her voice, god was she great.

First, you have my undying envy.

Two great stories today. John Fugelsang said she’d been to one of the shows he did with other activist comedians. She’d come with a small group of friends and they had a balcony box to themselves. He kept trying to see her but couldn’t. But at one point she laughed really loudly and “everybody looked up and every cell phone in the place lit up as people were texting ‘Aretha’s here!’”

The other about The Appolo Theater, when she was backstage and hit a note and thecwhole place erupted.

That voice. That incredible instrument. It sure had the right player, didn’t it?

I love that song and that scene... and I love Aretha Franklin. I saw her once at the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos, CA.

Lots of tears flowing (and sublime music playing) today.

A friend of ours, from NYC moved to Detroit in the 1980s because his wife went to law school in MI and his brother worked at Ford. He was musical, a good singer, had a knack for electronics and was very conscious of money.

A story he told us was how once when he was working at a Detroit photo/camera store, a customer came in while it was fairly busy, a lady who was average looking, in her 40s maybe, and another staffer assisted her in the store.

Turned out, you know who the lady was? It was Aretha Franklin. And she bought quite a bit of merchandise, cameras and equipment as Christmas gifts for her family and nephews. So this guy really missed out on a big sale, and a big star, and wasn't as helpful as he could have been IMO. Joke was on him, Lol.
---
In the late 1980s, we saw a wonderful concert performance by Aretha and afterwards spotted her in the parking lot getting into her limo waving to fans and looking majestic in a white outfit and coat.

She was such a jewel, the Queen of Soul who gave us joy and great music for decades. Thank you and rest in peace wonderful Aretha Franklin.

thanks for sharing

LOVE these stories!

That particular sequence is fantastic.

Rest in peace, Queen of soul.

K&R.

The song was perfect and she did a fantastic bit of artistry with it.

Having her wear the pink slippers was a touch of genius, too.

I'm particularly fond of that scene because I grew up largely in my grandmother's cafe, and those scuffs and that apron on a woman of her age take me right back there. Broke, tough as nails, and dancing. Amen!

On the smock.
She could have been an actress as well.

Bittersweet

The first thing I thought was,

"Blues Brothers? Sheeee-it."

RIP girl!

to all the great music she gave us, I remember this.

My favourite song is Until You Come Back To Me. And also she was a wonderful Gospel singer. She will be singing with the angels.

That woman could SING.

Loved Aretha, the song, the energy, and the pink slippers. She will be missed.

A force of nature. I am going to devote the weekend to listening to her music. There has never been nor will ever be anybody like her.