They were on a mission from God.
When Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and director John Landis decided they would adapt the popular Blues Brothers characters from Saturday Night Live into a feature film, there was a bidding war before there even was a script. The late-night show was already an established cultural marvel, the Landis-Belushi film Animal House was a sensation, and the Blues Brothers’ album Briefcase Full of Blues was an unexpected phenomenon, making it to No. 1 on Billboard‘s album charts and going double platinum.
Wisely — oh, so very wisely — the creators recognized that they needed to call in some ringers if this movie (whatever it was going to be about) was going to work. As such, the finished product is a parade of musical legends, not just comedians who wear funny suits and do a passable job singing R&B hits.
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Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker (with Pinetop Perkins), Cab Calloway, and James Brown all get memorable musical moments, but the zenith is reached when the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, takes center stage for the highlight of this movie, and also every movie, and also life as a sentient creature on planet Earth.
To very briefly set up the clip: Jake and Elwood Blues (Belushi and Aykroyd) need to raise money to save the orphanage where they were raised. They decide, in classic Hollywood fashion, to put on a show and, as such, set about “putting the band back together.” Much of the movie’s first chunk is dedicated to regrouping with their old fellowship — most of whom were the actual musicians from the successful album doubling as actors, including Steve Cropper and Donald “Duck” Dunn of Booker T. and the M.G.’s, “Blue Lou” Marini, “Bones” Malone, and several other personalities beloved by hardcore record collectors.
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When they hunt down Matt “Guitar” Murphy (who in real life recorded with everyone from Etta James to Buddy Guy to Chuck Berry to Otis Rush), he is working as a short order cook at a diner. Just before he’s about to hit the road with the guys, his wife tells him “he better think about it.” His wife is played by the one and only Franklin, who also has to deal with the Blues Brothers’ weirdo order. Observe:
Assuming you have just watched the above clip, you can now say that you have seen the greatest musical sequence in all of history. If you disagree, you are wrong. (Anyone who disagrees is welcome to send an email to IAmWrong@aol.com.) From the moment the tune kicks in, this is a runaway train, and that’s before the ladies at the counter join in, the sax fills, or the “haaaaaaay!” at the 3:40 mark.
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“Think” was written by Franklin and Ted White (Franklin’s then husband), and was originally recorded in 1968. It was produced by Jerry Wexler at Atlantic Records, and went to No. 7 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart (and No. 1 on the R&B chart). It wasn’t quite as big of a hit as “Respect” or “(You Make Me Feel) Like a Natural Woman” or “Chain of Fools,” but it was still a pretty substantial success. Here’s how the original sounded:
One thing you’ll notice about the 1980 version is that it’s a lot faster. Does that make it better? This is up to you to decide, but one thing is for certain: it’s a lot of fun to see Franklin belting out this song as a character sassing her husband… with Belushi and Aykroyd in goofy outfits in the background.
The soundtrack album to The Blues Brothers hit No. 11 on the charts, and also went double platinum. In addition to singing, Franklin also played piano on the recording of “Think.” (Paul Shaffer was involved in some of the instrumentation; maybe that was the special sauce.)
If watching the scene from The Blues Brothers has you itching for more Franklin on film, you are in luck in ways that earlier generations were not. In 2018, footage of a two-night performance at a Los Angeles church, which had been sitting on a shelf since 1972, was finally reassembled and released to audiences as the documentary Amazing Grace. The reasons for the delay were both legal and technical, but the result is one of the most fabulous concert films ever. And not just because there are shots of Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts looking absolutely gobsmacked to be in the presence of Aretha Franklin. (Who. Could. Blame. Them.)