Editing Dan Aykroyd (section)

===''The Blues Brothers''===
{{main|The Blues Brothers}}

Aykroyd was a close friend of [[John Belushi]]. According to Aykroyd, their first meeting helped spark the Blues Brothers act. When they met in a club that Aykroyd frequented, he played a blues record in the background, and it stimulated a fascination with blues in Belushi, who was primarily a fan of heavy rock bands at the time. Aykroyd educated Belushi on the finer points of blues music, and with a little encouragement from then-''SNL'' music director [[Paul Shaffer]], it led to the creation of their Blues Brothers characters.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=The Blues Brothers - Soul Man |magazine=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]] |date=September 14, 2015 |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2010/12/the-blues-brothers-soul-man.html |access-date=January 20, 2018 |archive-date=January 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180120124345/https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2010/12/the-blues-brothers-soul-man.html| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2013/01/making-of-blues-brothers-budget-for-cocaine |title=Making Blues Brothers With John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd—"We Had a Budget for Cocaine" |last=Zeman |first=Ned |magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 20, 2018}}</ref>

Backed by such experienced professional R&B sidemen as lead guitarist [[Steve Cropper]], sax man [[Lou Marini]], trumpeter [[Alan Rubin]], and bass guitarist [[Donald "Duck" Dunn]], the Blues Brothers proved more than an ''SNL'' novelty. Taking off with the public as a legitimate musical act, they performed live gigs and in 1978 released the hit album ''[[Briefcase Full of Blues]]'' (drawn from the fact that Aykroyd, as "Elwood Blues", carried his blues harmonicas in a briefcase that he kept handcuffed to his wrist, in the manner of a CIA courier; Belushi originally carried the key to those handcuffs). ''Briefcase Full of Blues'' eventually sold 3.5 million copies, and is one of the highest-selling blues albums of all time.<ref name="AustinSound" /> The band was much further popularized in the 1980 film ''[[The Blues Brothers (film)|The Blues Brothers]]'', which Aykroyd co-wrote. A sequel, titled ''[[Blues Brothers 2000]]'', was released in 1998 and featured John Goodman as Belushi's replacement.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}

[[Cherokee Studios]] in Los Angeles was a regular haunt for the original Blues Brothers in the early days of the band. Belushi and Aykroyd became fixtures at the recording studio, while Blues Brothers band member Steve Cropper called Cherokee his producing home. Whenever they needed a bass player, they were joined by another band member, Donald "Duck" Dunn. During this time, Cropper, along with producing partner and Cherokee owner [[Bruce Robb (producer)|Bruce Robb]], worked on a number of music projects with the two comedians/musicians, including Belushi's favourite band, [[Fear (band)|Fear]], and later Aykroyd's movie ''Dragnet''.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}

The Blues Brothers Band continues to tour, both with  and without Aykroyd. The band features original members Cropper and Marini, along with vocalist [[Eddie Floyd]]. Aykroyd sometimes performs as Elwood, along with Belushi's younger brother [[Jim Belushi]], who plays "Brother Zee" on stage. They are most frequently backed by the Sacred Hearts Band.<ref>{{cite web|author=Karen|url=http://www.jimbelushi.ws/jim-sacredhearts.htm|title=Jim Belushi and the Sacred Hearts|publisher=Jimbelushi.ws|date=January 28, 2011|access-date=May 16, 2011|archive-date=August 9, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809121903/http://www.jimbelushi.ws/jim-sacredhearts.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>