How Well Do You Know “The Blues Brothers”?

ENTERTAINMENT

By: J. Reinoehl

6 Min Quiz

Image: Universal Studios

About This Quiz

"The Blues Brothers" began as a sketch on "Saturday Night Live." It then became a movie directed by John Landis. How well do you remember "The Blues Brothers?" Find out by taking this quiz.

Elwood picked Jake up from prison in what kind of car?

"I picked it up at the Mount Prospect City Police Auction last spring. It's an old Mount Prospect police car."

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What did Jake and Elwood have tattooed on their fingers?

"The Blues Brothers" idea began in Toronto when Belushi was recruiting for the "National Lampoon Radio Hour." Aykroyd put on some blues at an after-hours club and reintroduced the style of music to Belushi.

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Finish the quote" "We're on ______________________."

"We're on a mission from God."

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Who played Jake Blues?

John Belushi (January 24, 1949—March 5, 1982) was more into heavy metal, and he frequently played the music very loud. He got involved in heavy drugs while working on "Saturday Night Live," and those eventually led to his death.

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How were Jake and Elwood related?

"Well, thank you, pal. The day I get out of prison, my own brother picks me up in a police car."

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What did Jake and Elwood call Sister Mary Stigmata?

Kathleen Freeman (1919—2001) played many roles opposite Jerry Lewis and was typically cast as abrasive supporting characters. "The Blues Brothers" referred to her character as "The Penguin."

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How much money did the orphanage need to pay taxes?

"The county took a tax assessment of this property last month. They want $5,000."

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Who played Reverend Cleophus James?

It was easy to get James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and John Lee Hooker to participate because they did not have any pending projects. Although all of them were great singers, it was hard to shoot them because as blues musicians, they never sang a song the same way twice.

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What happened to Jake at the Triple Rock Baptist Church?

"Have you seen the light?" "Yes! Yes!"

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What was Jake's first name?

The Blues Brothers' skits on Saturday Night Live were initially supposed to warm the crowd up before the show. They thought up the actual characters on a plane ride during a break from the show.

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What legal way of raising money did Jake have?

"We'll get the band back together, do a few gigs. We get some bread, bang—5,000 bucks."

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Why did the police want to arrest Elwood after he ran the yellow light?

"The Blues Brothers" opened for Steve Martin and produced a live recording of their performance. Since its release, it has ranked in the top thirty of all blues albums for the number of albums it sold.

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What address did Elwood give when he renewed his license?

"No, they don't got my address. I falsified my renewal. I put down 1060 West Addison." "…That's Wrigley Field."

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What did Elwood drive through to get to the freeway when trying to escape the police?

They production team had the luck of finding an abandoned mall in Illinois where they could shoot the chase scene. The downside was that they had to fill the parking lot with new cars, so the drivers were told not to hit any. Similarly, some of the stores were dressed by the franchise owners, and as a result, some stores could be wrecked while others could not.

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What reason did Elwood give his employer for quitting?

"I gotta quit… I'm—I'm going to become a priest."

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Carrie Fisher played which character?

Carrie Fisher (1956—2016) was not only Jake's ex-fiancee in the movie, but she also hosted the third "Saturday Night Live" show featuring "The Blues Brothers" as the musical guest. Steve Martin hosted the first two.

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Most of the band was still playing together under what name?

"Murph and the Magic Tones? Look at you in those… monkey suits. And I thought I had it bad in Joliet."

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What musician owned the shop where they got the instruments?

They filmed the scene outside Ray's Music Exchange in 25-degree weather, but all the dancers had to wear short sleeves because it was supposed to take place during the summer.

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Finish the quote: "Uh—what kind of music do you usually have here?"

"What kind of music do you usually have here?" "Oh, we got both kinds: We got country and western."

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What song saves them at Bob's Country Bunker?

The Blues Mobile was supposed to be a magical vehicle. In Aykroyd's head, it made sense that the car was magical because he parked it in a high voltage transformer room and the electricity imbued it with its abilities.

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What was the name of the restaurant where Mr. Fabulous worked?

Initially, Paul Schaffer was going to play keyboard for the band in the movie, but "Saturday Night Live" would not let him because of a contract dispute. Belushi knew of Murphy Dunn, and John Landis had seen his piano playing in other films, so he was hired to fill the void.

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What did Jake want to buy from the man sitting at the next table in Chez Paul?

"How much for the little girl? The women—how much for the women? …I—I want to buy your women."

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How many seats did the Palace Hotel Ballroom have?

Steve "The Colonel" Cropper and Donald "Duck" Dunn were among two of the original members handpicked by John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and Paul Shaffer. When Belushi called them, both men thought he was a friend who was joking with them.

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What fringe group did Elwood run off the road while they were marching?

"What are you going to do about it… You are going to join with us, the members of the American Socialist White People's Party, an organization of decent, law-abiding, white folk just like you."

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Which character did Dan Aykroyd portray?

Dan Aykroyd (born July 1, 1952) was always a huge fan of blues and saw "The Blues Brothers" as a way of reintroducing the sound to a new generation. He also appeared in another "Saturday Night Live" spinoff movie, "Coneheads."

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What food did Elwood always want to eat?

"I'll have some toasted white bread, please… No, ma'am—dry."

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Why were the Blues Brothers late to the concert?

Dan Aykroyd wrote the script from the back story he had developed with others, but it was the first one he had ever done. The original script was 324 pages long when the standard script was only 120 pages long.

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How did the Blues Brothers get the money for the orphanage taxes?

"I'm president of Clarion Records, the largest recording company on the Eastern seaboard… Here's $10,000, an advance on your first recording session."

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With what song did Curtis open the show to buy time?

Cab Calloway (1907—1994) played Curtis, and one of his signature songs was "Minnie the Moocher." Landis, Aykroyd, and Belushi were very picky about the music that was used from the initial selection to the actual playing. If the songs didn't feel fun to them, they would toss them.

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What song do the Blues Brothers perform in prison?

The songs the Blues Brothers play have four horn parts. However, the movie only called for three players. Although you only see three, you can hear the fourth on the soundtrack.

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How did the Blues Brothers escape the Palace Hotel?

"I used to be head bouncer here back in the 70s. There's an electrical service duct right behind your drummer's riser."

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What location song did the Blues Brothers sing at the Palace Hotel Ballroom?

The cost of the songs at the time was only a few thousand dollars as compared to today when they can run around $70,000 each. "Sweet Home Chicago" gave them the most trouble because no one knew who owned its rights. Landis finally discovered it was MCA.

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What did the Blues Brothers do with the extra $5000?

"Listen, do us a favor. Take $1,400 and give it to Ray's Music Exchange in Calumet City, and give the rest to the band."

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What did the sign on the Cook County Assessor's door say?

Since Belushi and Aykroyd were not professional dancers, Landis initially only wanted to use non-professionals. Once he saw how bad the results were, he changed his mind and only used professionals in the Chicago shoots.

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"It's 106 miles to Chicago. We got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes. ___________________"

"It's 106 miles to Chicago. We got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes. It's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses."

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