As a child, you really can't comprehend the immensity of this production. Then, you grow up, and realize that this movie is a concert, a tribute and a master piece.
My kids LOVE this! And I loved it as a kid when my daddy showed it to me! Now we have 3 generations who enjoy this movie together! My kids are always singing this song lol!
The looks on all the guys in the band's faces. Every single one of them hugely accomplished musicians, every one of them grinning like kids bc they're playing with Cab Calloway.
I was in that audience at the Hollywood palladium for 14 hours while they shot the concert. Cab Calloway was a true professional and was SO excited to be there!!
I'm 28 years old and watched the Blues Brothers about 2 years ago. I loved this film and you def don't see anything like it being made today. It made me love R&B and really old school artist like Cab Calloway. The movie is pure comedy gold, my gf didn't quite get it but me and my friends laughed our asses off....such a classic.
Cab Calloway initially hated this version of the song and had a big row with Dan Akroyd about it. He called it old-fashioned, which of course was the whole point of Blues Brothers, so that didn't get him far. Angrily he did it the way Dan wanted (which is the take used in the movie), and then stormed out without another word. When the time came for shooting the scene he showed up on set and did everything professionally with no hint of the previous arguments. I don't know what caused him to change his mind, but I'm glad he did.
I can't even comprehend someone arguing with Cab Calloway. I would say that anything Cab Calloway says goes. He was so amazing as were lost of the performers of his time. ❤ I wish I could have seen them.
actually I think John mentioned something about Cab did it the first time and Cab was pissed and he asked John how that take was and John said bad but you're Cab Calloway so it should be great and Cab said....Oh great?! You gotta tell me you want great....so Cab went back in and did it a second time and that's the version you hear in the film
In the 1940s in Louisville KY, my uncle was friends with Cab Calloway. I have pictures of him with my dad and uncle baby-sitting and playing them as 5 and 7 years olds. They spoke on the phone and wrote letters until Cab died. RIP LEGEND!!❤
That scene comes to mind when I pass the adhesives display at the building supply store. And the poultry netting reminds me of Bob's Country Bunker: "Chicke wire?!?"
31 years ago, when my father was very I'll, I stayed up with him all night , sometimes holding him because his cancer was progressing rapidly. This was the last movie we ever saw together, sometimes he would even crack a smile. I miss that man, and boy oh boy, what a movie to go out with! Pretty cool.
My dad loved this, he had met Cab when he was in a jazz quartet and they went to hear him play. My dad and Cab talked about what it was like to get started. He kept in touch and whenever Cab was playing within 200 miles he would go to the show. I remember being introduced to him. So when the movie came out I took my dad to see it. When he first saw Cab he leans over and say's "I'll bet you a million bucks he sings Minnie the Moocher." He loved the movie, because he loved all kinds of music and this had it all. He would say that this was one of the best musicals that Hollywood has made.
I just watched about a half a dozen versions of Calloway performing this song from 20 to 40 years earlier than The Blues Brothers and I think the Blues Brothers version is the best one I’ve seen. Granted, it’s a movie that can be edited, but my understanding is that they did this in only two takes. No matter how it was shot and edited, the result is probably the best version of Calloway performing this song ever recorded.
My father was one of the extras in the crowd, didn't believe him till I finally watched it when I turned 7, now that I'm 40 it's really all I have of him now.
My dad met Mac Murphy after a show backstage and at a bar and he talked about this and he said “this was probably the most funniest thing I’ve ever done” so I think they all had fun! Especially cause Aykroyd knew bulusi was gonna pad since his drug addiction was horrible
Think about being an extra on this film for this exact scene. I was fortunate to have seen Ray Charles in the early 1990s at a 1000 seat venue. I was taking a jazz appreciation class at Cal State Northridge, and one of the assignments was to take in a live show. Ray Charles was playing at the Ventura Theater about an hour north of where I lived, so I got tickets and dragged a friend along. The singing was great, of course, but I was a little bit disappointed in that they put an electric keyboard on the stage (not a real piano) for him to play, and when the show was over, they got us out as soon as possible as he had another show right after. But, once he passed away, it sunk in that I got to see Ray Charles!
You know, I just watched this movie for the first time today and I laughed when their costumes changed back and pointed it out to my dad and he said; “Well, the magics over now” And that struck me.
You can see the band all smiling with glee. Shit I would be smiling too. To have the honor to play for Cab Calloway and see him dance and perform right in front of me! Truly magical!🤍✨
My grandpa showed me this movie when i was 9 years old, and im so grateful that he did because this is one of my favourite movies. one time in school when we had an assembly the highest level band in the school with all of the seniors played this song, and since nobody else knew it i was the only one who repeated after the singer. my friends looked at me like wtf are you doing but the band looped the bridge and said into the mic "Everybody follow this kid, when i sing this part you repeat it to me". I was able to rise up in that moment thanks to this movie and this music. Rest in peace Cab Calloway and John Belushi.
One of the greatest movies for music collabs of all time. Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway, Johnny Lee Hooker peeking in there...y'all...I don't want this movie to ever be forgotten simply for the famous jazz and blues powerhouses they pulled up out of the Hollywood mud and raised to the golden skies where they belonged. Yeah, sure, Blues Brothers, but we all know they weren't really the stars, and, frankly, that is as it should be.
it makes me happy that they gave the spotlight to Cab, so a whole new generation could discover his talents. And new people are still discovering Cab because of this now iconic clip.
I love that as soon as the song kicks in, we get to see inside Cab Calloway's mind, where he envisions himself back in his prime, it's so heartwarming.
My favorite part of this scene is that the whole fancy stage was just imagination. because it doesn't matter what the stage looks like, what matters is talent. And this man had so much talent that he was able to convince that he belonged on that stage.
@@AstroGains dude, what? You could not be anymore wrong. OP got it 100% right. The stage does not matter. There’s a video on RU-vid of 4 brothers performing this song on the street in LA. They had no lights, no crowd. no big band playing, nothing. Just 4 dudes wearing wife beaters. One on bass, one of the horns, one banging on an upside down trash can and one singing. Nobody could ever do it like Cab Calloway but these 4 dude playing on the street were unbelievable. Proof that it isn’t about the stage. It’s about the talent…
I was fortunate enough to meet Cab in Denver, Colorado in the early 70s. He was in town to play a gig, and he couldn't have been nicer. Truly a class act all the way. Bless you, Cab, and keep those Hi-De-Ho's going forever in Heaven.
Cab Callaway is hands down one of the greatest artists of all time. It's kinda funny it's only been recently I discovered him and his music. It's completely blown my mind, and finding this music I have found some other gems. Someone who mostly loves rock/metal I have found another new love. Thank you Mr Galloway. 😎
Cab Calloway was pure talent and class. This is what music is all about. Even the band of famous musicians were starstruck, that they got to play with him.
The coolest sequence _ever_ committed to film. This scene stands out in memory watching it now as it puts me right back into the theater as the heavy rain from a sudden thunderstorm drummed on the roof; July 1980.
The coolest thing in this scene - in my opinion - is seeing the faces on these really accomplished musicians like Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn, and Willie Hall, watching Cab go to work. You can just tell they're in awe of this guy, just like, "Damn, the old guy's still got it."
Cab Calloway; making the best music in 1931 and still doing it in 1980. An absolute legend and one of the greatest talents this nation has ever seen. Check out his rendition of "St James Infirmary Blues", with or without the Betty Boop Cartoon, a mind blower in its own right. It and his 1933 "Minnie the Moocher" are both pre-code, by the by.
as someone who never saw this movie until 2021, I can tell you that for me, that moment at the start of this scene, when you first see Curtis without his sunglasses and realize it's been Cab Calloway the whole time is one of the wildest reveals I can ever remember seeing in a movie
Far and away this was the greatest scene in the movie. This scene is one of the greatest in all of film. Cab Calloway is a legend and a true Blues Brother
It’s not a iconic at all, what are you even talking about lmao In cartoons from the 40’s they literally snuck around the same way, it’s just a funny looking way of tip-toeing
@@tgcx4554 They did it in The Simpsons episode; "Blue Harvest," where they were trying to get out of the Death Star. Homer "Han," says; "Alright, everybody, be cool." and they walk in that exact manner!
I always love that scene, but it just occurred to me tonight that I never consciously stopped to listen to the Mr. Fabulous trumpet solo in the background. RIP Mr. Fabulous.
The only snl movie that was worth anything..in fact,this movie is a musical masterpiece that gives great recognition to Cab Calloway and many others...this movie actually turned younger generations onto Cab who greatly deserved it..
The greatest of all time. Perfection even long after the final curtain. He had electricity coming out of him. When he smiled at you, his whole head split in half and a row of giant teeth came rushing out at you like a cow catcher on the front of an old Western train. Captivating. I'm so happy he did this. Thank Cab.
It’s beautiful how the big band stage was all in Cab Calloway’s mind. He transported us back in time and gave a performance just as if he was in his youth. What a touching tribute to his legacy!
Which is ironic, because he really, really didn't want to. He wanted to perform an updated, disco-like version of the song he had recorded in the seventies, and made the charts with. But Dan Ackroyd wanted the classic version of the song. It may have displeased Calloway, but I think it was the right decision. That disco version is pretty well forgotten today, while the original from the 1930s endures as the classic it is.
Mr. Troy Lighton, Everything dome in this song was done to be a tribute to the greatest performer of all time. From the names of Harlem clubs in the background to the spotlights out front. I believe it was the Savoy, I could very well be wrong, used to have searchlight type spotlights in front of the club when Cab Calloway was the headliner that evening. The tuxes was what Mr. Calloway was as a performer in Harlem and movies. Always so classy. The black suit and hat is what Mr. Calloway became. Maybe not dressed to the nines, but always after 5:00 dress wear. A little more comfortable, but still a classic look. I believe that shot was from a concert in the late 40s or early 50s. The shot in casual attire is what Mr. Calloway had become. A retired singer returned to the stage and show the world what it takes to be the greatest and classiest performer in the world. Oh and Mr. Joel Stucki, not only is the trumpet 🎺 solo in the intro badass, but so were the licks he plays between the verses. Here’s a freebie: look at Mr. Calloway’s face when he thanks the musicians, that’s gratitude and humility written on his face. The musicians faces show a thanks as well, but for being allowed the honor to back up the greatest performer in the world. I actually cried the first time I watched the movie in the theater all those years ago. Steve Cropper has a look of confusion as if to say Why is he thanking us?
"He took her down / to Chinatown / where they kicked the gong around". Not only is Cab Calloway the great singer and great dancer, but those lyrics take us back to the ultra-hipness of 1930. So much superlatives captured in this movie.
I saw an old video on youtube, and I think it was taken back in the 30's of Mr. Calloway explaining much of the slang back then. They had just just as much slang back then (if not more), that it was practically a different language.
The magic of Cab Calloway. He is able to give nine men tuxedos, new instruments and create a set in half a second flat and nobody seems to bat an eye. Then once the song is over, everything goes back to normal and nobody notices.
The man was still touring the jazz festivals in 1993 just a year before he died. He was 86 when he died. So, 85 years old and he probably had more energy than me at half that age. The guy was a worker that loved to entertain and loved his life. He is one of my all time favs and this is coming from a guy that was too young to see him in Blues Brothers. Only know him from reruns. He was awesome.
I've watched this video many times, and I've read the comments over the years. Everyone has their own opinions, their own takes, and this is mine. When Curtis tells the boys to 'hit it' and turns around, the performance suddenly turns magical, legendary, as if something important were about to happen, and did happen. The on stage sets, the backgrounds, the clothing, the sounds, all went back to that magical time and place to the '30s during that song. The looks and smiles on the bands faces made it clear they were having the time of their life being Cab Calloway's band, and the standing ovation he got at the end of the song could not have been more real and appreciative of a jazz and music legend. Despite any comments about friction between some of the people, or any disagreements they might have had, this magical moment has been captured on film forever and will always be remembered with love and respect.
You can just see the sheer joy on the faces of everyone present- Cab, the band and the audience. Of all the legends taking part in this movie, Cab was the original and the greatest, and at the age of 73 he got one last legendary hurrah which everyone was privileged to be a part of.
The Blues Brothers will always be one of my favorite movies! Had some crazy stunts done with cars, had some of the biggest legends of the music industry, some of the best comedians, an amazing soundtrack and so much more!
I was 20 years old when this came out. Cab was from my mother's era, so this was my introduction to the awesome Mr. Calloway. 40+ years later, it's your introduction now. Timeless music is also priceless music. Treasure it. Let the music play.
The best part of the movie. The immortal Cab Calloway took us all back to the golden age of The Cotton Club Jazz Age 50 years before the Blues Brothers movie