Blues Brothers: Private

Blues Brothers: Private is a book published in 1980, designed to help flesh out the universe in which The Blues Brothers (the first film) took place. "Private" was written and designed by John Belushi's wife, Judith Jacklin, and Tino Insana, a friend of John's from their days at The Second City.

The book consists of paperwork and clippings collected by Sister Mary Stigmata (the character played by Kathleen Freeman in the film) and stored in her personal files. The factoids provided in "Private" refer to fictitious events and fictionalized versions of real-life people (namely, the other band members). However, many real life and childhood photos of the actors and band members are used to illustrate the documents. The following are some of the revelations the book makes within this continuity:

  • Jake Blues was born Jacob Papageorge, son of Artesia Papageorge, a woman in prison for murdering her husband, who dies giving birth and insisting he be named "Jake."
  • As a baby, Elwood Blues was abandoned at a newspaper stand. He was initially named after Mike Delaney, the investigating patrolman, so his birth name is Elwood Delaney.
  • Carrie Fisher's character in the movie is named Camille Ztdetelik.
  • Steve Cropper was raised Amish, but left the Amish country to become a musician.
  • Alan Rubin "looks Italian, acts Italian, but is Jewish".

All copies of the book came with a detachable poster that was a replica of the posters used to promote the band's gig at the Palace Hotel Ballroom in the film The Blues Brothers.

The Blues Brothers
Members
  • "Joliet" Jake E. Blues
  • Elwood J. Blues
  • Steve "The Colonel" Cropper
  • Donald "Duck" Dunn
  • Murphy Dunne
  • Willie "Too Big" Hall
  • Steve "Getdwa" Jordan
  • Tom "Bones" Malone
  • "Blue" Lou Marini
  • Matt "Guitar" Murphy
  • Alan "Mr. Fabulous" Rubin
  • Paul "The Shiv" Shaffer
  • Tom "Triple Scale" Scott
Albums
  • Briefcase Full of Blues (1978)
  • The Blues Brothers: Music from the Soundtrack (1980)
  • Made in America (1980)
  • Best of the Blues Brothers (1981)
  • Dancin' Wid Da Blues Brothers (1983)
  • Everybody Needs the Blues Brothers (1988)
  • The Blues Brothers Band Live in Montreux (1990)
  • Red, White & Blues (1992)
  • The Definitive Collection (1992)
  • The Very Best of The Blues Brothers (1995)
  • Blues Brothers & Friends: Live from House of Blues (1997)
  • Blues Brothers 2000: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1998)
  • The Blues Brothers Complete (1998)
  • The Essentials (2003)
Films
  • The Blues Brothers
  • Blues Brothers 2000
Video games
  • The Blues Brothers
  • The Blues Brothers 2000
Related topics
  • The Blues Brothers (novel)
  • Blues Brothers: Private
  • Bluesmobile
  • The Blues Brothers Show


Famous quotes containing the words blues and/or private:

    Holly Golightly: You know those days when you’ve got the mean reds?
    Paul: The mean reds? You mean like the blues?
    Holly Golightly: No, the blues are because you’re getting fat or maybe it’s been raining too long. You’re just sad, that’s all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you’re afraid and you don’t know what you’re afraid of.
    George Axelrod (b. 1922)

    For such will be our ruin if you, in the immensity of your public abstractions, forget the private figure, or if we in the intensity of our private emotions forget the public world. Both houses will be ruined, the public and the private, the material and the spiritual, for they are inseparably connected.
    Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)