John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd debuted their Blues Brothers skit on NBC’s Saturday Night Live on April 22, 1978. John played Jake Blues and Dan played Elwood Blues. The skit had actually originated as part of an opening act for Steve Martin, the comedian.
The “brothers” were dressed in dark suits, thin ties, black hats and sunglasses. They sang R&B songs from the ’50s and ’60s and eventually produced their first album that same year called Briefcase Full Of Blues.
Other albums followed and, in 1980, the movie, The Blues Brothers, opened in theaters on June 20. It was a wild first week. A story by Gene Siskel in the June 29, 1980 issue of the Chicago Tribune, states that the film grossed approximately $6.9 million that week.
Coinciding with that debut, according to both the Wikipedia article on The Blues Brothers and the recently released book by Daniel De Vise, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd subsequently began a musical tour with their band to promote the film. It opened for the first time on June 27, 1980. The location? The brand new Poplar Creek Music Theatre in Hoffman Estates.
They were the 9th act of the inaugural season following John Denver, Henry Mancini and Sarah Vaughn, Bob Hope and Barbara Eden, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Jefferson Starship, Marvin Hamlisch and Liza Minelli, and Sammy Hagar.
Available through Ticketron, pavilion tickets sold for $12.50 and lawn tickets for $8.50. The show began at 8:00 p.m.
With various members of the audience dressed as Blues Brothers look-alikes, per a Daily Herald caption from June 28, 1980, the duo launched into their first number, a cover of Otis Redding’s song “I Can’t Turn You Loose.” Belushi was the lead singer, with Aykroyd performing intermittent backup.
They followed it up with 21 more songs, dancing and strutting across the stage. The concert was interspersed with Belushi’s cartwheels and Aykroyd’s harmonica playing. An encore of three songs closed the show and, in a rather unique move, they finished with the same song they started with.
Were you there for that memorable night, for what, today, seems a VERY reasonable ticket price? If so, post some comments and let us know what caught your eye!
Jane Rozek
Local History Librarian
Schaumburg Township District Library
jrozek@stdl.org
History of Schaumburg Township 
Hi Jane I was at this show with my girlfriend we sat in the last row on the left hand side as your looking at the stage.. I was at the ripe age of 22 and it was an incredible show!
Saw some great shows there. Stevie Ray and Double Trouble, Bob Seeger to name a few. Wish it was still there..
Hello John,
I would bet you did get a great show. It was the first of the tour and they had to have brought ALL of their energy for the local crowd!
Jane Rozek
Local History Librarian
Schaumburg Township District Library
jrozek@stdl.org