Play the Jukebox: Hey Bartender

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Howdy from the other side of the river! My regular Chuy’s is closed because they had a water main break. Fortunately, we have two in the area. I’ll keep the music going as long as they keep the salsa coming! So here’s another jukebox song. Hey Bartender - Blues Brothers It was supposed to be a one-off joke. Dan Aykroyd had introduced John Belushi to R&B and blues music, and Belushi became obsessed. One night they decided to “warm up” the live audience for Saturday Night Live by performing as “Jake” and “Elwood Blues.” Well, it was a hit. So much so that they were featured a few times on the show, doing perfectly straight music (something you don’t expect out of comedians). The next thing you know, the Blues Brothers have an album that’s outselling Debby Boone. They did a pretty much note-for-note cover of Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man” (even to the point where Belushi repeated Sam Moore’s “play it, Steve!” shout to Steve Cropper [who played on both versions]), which introduced teenagers like me to the song. Their other “big hit” from the album was this song, originally recorded by Floyd Dixon in 1955. A few years after the Blues Brothers’ hit version, Johnny Lee covered the song for country audiences. Meh. I’ll stick with this version, thank you. No joke. Hey Bartender Written by Dossie Terry Recorded by the Blues Brothers From Briefcase Full of Blues, 1978 JUKEBOX LYRICS: Well, the jukebox playin’ everything