Aretha Franklin & Why The Blues Brothers Should Be Added To The National Film Registry

When Aretha Franklin passed away last week, many people paid tribute to her by posting the clip of her scene in The Blues Brothers in which she sings "Think" as a warning to her husband played by Matt "Guitar" Murphy about leaving her to join Jake & Ellwood.

The scene is all of six minutes long, but it effectively re-launched Franklin's career. The scene takes on an added poignance as her death comes only two months after Murphy's passing.


Over the weekend, I took it upon myself to nominate The Blues Brothers for the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. Each December, the NFB announces 25 films to be added to the registry which are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".


The Blues Brothers certainly fulfills that criteria. It represents the duo of Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi at their very finest and what could have been if not for Belushi's death less than two years after the film's release. The film contains the greatest chase scene in the post-silent film era outside of The French Connection and Bullitt both of which were added to the registry in 2005 and 2007, respectively.


Most importantly though The Blues Brothers is a love letter to American rhythm & blues and soul with an homage to country & western music as well as jazz. This the only film where one will find James Brown, Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker, Big Walter Horton, Pinetop Perkins, Cab Calloway and the Queen of Soul in one place. Now that they are all gone I believe this time has come to honor them by preserving this film.


If you wish to nominate The Blues Brothers for inclusion into the National Film Registry, you have until September 15th and can do so here.