# Animal House - why did John Belushi destroy the guitar? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [August 28, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786 "2014-08-28T19:35:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786/1 "2014-08-28T19:35:02Z")
Was John Belushi a hater of folk music? Did he hate the guys singing? What made it so bad? The music performance or just a shitty song? It’s actually supposed to be slow and cloying. I can’t think of a more irritating and despised folk song. I love folk music but not this song. Joan Baez’s attempt. It sets my teeth on edge just like that guy in Animal House. Too damn slow! Get some tempo woman!! Allegro or at least Moderato! Never sing this song lento or adagio. Doc Watson did it too. Much better, faster. But its still pretty irritating. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UAUwOYKwarw/hqdefault.jpg "The Riddle Song - Doc Watson") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAUwOYKwarw) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786/2 "2014-08-28T19:37:32Z")
Remember the Great Folk Music Scare of the '60s? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786/3 "2014-08-28T19:44:16Z")
That shit almost caught on! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786/4 "2014-08-28T19:44:35Z")
I like some of the 60’s folk. Diamonds and Rust, 500 Miles, City of New Orleans, and many of these on the[top 100 list.](http://www.folkalley.com/lists/index.php?listid=1) It’s the pretentious and cloying crap that I can’t take. I can remember cheers in the theater when Belushi smashed that guitar. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786/5 "2014-08-28T19:46:35Z")
I get the feeling Belushi’s character is one who wants to rock out. You could recreate this scene with 00s whiny indie rock to the same effect. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786/6 "2014-08-28T19:50:30Z")
Because the guy was the typical college dick who brings a guitar to a party to try to pick up girls. And the song sucked. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786/7 "2014-08-28T19:50:42Z")
1. Charming Guy with the Guitar was surrounded by adoring females. Who weren’t surrounding and adoring Bluto. B. This was Bluto, remember? I’d class this incident as one of many entries on his “Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time” list. That is, if a “list” can come in volumes I, II, and III. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786/8 "2014-08-28T19:55:08Z")
Ok… look at Belushi’s character. They are at an “Animal House” party with beer being thrown motorcycles ridden up the stairs etc. And there in the middle is a guy with a sweater around his neck who obviously brought a guitar to this party singing a dippy song and a bunch of the girls swooning over him. Didn’t quite fit in with the type of party Bluto wants and he thought it was annoying. Smashing the dweeb’s guitar is the only logical reaction. After all… he said “sorry.” ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786/9 "2014-08-28T20:01:27Z")
Because it’s Frat house and nobody invited Stephen Bishop anyway. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786/10 "2014-08-28T20:05:53Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > Ok… look at Belushi’s character. They are at an “Animal House” party with beer being thrown motorcycles ridden up the stairs etc. And there in the middle is a guy with a sweater around his neck who obviously brought a guitar to this party singing a dippy song and a bunch of the girls swooning over him. > > Didn’t quite fit in with the type of party Bluto wants and he thought it was annoying. Smashing the dweeb’s guitar is the only logical reaction. After all… he said “sorry.” Yeah, I’m thinking imagine you’re an “Animal House” and you’re throwing this rocking no-holds-barred type of party, and there’s some douche sitting with a guitar playing, I dunno, Jack Johnson tunes or whatever. Wouldn’t you want to smash his guitar into bits? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786/11 "2014-08-28T20:06:17Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > B. This was Bluto, remember? I’d class this incident as one of many entries on his “Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time” list. That is, if a “list” can come in volumes I, II, and III. That’s pretty much it- it just seemed like a good idea… and he seemed sincerely sorry seconds afterward. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786/12 "2014-08-28T20:07:26Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > Because it’s Frat house and nobody invited Stephen Bishop anyway. 🆒 I’m impressed that you recognized him. He is an accomplished musician deliberately hamming it up in Animal House. > [@](#): > > he was discovered by Art Garfunkel in 1976 and had been working for a music publishing company where he wrote songs for Chaka Khan, Barbra Streisand, and The Four Tops. His debut album “Careless” not only beget the hit songs “On and On” and “Save It For a Rainy Day,” but also went gold and was nominated for a Grammy Award. > > However, Stephen achieved his greatest success composing songs for a handful of movies which include “The China Syndrome,” “Roadie,” “Summer Lovers,” “Tootsie,” “Unfaithfully Yours,” “Micki & Maude,” “The Money Pit,” “The Boy Who Could Fly,” “Heart & Souls,” “How to Deal,” and “The Hitcher.” “Separate Lives,” Bishop’s terrific theme song for the film “White Nights,” was especially well received: the duet between Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin was a #1 Billboard chart hit and was nominated for an Oscar. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786/13 "2014-08-28T20:12:44Z")
I had no idea that such an awful song was, like, a real song. I just assumed for the last few decades that a clever National Lampoon writer came up with the most stupid lyric ever, about cherries with no stones and chicken with no bones. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786/14 "2014-08-28T20:18:14Z")
Steven Bishop wrote and performed Dream Girl for the Animal House soundtrack. Pretty good attempt at recreating that Frankie Valli sound from the 60’s. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786/15 "2014-08-28T20:25:58Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I had no idea that such an awful song was, like, a real song. I just assumed for the last few decades that a clever National Lampoon writer came up with the most stupid lyric ever, about cherries with no stones and chicken with no bones. Hey, give the man credit. It’s hard to be a songwriter AND a geneticist conducting forbidden experiments at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786/16 "2014-08-28T20:29:23Z")
Because it’s funny. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786/17 "2014-08-28T20:40:54Z")
He was also friends with John Landis - he’s been a “charming” character in four John Landis [movies](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0084196/bio?ref_=nm_dyk_trv_sm#trivia): > [@](#): > > Has appeared as an actor in four films - all directed by John Landis - where his character is labeled “Charming”. In The Kentucky Fried Movie, he plays the Charming Guy, in Animal House, his character is the Charming guy with guitar, in The Blues Brothers, he plays a Charming Trooper, and in Twilight Zone: The Movie, his character in Segment #1 is Charming G.I. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786/18 "2014-08-28T20:41:41Z")
The Riddle Song, with these banal lyrics: _I gave my love a cherry without a stone I gave my love a chicken without a bone_ The River Song has these banal lyrics: _Everybody knows catfish got no scales Everybody knows cotton comes in bales_ [but unlike the Riddle Song it’s not stupid](http://youtu.be/4JhNBZ04x6Q) ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786/19 "2014-08-28T20:54:02Z")
Geek trivia: On ST-TNG, when Q traps the crew in a medieval simulation, Worf similarly smashes Geordi’s lute and says, “Sorry.” ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786/20 "2014-08-28T21:39:38Z")
To elaborate: 1. In _ **The Kentucky Fried Movie** _, Stephen Bishop appeared in a tiny role in a fake porno movie called _ **Catholic High School Girls in Trouble** _. They used an ancient dirty joke in that scene. Bishop is standing there, trying to look suave. A big-boobed blonde approaches and says, “Show me your nuts.” Bishop responds by making weird faces and sounds. 2) As we've discussed, he was "Charming guy with guitar" in \*\*\*Animal House.\*\*\* 1. He was Charming state trooper in _ **The Blues Brothers.** _ 2. And, in _ **The Twilight Zone** _, he was the Charming G.I. He’s one of a group of soldiers tramping through a rice paddy in Viet Nam. At one point, in an allusion to the ending of _ **Animal House** _, he whines, “Man, I wish we didn’t kill Lieutenant Niermeyer.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-house-why-did-john-belushi-destroy-the-guitar/696786.md?page=2)