# How much beer did the Blues Brothers' Band Drink? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** beer\ **Created:** [June 12, 2020, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553 "2020-06-12T18:27:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553/21 "2020-06-12T23:41:09Z")
Is it possible that Bob, on seeing how drunk they were, inflated the price on the presumption that they were in no shape to do the math to correct him? ---
**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:** [June 12, 2020, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553/22 "2020-06-12T23:45:34Z")
What drunk? The band packs up and leaves without any problem, and Elwood doesn’t drink at all. Jake was not slurring or staggering either. Bob didn’t seem like he was running a scam - he looked like an inn-keeper who’d been screwed over before and wanted his beer money. ---
**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:** [June 12, 2020, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553/23 "2020-06-12T23:52:44Z")
Correction to my last: Elwood doesn’t drink. But he does sip champagne from a flute when he and Jake are trying to pry Mr. Fabulous out of his high-paying restaurant gig. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553/24 "2020-06-13T02:31:20Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Some other things to consider: I’m gonna stop you right there. Why did \*\*The Good Old Boys \*\*think showing up well after closing that they still had a gig to do??? I don’t care. I fucking love this movie. _Chicken Wire???_ ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553/25 "2020-06-13T02:35:40Z")
I remember a trombone player in the band, but I also remember a tenor saxophone in addition to Blue Lou on alto. So that makes one more drinker, and I can attest that tenor sax players can put away a LOT of booze. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Terrific](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tom_terrific/32/342_2.png) [@Tom\_Terrific](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Terrific)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553/26 "2020-06-13T02:44:49Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Some other things to consider: > > _What date did they play Bob’s Country Bunker?_ Early June. That means a long day, and the band arrived well after sundown. Call it 9:30-10pm. > > _When was mandated closing in Illinois in 1980?_ 2am? That’s a maximum of 4.5-5 hours of beer drinking. > > That’s a beer per person every 7.5 minutes for 5 hours straight. Then subtract performance time. Hard to drink while you’re playing. At least 4.5 hours of that set were playing. So the band basically killed $300 worth of beer in 30 minutes. I don’t know what time closing was in 1980, but in 1974, in Peoria, many of the clubs had 4:00 licenses. I remember staying until 4:00 and then going to a neighborhood bar that opened at 5:00 am. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553/27 "2020-06-13T03:11:11Z")
I remember drinking 50 cent ten ounce drafts at George and Harry’s in New Haven in the late 70s, and cheap 12 ounce bottled beer at the Anchor Bar on College Street just south of Old Campus, but can’t remember what we paid. I see the Anchor, which was a dive bar 1978-82, is now a craft cocktail lounge. (sigh) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553/28 "2020-06-13T03:12:25Z")
> [@Tom\_Terrific](#): > > I remember staying until 4:00 and then going to a neighborhood bar that opened at 5:00 am. Kids, this is proper Time Management. Take notes. ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553/29 "2020-06-13T06:22:10Z")
If the band thinks the beer is free, they will buy anybody a drink, especially ladies.🆒 The reason Paul Schaffer wasn’t in the movie was, he was the music director for Gilda Radner’s one-woman show IIRC. He’s there on the soundtrack, but not on film. I was told there is also a missing horn in the film. The sound is 4 horns but you only see three players. I don’t know, I’m just a guitar player.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Fortyfold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7c8e57/32.png) [@Fortyfold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fortyfold)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553/30 "2020-06-13T07:42:57Z")
I think on the Blues Brothers DVD commentary track, it’s stated that Shaffer couldn’t be in the movie because he was under contract somewhere else. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553/31 "2020-06-13T10:40:52Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Correction to my last: Elwood doesn’t drink. But he does sip champagne from a flute when he and Jake are trying to pry Mr. Fabulous out of his high-paying restaurant gig. I thought Elwood also took a swig of that bourbon (or whatever bottle he had) before handing it to Jake in his hotel room. He also insists on filling the big water glass with champagne. ---
**Author:** ![LoneRhino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lonerhino/32/1311_2.png) [@LoneRhino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LoneRhino)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553/32 "2020-06-13T11:35:49Z")
IIRC, their name for that gig was The Good Ol’ Blues Brothers Boys Band. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553/33 "2020-06-13T12:59:02Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > I remember a trombone player in the band, but I also remember a tenor saxophone in addition to Blue Lou on alto. So that makes one more drinker, and I can attest that tenor sax players can put away a LOT of booze. The horn section was: Alan Rubin (Mr. Fabulous) - trumpet Tom “Bones” Malone - trombone Lou “Blue Lou” Marini - sax Tom Scott - sax IIRC Lou Marini was the one who worked in the diner with Aretha and Matt “Guitar” Murphy. So, Tom Scott would be the one the OP missed. That’s still a lot of beer. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553/34 "2020-06-14T04:40:34Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > How do you water down bottles of beer capped at the brewery? Was that a thing in the…ever? 2% beer is a thing in the Rust Belt, especially Ohio and Kentucky (Was it clear whether they were in Illinois the whole time?) and Cowboy Bob strikes me as the type to try and pass it off as 6% hi-test beer. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553/35 "2020-06-14T16:01:58Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > The horn section was: > Alan Rubin (Mr. Fabulous) - trumpet > Tom “Bones” Malone - trombone > Lou “Blue Lou” Marini - sax > Tom Scott - sax > > IIRC Lou Marini was the one who worked in the diner with Aretha and Matt “Guitar” Murphy. So, Tom Scott would be the one the OP missed. > > That’s still a lot of beer. Jesus, I had no idea that was Tom Scott on tenor. Look at some of the other artists he worked with: Carole King, George Harrison, Tom Waits, Joan Baez, Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisand, Joni Mitchell, Dolly Parton…he was the equivalent of the Wrecking Crew on the saxophone. > **[Tom Scott](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Scott_(musician))** > > Tom Scott most commonly refers to: > Tom Scott may also refer to: I guess if your ambition is to play sax AND bring home a fat paycheck, you could do worse than emulate Tom Scott. ---
**Author:** ![alfonzos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@alfonzos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alfonzos)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553/36 "2020-06-14T22:12:41Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Cleveland Indians had 10 cent beer night in the 70s. You can pretty much guess what that led to. There was a riot and the Indians had to forfeit the game. I beg your pardon. It was Nickle-Beer Night. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553/37 "2020-06-15T03:59:47Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Jesus, I had no idea that was Tom Scott on tenor. Look at some of the other artists he worked with: Carole King, George Harrison, Tom Waits, Joan Baez, Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisand, Joni Mitchell, Dolly Parton…he was the equivalent of the Wrecking Crew on the saxophone. > > [Tom Scott - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Scott_(musician)) > > I guess if your ambition is to play sax AND bring home a fat paycheck, you could do worse than emulate Tom Scott. Tom Scott played on the soundtrack album, but was not in the film. But Tom Malone also plays sax. He’s on tenor sax when they do Minnie the Moocher with Cab Calloway, then back on trombone when Jake and Ellwood show up. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553/38 "2020-06-15T11:57:57Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Cleveland Indians had 10 cent beer night in the 70s. You can pretty much guess what that led to. There was a riot and the Indians had to forfeit the game. The thing is, there were originally more than one 10 cent beer nights scheduled. The first one went off without notice or incident. The second one was when the riot occurred. The teams, Cleveland and Texas, had had a fight recently in a game in Texas and the rematch (simultaneous with the beer night) was heavily promoted by the local sports talk guys. The subsequent beer nights were cancelled after the riot. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553/39 "2020-06-15T12:02:15Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > Tom Scott played on the soundtrack album, but was not in the film. But Tom Malone also plays sax. He’s on tenor sax when they do Minnie the Moocher with Cab Calloway, then back on trombone when Jake and Ellwood show up. Oops, my mistake. I was going off the credits from “Briefcase Full of Blues”. I thought it was the same band in the movie except for Shaffer -\> Murph and Steve Jordan -\> Willie Hall. So why wasn’t Steve Jordan in the band in the movie? I know he later went on to play drums in “The World’s Most Dangerous Band” with Shaffer on Letterman’s NBC show. Was he also tied up with the Gilda show? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553/40 "2020-06-15T12:30:49Z")
> [@alfonzos](#): > > I beg your pardon. It was Nickle-Beer Night. They had 5 cent beers in previous seasons but this one was 10 cents > **[Ten Cent Beer Night](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Cent_Beer_Night)** > > Ten Cent Beer Night was a promotion held by Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians during a game against the Texas Rangers at Cleveland Stadium on June 4, 1974. The promotion was meant to improve attendance at the game by offering cups of low-alcohol beer for just 10 cents each (equivalent to $0.59 in 2022), a substantial discount on the regular price of 65 cents (equivalent to $3.86 in 2022), with a limit of six beers per purchase but with no limit on the number of purchases made during the... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-beer-did-the-blues-brothers-band-drink/855553.md?page=3)