“When Paul Shaffer introduced the Blues Brothers for the first time on SNL, he said, ‘With the help of Curt Salgado and the Cray Band, we give you the Blues Brothers’”: Robert Cray on Animal House, and the origins of the Blues Brothers
Before he came to fame in his own right, Cray played in a band with singer Curtis Salgado, on whom John Belushi's Jake Blues character was partially based
![Robert Cray performs onstage](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Kda5qU6o7kJ7nFWSfRC4RS-320-80.jpg)
The following interview with Robert Cray was first published on guitarplayer.com in 2005.
“It’s a classic now, but back when the movie Animal House was shot, nobody had any idea it was going to be so big,” says Robert Cray. “My band and I were living in Eugene, Oregon, at that time, and some lady came up and asked me if I wanted to be in a film. I sarcastically said, ‘Yeah, right.’ But, sure enough, she called back a few months later to ask if I could make rehearsals.
“They needed black guys to play the members of Otis Day’s band, the Knights. We got fitted for outfits, and we were on the set for three days. That’s me on bass, although I’m not really playing.
“We also had something with the Blues Brothers. You see, Curtis Salgado was the frontman and harmonica player for another band in Eugene called the Nighthawks. We had a splinter band that worked Monday nights called the Crayhawks that consisted of Curtis, myself, Richard Cousins on bass, and Dave Olson on drums. John Belushi came in, and we invited him up on stage where he did the Joe Cocker impersonation he used to do on Saturday Night Live.
“Curtis and John became pretty tight while John was in town making Animal House, and Curtis was schooling John all the time with his great blues and R&B record collection. Curtis wore prescription Ray-Ban sunglasses, and he had a little growth of hair under his bottom lip. Right then, Belushi got the idea to start the Blues Brothers, basing his character on Curtis.
“They credited Curtis on the first record, and when Paul Shaffer introduced the Blues Brothers for the first time on SNL – doing his impersonation of Don Kirshner from the Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert program – he said, ‘And with the help of Curt Salgado and the Cray Band, we give you the Blues Brothers.’
“It’s crazy to look back, but that’s how it all started, and it lives on to this day with things like the House of Blues and Elwood’s radio show.”
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Jimmy Leslie has been Frets editor since 2016. See many Guitar Player- and Frets-related videos on his YouTube channel, and learn about his acoustic/electric rock group at spirithustler.com.
“I’m a happier person when I’m not trying to sound like John Mayer or Wes Montgomery or George Benson. I get hired to be me, instead of those awkward moments where they say, ‘Can you sound like XYZ?’” Molly Miller on balancing jazz and Jason Mraz
“Cold plunging is challenging to do. This record is like we’re diving in together and putting it down on tape while it’s fresh”: Cold water therapy inspired Sam Evian’s new album – which has so many guest guitarists, he wound up playing bass