Loading...
Chris Couse's Collection

Robert Cray Band   11/24/1978

Community Center For Performing Arts, Eugene, OR
Source FM --> Cassette--> HDD--> CD --> EAC--> SHN
Media cdr   1 disc
Notes *small skip on track 8
01 FM DJ intro
02 Hard Times
03 Move on Back
04 The Losin' Hand
05 Where Can A Man Go From Here
06 Sooth Me
07 In the Night
08 Times Are Gettin' Tough
09 Up & Jumpin'
10 Early One Mornin'
11 I'm Gonna Cry
12 Don't Lose Your Cool


Robert Cray - Guitar & Vocals
Richard Cousins - Bass
Curtis Salgado- Harmonica & Vocals
Dave Stewart - Keyboards & Vocals
David Olsen - Drums

A Little History...

The Original Blues Brother: Curtis Salgado
If you take out a magnifying glass and peer very carefully at the bottom
line on the back of the first Blues Brothers album by John Belushi and Dan
Aykroyd, you will notice, in infinitesimal print, the phrase "Dedicated to
Curtis Salgado." It was decent of the Saturday Night Live guys to thank the
then-unknown Robert Cray band's singer, harmonica player and co-frontman,
considering that, in return for this modest mention, Belushi and Aykroyd
got an act! that grossed $32 million at the box office and an album that
went platinum.

The crucial event was the historic 1977 meeting at the Eugene Hotel of
Belushi and Salgado, who played harmonica and sang with Cray. Belushi was
in Eugene to film Animal House (in which Cray wound up in a bit part as the
bass player in the frat-house band Otis Day and the Knights). Salgado and
Cray were there because the Eugene Hotel had a thing called Blue Mondays
and it was Monday, and they needed the money.

Cray remembers not recognizing the historic nature of the occasion. "When
Curtis came up and told me and Richard [Cousins, Cray's bass player], 'John
Belushi is here!' we said, 'Who's John Belushi?' because for as long as we
could remember, we'd always had to work on Saturday nights."

Though Salgado downplays the Belushi connection now, he made the most of
the meeting: "When I met Belushi he said, 'Oh, I'm going to have Ray
Charles on the show.'! And I started going into the history: 'Did you know
Ray Charles used to play with Guitar Slim?" 'Who's Guitar Slim?' And that
led to one thing and another, and pretty soon Belushi said, 'Hey, bring
your records over!"'

In 1977, Belushi was under the influence of his own rather oafish taste in
music, leaning toward the loud and the boorish. "He was listening to Black
Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult at the time," says Salgado. "He was from
Chicago, so he must have known something about blues, but he didn't know
who the people were . . . [so] I was the man whose act he took. Five of the
songs on their first album were songs that I did. He did the songs just the
way I did them. I used to wear dark shades just like the ones he later wore
in his act. Of course, mine were prescription glasses. He wore his hair and
moustache just like mine. He even did my between-song raps."

Cray confirms Salgado's story. "Curtis and Belushi just had this thing
together. They were real tight." Several of Cray's friends from Eugene say
that Belushi seemed a little intimidated by Salgado's wit, which could be
just as fast and flamboyant as his own. And Belushi definitely needed
Salgado's coaching to get the Blues Brothers going. "The main thing I
taught him was to sing like John Belushi. The first time he sang with the
Nighthawks, he tried to sing like Joe Cocker. Imagine-here was John Belushi
imitating Joe Cocker imitating Otis Redding. I told him to sing like
himself, which he did. Of course, I-or any number of other singers-could've
sung better than he did, but he had the clout as a star. He went back to
New York and got some of the best people in the business to play with him,
and he ended up with the recognition.

"He called me up one night from the East Coast and said, 'Lorne [Michaels,
Saturday Night Live's producer] wants us to do the Blues Brothers live on
the show tomorrow! night. Would you give me that rap you do, all about how
I'd walk a mile for a Camel?"' (Cray says the rap was originallv "Skillet
Leroy burlesque stuff: 'Are you gonna be like a Camel and make me walk a
mile-or like a Chesterfield and satisfy?' and all these lines about 'Do you
want Regular or King Size?"')

"I gave him the rap," continues Salgado, "and he did it word-for-word. He
basically lifted my whole act. Later, Belushi sent me a picture of him and
Aykroyd as the Blues Brothers that said, 'Without you, we'd still be just
TV actors."'

Still one of the most exciting R&B singers on the West Coast, Salgado split
with Cray in 1983 (basically because a band can't have two leaders), but he
remains friendly with Cray and has publicly congratulated his old partner
for hitting it big. "Robert's one of the best musicians-and people-I know.
These guys have worked their asses off to get to where they are today. I
have the utmost respec! t for them." Cray and Cousins returned the compliment
recently by producing a demo tape for Salgado. And Cray and Salgado still
play together occasionally, as they did at the May wedding of one of Cray's
friends.

As for Belushi, Salgado admits to mixed emotions. "Sure, I was bitter. It's
like they say: an amateur imitates, a professional steals. Belushi was a
pro.

"On the other hand, I'm still around making music. And Belushi-where is
he?" One is reminded of what Big Mama Thornton once said about Elvis
Presley. Big Mama had created the song "Hound Dog" and earned $50, but
Elvis got the hit and countless millions. Asked how she felt about that,
Big Mama replied, "Honey, I'm still here to spend my fifty dollars!"
J-Card Comment Billy Williams [beedubs69@yahoo.com]
Trades Allowed Yes
Ratings Sound: A-
Reference / Generation 0005098970
Owned by Chris Couse · Last Updated May 23, 2023