Q+A: Jim Belushi

Jerry Fink, Las Vegas Sun

Friday, Sept. 29, 2006 | 7:33 a.m.

Jim Belushi has finally grown up, and he gives credit to the blues - or rather being with the House of Blues' house band Sacred Hearts.

With a new outlook on life, a new family and a renewed career that had foundered in the '90s, the 52-year-old Belushi is older and wiser.

He's finally emerged from the shadow of his older brother, John. Both were graduates of "Second City" in Chicago and "Saturday Night Live" in New York, and both expanded their careers beyond the comedy stage and TV. John Belushi burned brightly but died of a drug overdose in 1982.

Now, Jim Belushi is the star. His hit TV show, "According to Jim," starts its sixth year on ABC and recently began syndication. He's partnering with Dan Aykroyd - in the House of Blues chain of clubs and onstage as the Blues Brothers. The "brothers" and the Sacred Hearts opened for the Rolling Stones last year at Soldier Field in Chicago.

He also starred in several successful movies in the '80s: "Salvador," "About Last Night," "Red Heat," "K-9" and "The Principal."

Then came the '90s: divorce, marriage, divorce again.

How did you manage to turn your life around?

To be honest with you, as soon as I started with the band and the House of Blues about seven years ago, my attitude changed. I now understand why music came from gospel. I mean, it's spiritual; when you're in front of a band and you're singing, the music takes over your body.

I'm like the dancing frog onstage. I'm leaping all over, singing and dancing. I grab people out of the audience and dance with them and bring them up onstage. That music kind of set me free. I was getting apathetic, pathetic, self-indulgent. The band just opened my chest to a joyful passionate place.

How did you become involved with the band?

Danny Aykroyd wanted me to do the Blues Brothers with him at a benefit in Ottawa, Canada. I said "Danny I really don't sing the blues. I could do light opera, which I did on Broadway, but the blues is a whole different kind of singing. That was John's territory anyway," and he said, "Well, he willed it to ya. I'm here to tell ya that, so go learn."

How many concerts a year do you do with the Sacred Hearts?

We do about 50 shows a year - I jump back and forth between that and the TV series. And now Danny joins me and the Sacred Hearts, and we do the Blues Brothers. We did the Aladdin twice, maybe three times. We (Belushi and Aykroyd) do 10 or 12 gigs a year. We do a lot of corporate and a lot of benefits; we raised a lot of money for charity.

How do you like performing at corporate events?

The beautiful thing about corporate work is that there are no hard ticket sales, no press - no interviews. The audiences have been fed and liquored up and they're ready for a good time, and believe me, my show is a good time. It's structured theatrically. It's not a concert band where you sit in front of the piano and sing a bunch of ballads. It's a show band. We got 10 people, a B3 organ, harmonica player, backup singers, horns.

It's not just a gig to me because I make a ton of money what I'm doing with TV. I can't wait to get onstage with the band.

Would any of this had happened without your brother John?

He absolutely made it available, made it possible. You never think something like this could happen in your life.

It's everything. It's all of the above. It was great for building character. It was great to have the opportunity to be in the light and in the shadow. I like the shadow. It's comforting.