Blues Brothers Too Old for Harley-Davidson 110th Anniversary Celebration?

Dennis Chung
by Dennis Chung

Comedian Dan Aykroyd says he offered to bring his Blues Brothers act to Harley-Davidson‘s 110th Anniversary celebrations but was turned down because H-D executives said the act was too old for the company’s target demographics.

Aykroyd, playing the role of Elwood J. Blues with the late John Belushi playing “Joliet” Jake Blues, posted a statement on his official Facebook page suggesting Elwood is trading in his Harley-Davidson motorcycle for a Can-Am Spyder. The post reads:

Offered Blues Brothers to open for Kid Rock at Harley-Davidson 110th anniversary. H-D execs. say B.B.’s too old for desired demographics. FOR SALE – ELWOOD’S HARLEY. WANTED – 1 SPYDER OLD MAN TRIKE.

The executives may have a point, as Harley-Davidson is trying to appeal to younger demographics and the original “The Blues Brothers” film was released in 1980 with . The Blues Brothers act has made various appearances through the years at music festivals with various musicians through the years. The sequel film “Blues Brothers 2000” was released in 1998 with Aykroyd opposite John Goodman playing “Mighty” Mack McTeer.

But the Blues Brothers wouldn’t have been the oldest act at the 110th Anniversary party. Sure, acts like country artist Toby Keith, rockers Gaslight Anthem and rapper Lupe Fiasco may have more modern appeal (fyi: Lupe Fiasco was born in 1982, two years after “The Blues Brothers” debuted in theatres.) But the lineup includes acts such as ZZ Top (founded 1969), Lynyrd Skynyrd (1964) and Aerosmith (1970), so the Blues Brothers are spring chickens in comparison.

[Source: Dan Aykroyd ( Facebook)]

Dennis Chung
Dennis Chung

Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.

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