November 4th 2004 marked the official release of Dan Aykroyd’s and Ben Manilla’s new book “Elwood’s Blues, Interviews with the Blues Legends & Stars” details available at www.backbeatbooks.com.

  In celebration of the release Backbeat Books & The Sirius Satellite Network joined together and co-hosted a on air live broadcast performance via their blues channel which featured blues greats from around the world. The band assembled by Bob Putignano President of the NY Blues and Jazz Society (www.NYBluesandJazz.org) consisted of: Bettye Lavette, Mose Allison, Hubert Sumlin, Michael Hill, David Maxwell, Jerry Jemmott, “Blue” Lou Marini, Calvin Owens, Terry Silverlight, Nikki Armstrong, Ben Griffin, Rob Paparozzi, and Dan Aykroyd.

   Highlight’s from the performance included a rollicking boogie woogie piano trio performance by David Maxwell, trumpeter Calvin Owens’s instrumental “Slow Blues”, Bettye Lavette’s “Everyday I Have the Blues” and with Aykroyd on lead vocals the broadcast concluded with Robert Johnson’s “Sweet Home Chicago” which brought broad smiles to the crowd of VIP’s, journalists and celebrities who were in attendance at Sirius’s studios.

   It is significant to note that Aykroyd and Manilla are donating a portion of the proceeds of “Elwood’s Blues” to the Blues Foundation in Memphis (www.blues.org).

Bob Putignano (Article and Pictures)
President NY Blues & Jazz, and radio
host @ WFDU’s, “Sounds of Blue”