JOHN BELUSHI & DAN AYKROYD - I'm A King Bee - 1976

Описание: 👑 King Bee: The Birth of the Blues Brothers
The Setup: The segment was framed as a musical interlude involving the recurring Saturday Night Live gag of the "Killer Bees"—a running joke that creator Lorne Michaels kept using as a humorous rebellion against a network note to "cut the bees" after the first episode.
The Performance:
John Belushi (credited as "Jake Blues" in the transcript) steps up to the microphone, wearing the signature black and yellow striped bee costume and antennae.
Dan Aykroyd (credited as "Elwood Blues") is right beside him, also in a bee costume, playing the harmonica.
The show's house band, led by Howard Shore, was also dressed in bee costumes and was billed as "Howard Shore and his All-Bee Band."
The Song: Belushi sings the 1957 Slim Harpo blues standard, "I'm a King Bee."
The Vibe: Even in the ridiculous bee outfits, the energy and musical talent were evident. Belushi delivers a passionate, bluesy vocal performance and does some wild physical comedy like cartwheels and somersaults ("Jake does a few cartwheels and somersaults" is even noted in the transcript!). Aykroyd provides strong harmonica accompaniment. The performance had all the core elements of the legendary act they would fully debut later on, including Belushi's intensity and Aykroyd's steady musical presence.
In essence, the "King Bee" sketch is a comedic and foundational moment, mixing the early SNL absurdity of the Killer Bees with the serious blues passion that would soon make The Blues Brothers a global phenomenon.