But dig this: It's true that Salgado introduced John Belushi to the blues, and provided a blueprint for his character, Jake, in terms of both personal style -- Ray Ban Wayfarers and a soul patch (but not, thank God, the rumpled suit)- and musical direction -- a potent mix of classic blues, R&B, funk, and soul. But Salgado doesn't deserve to go down in history as merely helping to create a fictional character, however beloved. He deserves to be known for what he is, which is one of the baddest blues 'n' soul singers you've ever heard.

"Here's the game plan of what I do," says Salgado, whose musical adventures have led him to gigs as a singer and harmonica player with numerous bands, most notably the Robert Cray Band, Roomful of Blues, and, for a brief period, Santana: "I like a lot of different music. I like jazz and blues and soul and gospel and country & western. I like everything from George Jones to George Clinton, and that's the truth. My music is a hybrid of all the stuff that I admire. I just play what's in my head, and I try to piece the song together, and for whatever reason, it usually comes out as hard-ass rhythm and blues."

That's absolutely the case on Wiggle Outta This, Salgado's Shanachie debut, and the album on which his powerhouse fusion of styles comes to full fruition. The album - Salgado's fourth as a bandleader - is also a showcase for his virtuosic, yet tastefully restrained harp stylings. It's a part of his arsenal, but one he smartly keeps in reserve. "If I'm a jet plane, I've got radar, I've got stealth, I've got this missile, and I've got this secret little weapon," Salgado says. "I don't want to overdo it. The harmonica is used for embellishment, but it's not the ultimate thing. For me, it's all about the songs."

Happily, "Wiggle Outta This" has got plenty of those. From the rocking blues of the title track, the pleading "Why Don't I Care," the sly, sexy "Cookie Dough," and the smoldering funk of "Sweet Jesus Buddha the Doctor" -- all original tunes - Salgado is able to show the depth and breadth of his writing abilities. There's also a trio of dynamite covers -- Al "TNT" Braggs' "That's All a Part of Lovin' You," J.8. Lenoir's "I Feel So Good" and Donald Bryant's soaring "I Want Everyone to Know," which matches O.V. Wright's version, an impressive feat all by itself.

"I like a full plate," Salgado says. "You like a good steak, but you can't just eat that for a solid year. I'd get tired of that. You need mashed potatoes and carrots, and other stuff, too. This record is like that. There's blues, but there's also soul and rock 'n' roll, stuff that has a bit of a pop sheen to it, stuff that makes sense for radio, too. I'm not trying to be everything to everybody, because you can't do that - I'm just trying to express music the way I hear it - music that hits my auditory nerve just right, and comes straight from the heart, too.

Salgado was born in Everett, Washington, in 1954. His family moved to Eugene when he was one, and he grew up there listening to jazz, and to his father, an aspiring singer of classical music. He first took the stage while in kindergarten, after a teacher sent him home with a note pinned to his shirt saying that he could sing. "Once the applause hits you, even at that age, it's like, wow -- you turn into Sally Field for a minute -- you go, 'They like me, they like me!'" Salgado laughs. His fate was sealed at age 13, when he saw Count Basie's band perform in Eugene. "There was this huge band, layin' it down, and it was incredible," he says. "And then the singer came out. I remember saying 'I want to do that.' And my dad just laughed - 'as if,' you know? But I was hooked."

Salgado became a serious student of all kinds of music. Cut him, and he bleeds information gathered from hours and hours spent pouring over liner notes and album credits. He was aided by his father's substantial collection, but also by his older brother and sister, who introduced him to the music of the folk boom of the early '60s, and finally, to the blues.

"All of a sudden, Paul Butterfield and Jr. wells appeared. I remember my brother bringing that home, and that's how we discovered blues," he says. "After that, there was so much: Muddy Waters, Howlin' Woll, Robert Johnson, Robert Junior Lockwood, Johnny Shines, B.8. King, Albert King, Gatemouth Brown, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Pee Wee Crayton, Tiny Grimes... My sister brought me home Little Walter in 1968. It was an album called Hate to See You Go. At first I didn't get it, but then all started falling into place. Little Walter changed everything."

Salgado became a part of the burgeoning Northwest blues scene starting in 1972 with a band called Three Fingered Jack, which eventually became the Nighthawks (not to be confused with the Washington, D.C. band of the same name). Eventually, he hooked up with up-and-coming guitarist/vocalist Robert Cray, and recorded the album Who's Been Talking (now known as Too Many Cooks) for Tomato Records. In those six years with Robert, the higher level of visibility also afforded Salgado a chance to sit in with stars such as Muddy Waters, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Albert Collins (Salgado was the first to call him "Master of the Telecaster"), and Bonnie Raitt.

Salgado left the Cray Band before it hit nationwide, and moved to Portland, where he formed In Yo Face in 1982. From '84 to'86, he fronted Boston's Grammy-winning Roomful of Blues, then repaired to Portland, where he formed the Stilettos. The group took off locally, and eventually toured with acts such as the Steve Miller Band and the Doobie Brothers. Among his other high-profile gigs is a stint singing with Santana on a national tour in 1995.

As a bandleader, Salgado has released four albums: Curtis Salgado and the Stilettos (1991); More Than You Can Chew (1995); Hit It and Quit It (1997), and now Wiggle Outta This.

Oh, and the Blues Brothers thing? In 1979, when Belushi was in Eugene filming "Animal House," he caught Salgado's act and liked what he heard and saw. Salgado took the actor under his wing, and schooled him on blues and R&B history. Belushi soaked it up like a sponge, snagging some of Salgado's act, including "Hey, Bartender" and "SoulMan," and even some of his trademark stage patter. Belushi did give credit where it was due, to a degree -- he had Salgado's name written into the script on "Saturday Night Live" and dedicated "Briefcase Full of Blues" to him. But of course, it was the Blues Brothers, that scored the platinum record. "There's a thing in show business, and that's that professionals steal and amateurs copy," Salgado says cannily. "Well, Belushi was a pro. And that's the bottom line."

With Wiggle Outta This, it's Salgado's turn. And that's the bottom line, too.