Hats off and birthday wishes to one of rock’s great road warriors. George Thorogood was born February 24, 1950, in Wilmington, DE. He’s been the lead guitarist and vocalist of his band the Destroyers (formerly the Delaware Destroyers), for more than 40 years and 8000 shows. The World’s Greatest Bar Band is George, drummer Jeff Simon (who has been with George since Day 1), bassist Billy Blough (1976 to present), and new guys Jim Suhler, rhythm guitarist since 1999, and Buddy Leach, sax/piano, who joined in 2003.
George started out as an acoustic blues guitarist in the mold of Robert Johnson. He knocked around the early 70s until hooking up with Simon for a gig in a dorm at U of Delaware in 1974. The reception was unexpectedly overwhelming, so the duo started looking for guitar players to round out their Chicago blues and boogie style. More scrounging ensued, the band traveling, living and even practicing in their van, while playing anything they could get along the east coast. They relocated to Boston and got a record deal, recording their first album in 1976, only to see it languish on the shelf, unreleased, until a day in 1977. Their release was sort of over-shadowed by some other news – Elvis had died.
George Thorogood and the Destroyers was mostly covers of old blues songs, including one catchy medley of John Lee Hooker’s “House Rent Boogie/One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer”. The album started selling, eventually reaching Gold status, and George, being the savvy dude he is put out a second album in 1978. Move It On Over was all covers, including the Hank Williams title song, and a little number called “Who Do You Love?” Another Gold record – the guys were definitely onto something, and the old time blues players like Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry and others were listening and urging them on.
The group broke into mainstream consciousness when the radio play of their singles caught the attention of the Rolling Stones, who invited them along with J. Geils Band to open the 1981 Tattoo You tour. Suddenly, tens of thousands of people were digging the bar band every night. I told you George was smart. He noticed that the crowd went crazy when they heard the first few guitar notes of “Satisfaction” or the keys on “Centerfold”. He decided his band needed a signature song like that and sat down and wrote it. “It’s the ultimate fantasy of the cool tough guy,” he says. “I wrote ‘Bad To The Bone’ to perform it live for the rest of my life.”
And, he has. George Thorogood and the Destroyers are not defined by their 16 studio albums, 6 Gold, 2 Platinum. They are defined by their live performances. “When I was 16, I was going to school and playing Little League but nothing felt comfortable to me,” George says. “The first moment I picked up the guitar, it felt so right that it almost scared me. The fact that I couldn’t sing, play or write a song didn’t matter. I’d learn to do all that soon enough. But by having a knack for this thing and feeling relaxed doing it, I knew I was halfway home. I love to perform live, and I’m lucky to be able to do it on a level that our music and reputation have taken us to. To this day, I consider my job description to be ‘live rock performer’.”
At the end of 1981, George and the band took on the Mt. Everest for rock and roll road warriors. The 50/50 tour was supposed to be 50 shows in 50 states in 50 days. Traveling mostly in one of George’s 3 beloved restored Checkers, they actually went the plan one better, playing a show in Washington, D.C. the same day as the Maryland show -- making it 51/50. Oh, by the way, they played back-to-back nights in Ann Arbor and Columbus.
Happy Birthday to George Thorogood!
