Congratulations to the Boogie People Fan of the Month for August 2025, Sean F! Learn more about Sean below!

Where are you from?: Brooklyn, NY

How many years have you been a fan?: 40 years!

What is your favorite George Thorogood song: "You Talk Too Much"

How many times have you seen George Thorogood live? What was your favorite show? I lost count after several dozen. I used to go to every show in the NY, NJ, PA, CT area in the 80s and 90s. Best show was Coney Island, 2010. Small outdoor venue. Got to meet Jeff Simon with my son after the show, and he autographed my son's cast.

What’s one thing that sets you apart from other George Thorogood fans?: Although I found it hard to believe, according to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I was the first person to nominate George and The Destroyers for induction. Despite having a terrific Destroyers exhibit in 2023/24, the Hall continues to overlook the band.

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Courtesy: Eric Mahannah | V13

George Thorogood and The Destroyers, accompanied by Alastair Greene, lived up to their ‘Baddest Band In The World’ at MTelus in Montreal.

There is this magical sweet spot that seems to be created when two genres mix and create something magnificent. Take a pinch of Chuck Berry’s Rock and Roll, add in a dash of John Lee Hooker’s Blues, and what you get is the hard-driving and toe-tapping musical mélange that is mastered by George Thorogood and The Destroyers. They were at a sold-out MTelus in Montreal the other night as part of this year’s annual Jazz Festival. There wasn’t very much jazz being played on this night, but that’s not really what the packed house was looking for anyway.

They wanted some down-and-dirty rock and roll so that they could shake, rattle and roll the night away. Played to the stage by Barry McGuire’s classic “Eve of Destruction,” the band is then introduced wrestling style as “World Champions of Rock and Roll!” It didn’t take much more than that to get everyone up in the gallery to join their fellow rock fans on the floor by jumping to their feet.

Opening the evening was Texas blues rocker Alastair Greene. He hit the stage in his best Texas outlaw gear, though the only gun he was slinging was a mean electric guitar. His set was terribly short, considering that he came out and immediately caught everyone’s attention with some slick guitar work. He may have been a rookie to the city, but Alastair Greene has been rocking crowds for almost 20 years. The majority of his set came from his tenth album, Standing Out Loud, which was released last year. Hopefully, he will be back soon and be able to play even more of his awesome songs.

Getting back to our headliner, George Thorogood hasn’t lost any of his energy, or good nature, despite being 75. I hope to have that much energy when I get to that point. He opened his set with ”Rock Party,” a rather appropriate choice as that was exactly what we were all there for. A rock party for the ages. Even the venue got in on the fun, offering up a special one bourbon, one scotch and one beer trio for 23 dollars. That song, of course, got a huge reaction, but the loudest cheer of the night had to be the opening riff of “Bad To The Bone.” The between-song banter was great as well as George was obviously having a great time.

The love-in between artist and crowd lasted all the way to the final notes. The Montreal fans had been waiting seven years since George Thorogood & The Destroyers last visited. Both ‘The Plague’ and other medical issues had kept George away, but he was back, and the crowd lined the street waiting to get in. There were more than a few disappointed fans who tried to buy some last-minute tickets while I was picking up my pass.

Once inside the building, George Thorogood & The Destroyers made everyone forget the long wait. They absolutely lived up to their ‘Baddest Band In The World’ billing. George Thorogood & The Destroyers will be out there on tour until mid-August. Don’t miss your chance to get rocked by The World Champions of Rock and Roll when they come to a town near you.

Click here to view photos.

Congratulations to the Boogie People Fan of the Month for July 2025, Gary A! Learn more about Gary below!

Where are you from?: West Virginia

How many years have you been a fan?: Over 40 years!

What is your favorite George Thorogood song: "Gear Jammer"

How many times have you seen George Thorogood live? What was your favorite show? 16 times best one was Columbus OH 1985

What’s one thing that sets you apart from other George Thorogood fans?: I rock some GT in a country music state

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Courtesy: GuitarWorld / Janelle Borg

Thorogood recounts how he originally opted for a now-discontinued hollowbody – with a little inspiration from the Beatles and Keith Richards.

George Thorogood’s knack for popularizing older songs by blues greats – coupled with his trademark brand of high-energy boogie blues – has made his music a radio mainstay for the past couple of decades or so.

And, much like his inextricable link to American rock radio, Thorogood has been associated with his go-to hollow-body electric guitar, the Gibson ES-125, since the early ’70s.

A week before his first gig with what would become the touring behemoth, the Delaware Destroyers – later, the Destroyers – Thorogood headed to a pawn shop to buy the guitar model that would go on to accompany him throughout his career.

“I’d been traveling around the country as an acoustic street musician,” Thorogood recounts on his official website. “I was back home for my sister’s wedding, and Jeff booked the gig without telling me.”

Speaking more about his early days in an upcoming Guitar World interview, Thorogood describes what led him to the ES-125: “I was broke. I only had $200, and we booked a gig, and there was this guitar at a pawn shop – a $200 Gibson that had been there for years. So, I bought it, and it worked because I was always playing acoustics.

“And in those days, they called those guitars [the ES-125] ‘semi-acoustic.’ And the Beatles played guitars like that, and so did Keith Richards. I thought, ‘If it’s good enough for The Beatles and The Stones, it’s good enough for George.’"

The rest, as they say, is history, though Thorogood can now be seen mostly playing Epiphones – a decision born out of necessity.

“I’m using a custom-made Epiphone archtop, single cutaway design, just like my Gibson [ES]-125 that I used to play, because I wore them out,” he explains. “The only guitar that I could ever play was the 125, and I wore them out so bad; it was costing thousands of dollars to repair them.

“And they stopped making them in like 1970, so I was ready to stop playing altogether. And then, our manager got together with Epiphone, and they donated me like 10 Epiphone guitars. 10 of them!

“I said, ‘Wow…’ and they started working on them to make the sound right. So, that’s what I’m using these days.”

As for how his new Epiphone compares to his vintage Gibson, Thorogood – with the help of some baseball jargon – admits he still prefers his trusty Gibson.

“There’s no comparison. It’s [the Epiphone] like hitting a baseball into the gap, and you have to slide into second [base] with a double. The other thing [the Gibson] is like hitting a ball into the upper deck,” he adds with a laugh.

Keep your eyes peeled on Guitar World for our upcoming interview with George Thorogood.