By Henry Yates (Classic Rock)

George Thorogood’s ode to brawlin’ and heart breakin’ Bad To The Bone was inspired by The Rolling Stones and almost recorded by Bo Diddley. Surprisingly, it was never a big hit.

In the summer of 1981, a white bluesman called George Thorogood, from Delaware, watched a Rolling Stones concert from the wings, and asked himself what they had that he didn’t. 

Thorogood and his band – at that time drummer Jeff Simon and bassist Bill Blough – had enjoyed sufficient success with their debut album to be invited to open for the Stones on that US tour. Unfortunately, Thorogood’s schoolboy fantasy was being soured by the muted audience reaction to his set of blues standards. 

Congratulations to the Boogie People Fan of the Month for November 2020, Daniel S! Learn more about Daniel below!

 

Where are you from?: North Tonawanda NY

How many years have you been a fan?: Since 1981

What is your favorite George Thorogood song: Ride on Josephine

How many times have you seen George Thorogood live? What was your favorite show?: 20X

What’s one thing that sets you apart from other George Thorogood fans?: I have met George a couple of times and we talk baseball, not music. We share the love of Stan Musial and I can answer his question on who was the Fordham Flash.

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Courtesy Spencer Kaufman @ Consequence of Sound

George Thorogood and The Destroyers have been going strong for more than 40 years. And they’re going back nearly that long for a new deluxe reissue of the album Live in Boston, 1982. In advance of the release, Thorogood is teaming up with Consequence of Sound to premiere a visualizer for the deluxe edition’s previously unreleased live version of his signature tune, “Bad to the Bone”.

The deluxe edition, dubbed Live in Boston, 1982: The Complete Concert, adds 12 previously unreleased songs to the original 2010 release, for a total of 27 tracks. The reissue will be available as a 4-LP 180-gram vinyl set; a 2-CD edition; and digitally beginning December 4th via Craft Recordings. A red marble vinyl release will be made available exclusively for Record Store Day’s Black Friday event on November 27th, and limited to 1,000 copies.

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Live In Boston, 1982: The Complete Concert features 12 unreleased tracks, including fan favorites “Who Do You Love?” and “Bad to the Bone”

Craft Recordings announces a comprehensive reissue of George Thorogood and The Destroyers’ Live in Boston, 1982. Newly remastered by the GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Paul Blakemore, the 27-track Live in Boston, 1982: The Complete Concert captures the band’s fiery set in its entirety, including spoken introductions. Plus, the release includes 12 previously unreleased tracks (including performances of “Bad to the Bone,” “Who Do You Love?,” and “Cocaine Blues”) and marks the first time the set will be available on vinyl. 

 

Available to pre-order today (10/7), Live in Boston, 1982: The Complete Concert will be available December 4th as a four-LP set on 180-gram vinyl, a two-CD set, and across digital platforms. Complimenting the collection are new liner notes by longtime Boston Globe music critic and Berklee College of Music professor, Steve Morse, who spoke with Thorogood about that incredible evening. In addition, a special deluxe edition of the new collection (pressed on red marble vinyl, including an eye-catching poster, and limited to a 1,000 units) will be released exclusively for Record Store Day’s Black Friday event on November 27th. Coinciding with this week’s announcement is the release of the first instant grat track, “Bad to the Bone,” available this Friday (10/9) to stream or download on all major digital outlets.

 

George Thorogood and The Destroyers were hometown heroes when they played to a packed audience at Boston’s Bradford Ballroom (now the Royale Nightclub) on November 23, 1982. Hailing from Wilmington, Delaware, Thorogood and his band had settled in Boston in the late ’70s, where they became mainstays in the scene—releasing their 1977 self-titled debut and their 1978 follow-up, Move It on Over, with the then-locally based Rounder Records. By the fall of 1982, the blues rockers were fast-rising stars on a national level. Just one year prior, they scored a supporting slot on The Rolling Stones’ tour, while that October, they appeared on Saturday Night Live, promoting their fifth studio album, Bad to the Bone. As the busy year came to a close, the album’s hard-driving title track—which would become one of Thorogood’s most iconic songs—was getting steady airplay on the radio and its video was a mainstay on the burgeoning MTV.

 

After a non-stop year, the triumphant band returned to Boston, where they were embraced by their longtime fans. Full of energy, power, and focus, Thorogood and The Destroyers played a blistering set that included original material (“Kids from Philly,” “Bad to the Bone,” and “Miss Luann”) blues classics (John Lee Hooker’s “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer” and Elmore James’ “The Sky Is Crying”), early rock ’n’ roll and R&B covers (Chuck Berry’s “No Particular Place to Go” and Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love?”), and a few country tunes that The Destroyers had already made their own (Hank Williams’ “Move It on Over” and T.J. “Red” Arnall’s “Cocaine Blues”). In addition to Thorogood’s legendary guitar riffs, the songs are accentuated by the incendiary Hank Carter, who played saxophone with The Destroyers for 23 years. Luckily for fans, the incredible evening was captured in exquisite clarity by the award-winning engineer Guy Charbonneau, known for his “Le Mobile” remote recording truck.

 

For his liner notes, Steve Morse also interviewed Scott Billington, a longtime Rounder Records producer who oversaw the original, 2010 edition of Live in Boston, 1982. “It was exciting to revisit the entire show,” Billington told Morse. “Listening back to these recordings also reminded me of how George had taken the original rock ’n’ roll blues aesthetic and brought it back into the mainstream at a time when that was not a particularly popular aspect of rock. Hearing a manifestation of that in the early ’80s was a breath of fresh air.”

 

Reflecting on Live in Boston, 1982: The Complete Concert, Thorogood says, “1982 was an absolute high-water mark for us. Everything was going our way and it shows in this recording from the Bradford Ballroom. This is George Thorogood and The Destroyers at our best!”

 

George’s peers also lauded the album. Legendary Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash declared, “George Thorogood has been a hero of mine since I first heard his music in the ’70s. One of the baddest rock ’n’ roll songwriters/electric slide guitar players ever and The Destroyers are a kick-ass, tight rhythm section. This recording proves it!” Blues rocker Jared James Nichols added, “Power, attitude, emotion! I feel the energy and spirit, as if I’m actually at the show. George and band are undeniably at the top of their game this rockin’ night in Boston. Above all, this recording further solidifies the legend that is George Thorogood. Crank it up and get ready to boogie!”

 

Since forming in 1974, Thorogood and his band—which currently consists of Jeff Simon (drums, percussion), Bill Blough (bass guitar), Jim Suhler (rhythm guitar), and Buddy Leach (saxophone)—have released 16 studio albums, played more than 8,000 ferocious live shows, and sold over 15 million records. For more than two generations, George Thorogood and The Destroyers have remained one of the most consistent—and consistently passionate—progenitors of blues-based rock in pop culture history. Showing no signs of slowing down,

 

Thorogood returned to Rounder Records to release his solo debut, Party of One, in 2017 and he continues to tour regularly with The Destroyers.

 

Looking ahead, the band is excited to return to the road with a 27-date global tour, kicking off May 4, 2021 at the Revolution Place in Grande Prairie, AB, Canada (full tour itinerary below). Click here for tickets and more information. 

Tracklist - Live in Boston, 1982: The Complete Concert (2-CD Set)

Disc 1

1. House of Blue Lights  
2. Kids from Philly  
3. Who Do You Love?*
4. I’m Wanted  
5. Cocaine Blues*
6. One Way Ticket 
7. One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
8. As the Years Go Passing By
9. Spoken Introduction: The Dance Floor*
10. It Wasn’t Me 
11. Bottom of the Sea*
12. Night Time*
13. New Boogie Chillun’

 

Disc 2 

1. I’ll Change My Style*
2. Miss Luann
3. Madison Blues*
4. The Sky Is Crying*
5. I Can’t Stop Lovin’
6. Spoken Introduction: Audience Participation*
7. Same Thing*
8. Bad to the Bone*
9. Move It on Over
10. Wild Weekend
11. Nobody but Me
12. No Particular Place to Go* 
13. Ride on Josephine*
14. Reelin’ and Rockin’*

 

* Previously unreleased 

Tracklist - Live in Boston, 1982: The Complete Concert (4-LP Set)

 

Side A

1. House of Blue Lights

2. Kids From Philly

3. Who Do You Love?*

Side B

1. I’m Wanted

2. Cocaine Blues*

3. One Way Ticket

 

Side C

1. One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer

2. As the Years Go Passing By

 

Side D

1. Spoken Introduction: The Dance Floor*

2. It Wasn’t Me

3. Bottom of the Sea*

4. Night Time*

Side E

1. New Boogie Chillun’

2. I’ll Change My Style*

3. Miss Luann

Side F

1. Madison Blues*

2. The Sky Is Crying*

3. Can’t Stop Lovin’

Side G

1. Spoken Introduction: Audience Participation*

2. Same Thing*

3. Bad to the Bone*

4. Move It on Over

5. Wild Weekend

6. Nobody but Me

Side H

1. No Particular Place to Go*

2. Ride on Josephine*

3. Reelin’ and Rockin’*

 

* Previously unreleased 

George Thorogood and The Destroyers 2021 tour dates:

May 4: Grande Prairie, AB @ Revolution Place

May 6: Edmonton, AB @ River Cree Resort and Casino

May 10: Saskatoon, SK @ TCU Place

May 11: Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre

May 19: Kitchener, ON @ Centre In The Square

May 20: Montreal, QC @ M Telus

May 22: Niagara Falls, ON @ Fallsview Casino Resort 

May 29: Stateline, NV @ Montbleu Resort Casino & Spa

May 30: Avila Beach, CA @ Avila Beach Blues Festival

July 14: Madrid, ES @ Noches Del Botánico

July 17: Peer, BE @ Blues Peer

July 18: St. Julien, FR @ Festival Guitare En Scène

July 19: Frankfurt, DE @ Hugenottenhalle

July 21: Utrecth, NL @ Tivolivredenberg

July 23: Nottingham, UK @ Nottingham Royal Concert Hall

July 25: London, UK @ London O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire

July 26: Liverpool, UK @ Liverpool Philharmonic

July 28: Birmingham, UK @ Birmingham Symphony Hall

July 30: York, UK @ York Barbican 

July 31: Glasgow, UK @ Glasgow SEC Armadillo

August 1: Manchester, UK @ Manchester Bridgewater Hall

August 3: Berlin, DE @ Columbiahalle

August 6: Notodden, NO @ Notodden Blues Festival

September 9: Waukegan, IL @ Genesee Theatre

September 16: Ocean City, MD @ OC Bikefest

September 17: Hampton Beach, NH @ Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom

September 23: Huntington, NY @ The Paramount