It has taken 40 years, but George Thorogood is finally set to release his first album.
Obviously, the Delaware rocker known for giving a contemporary voice to the music and inspirations of roots, blues and boogie stars from generations past has been touring and recording at an unrelenting pace since the 1970s. But that has been with his longstanding band the Destroyers. This summer, the guitarist and vocalist steps out without his wrecking crew for a record composed almost entirely of blues and roots-music standards cut entirely on his own. There are no embellishments and no band, just him. The album is titled “Party of One.”
In what amounts to a full-circle coincidence, the new record, due out Aug. 4, finds Thorogood back with Rounder Records, the label where he began his recording career in 1977.
“I wanted to do something like this originally,” he said. “Most people do start out as a solo deal — people like Bob Dylan, John Hammond, Bruce Springsteen. So did I. But I didn’t get Rounder’s ear until 1976. By that time, I had the band together. So we’ve been bouncing around for years about doing this. I just thought we’d better do it now or never. It’s kind of like, this is what I should have done before everything else. But I’m doing it now.”