Blues rocker George Thorogood talks music, touring and his new CD
Courtesy - WVXU
Blues music legend George Thorogood is back on tour this summer and will be playing at the new Rose Music Center at The Heights near Dayton with fellow guitar wizard Brian Setzer.
Stuart Holman spoke with Thorogood about his career, his new album, playing with Brian Setzer and more.
Click here to listen to George's interview.
George Thorogood performs his classic hits for Ken Dashow's "Live at 5" on Q104.3
George Thorogood graced us with an incredible performance for "Live @ 5" and performed three of his classic songs. Put your feet up, grab a bourbon, and rock out with us!
Pictured with George Thorogood Q104.3's Ken Dashow
Read more: George Thorogood performs his classic hits for Ken Dashow's "Live at 5" on Q104.3
A conversation with rock legend George Thorogood
Courtesy - OnMilwaukee.com
By Larry Widen
Not only is George Thorogood the undisputed king of bone-crunching guitar chords, he's got a booming, sandpapery Noo Yawk voice that's great for stopping a midtown Manhattan cab in its tracks. "Howayah," he said in our recent interview, leaving me to wonder if we were going to discuss rock and roll or the 50th state.
Thorogood, now in his 40th year of performing, exuded a youthful enthusiasm as he talked about racing down the rock highway with his foot firmly on the gas. The 64-year-old guitarist laughed when asked how he's able to play high-voltage shows – such as the one coming up on Monday, June 8 at the Riverside Theater – night after night after all these years.
"Are you kidding me?" he says. "I save everything I've got for the shows. If you come to the dressing room, you'll see that I'm horizontal right up until the last minute." Then, Thorogood says, he goes out and gives it everything he's got.
But with thousands of shows in his rear view mirror, an iconic song ("Bad to the Bone") to his credit and album sales topping 15 million worldwide, what does he need to prove? "Absolutely nothing," Thorogood says. "I just try and keep my feet on the ground … as opposed to going in the ground!" During our interview, Thorogood and I talked about his musical influences, opening for the Rolling Stones and more.
OnMilwaukee.com: Was there anyone in your life who encouraged you to follow your dream instead of taking the easier, safer way?
George Thorogood: Yes, there was. Me. I'm a very self-motivated person. By the time I was 15 years old, I'd heard John Lee Hooker's "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer," and I knew exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. And I actually did take the easy way, because I never had any doubt that I would be earning my living singing and playing the guitar. What I didn't know was how successful I would become, the level I'd attain. I just knew that my place in the world was with music.