Courtesy JamBroadcasting.com

On Friday, George Thorogood and the Destroyers released a compilation called The Original George Thorogood that focuses on some of the memorable songs written by the beloved roots-rock band’s frontman.

Early in their career, Thorogood and the Destroyers became well-known for recording excellent versions of other artists’ songs, including revved-up renditions of John Lee Hooker‘s “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer,” Hank Williams‘ “Move It on Over” and Bo Diddley‘s “Who Do You Love,” and George Thorogood tells ABC Audio that may have led to his group being pigeonholed as a cover band.

George says he remembers that years ago he was being interviewed by his friend Bob Costas, who asked him, “How come you don’t do any originals? You only do covers,” which bothered Thorogood, since he actually had written many of his band’s biggest hits.

“I said, ‘Why does everybody say that?…Don’t they know I’ve written some songs?” Thorogood recalls. “I said, ‘Why can’t we get an album that has all those on it, and maybe one or two new ones?'”

George’s long-hope-for compilation finally became a reality when Capitol Records approached Thorogood’s manager and told him they wanted to release an album’s of his original songs.

“You could’ve knocked me over with a feather,” Geoge says, adding, “I’m still pinching myself.”

The Original George Thorogood includes such classic tunes as “Bad to the Bone,” “I Drink Alone,” “Born to Be Bad,” “If You Don’t Start Drinkin’ (I’m Gonna Leave)” and “You Talk Too Much,” as well as a previously unreleased track called “Back in the U.S.A."

The album is available on CD, via digital formats, and as a two-LP vinyl set pressed on either standard black vinyl or limited-edition orange vinyl.

Here’s The Original George Thorogood‘s full track list:

Courtesy: UltimateClassicRock.com

The first original song that George Thorogood ever wrote was "Bad to the Bone." Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the track is still omnipresent on classic rock radio and has been used in countless movies and television shows. Not a bad place to begin your career as a songwriter.

Thorogood and his band have put their spin on plenty of blues staples over the years, notably making radio classics out of John Lee Hooker's "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer," "Move It On Over" by Hank Williams and Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love."

Courtesy EverettPost.com

George Thorogood and the Destroyers are known for recording memorable versions of other artists’ tunes, but frontman George Thorogood has written plenty of memorable songs as well. It’s those originals that are the focus of a new compilation titled, aptly, The Original George Thorogood, that’s due out April 15.

The album, which you can pre-order now, will be available on CD, via digital formats, and as a two-LP vinyl set, including a standard black-vinyl version and a limited-edition translucent-orange-vinyl collection.

The CD and digital versions of The Original George Thorogood feature 14 tracks, while the vinyl editions boast 11 songs. All versions include such classic Thorogood tunes as “Bad to the Bone,” “I Drink Alone,” “Born to Be Bad,” “If You Don’t Start Drinkin’ (I’m Gonna Leave)” and “You Talk Too Much,” as well as the previously unreleased track “Back in the U.S.A.”

“It’s easy to write a song, difficult to write a good song, and even harder to write a great song,” says Thorogood. “It strikes home that I have the ability to write some pretty great songs, and there’s a real sense of achievement to that.”

George adds about the compilation, “We’ve been playing a lot of these songs for a long time, and some haven’t been performed live at all. I hope fans are surprised by the ones they’ve never heard before.”

This year, Thorogood and the Destroyers launched the Good to Be Bad: 45 Years of Rock Tour, which resumes on April 29 in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. The band also will be supporting Sammy Hagar & the Circle on the Crazy Times! trek, which includes a variety of dates in June, August and September. Check out a full list of shows at GeorgeThorogood.com.

Here’s The Original George Thorogood’s full track list:

“Bad to the Bone”
“I Drink Alone”
“Gear Jammer”
“Born to Be Bad”
“If You Don’t Start Drinkin’ (I’m Gonna Leave)”
“Back in the U.S.A.”*
“Rock and Roll Man”
“You Talk Too Much”
“Miss Luann”
“Back to Wentzville”**
“Rock and Roll Christmas”
“Oklahoma Sweetheart”
“Woman with the Blues”**
“I Really Like Girls”**

* = previously unreleased
** = on CD and digital versions only.

Spin.com

Written by: Daniel Kohn

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