George Thorogood
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| George Thorogood | |
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| Born | December 31, 1951 Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A. |
| Alias(es) | "Lonesome George" |
| Genre(s) | Blues Rock |
| Affiliation(s) | The Delaware Destroyers |
| Notable guitars | Gibson ES-125 |
| Years active | 1974 - Present |
| Official site | www.George Thorogood.com |
George Thorogood (born December 31, 1951) is a blues-rock and rock performer from Wilmington, Delaware. He was raised on Clearview Avenue in Naamans Gardens, a suburb of Wilmington, Delaware. During this time he went to Brandywine High School.
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[edit] Career
Thorogood cut his debut album titled Better Than the Rest in 1974, and released it that same year. In the autumn of 1976 he recorded his second album, the eponymous George Thorogood with his band, The Destroyers (sometimes also known as The Delaware Destroyers or simply GT and D) and issued the album in 1977. Thorogood released his next album titled Move It On Over in the autumn of 1978 with The Destroyers, which included the hit "Move It On Over" in 1978. "Please Set A Date" and "Who Do You Love" both followed in 1979.
During the 1980s, and 1990s, Thorogood recorded some of his most well known works, Bad to the Bone (used to great effect during the bar scene in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and in the opening scene of John Carpenter's Christine) and in the movie Major Payne, "I Drink Alone" (from his Maverick album), "You Talk Too Much", and "If You Don't Start Drinking, I'm Gonna Leave".
Thorogood is best known for his animated stage presence and loud, raucous electric slide guitar playing. He is also known as "Lonesome George".
[edit] Trivia
- In the late '70s George loved working out, cigars, pro wrestling, and especially baseball. It was during this period that Thorogood created and played on a semi-pro league team in Delaware. He was the second baseman and was chosen rookie of the year in the league. Soon after this achievement, The Destroyers forced him to quit playing the sport. In the 1970s, George and the band were based in Boston.
- George and the Delaware Destroyers were friends with Jimmy Thackery and the Nighthawks. While touring in the 1970's, the Destroyers and the Nighthawks happened to be playing shows in Georgetown (DC) at venues across the street from each other. The Destroyers were engaged at The Cellar Door, the Nighthawks at Desperados. At midnight, by prior arrangement, while both bands played the same song ("Madison Blues") in the same key (E), George and Jimmy left their clubs, met in the middle of M street, exchanged guitar cords and went on to play with each other's bands.
- A rare outtake of a George Thorogood performance was recently discovered in a box of master recordings in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The song, "My Favorite Drink" is considered his followup to the 1986 hit "I Drink Alone". After being played once at a club in Washington, D.C., the track has not surfaced since, but is quickly becoming one of the most sought after bootlegs among Blues-Rock fans.
- George and the Destroyers are also notable for undertaking a vigorous touring schedule after appearing throughout the Rolling Stones tour in 1981. After two shows in Boulder, Colorado, George and his band flew to Hawaii and played for only one night. The next night they appeared in Alaska for one show. The following day the band flew to Washington State, met their roadies who had their Checker car and a truck, and continued a one show per state tour for all fifty states in exactly fifty nights. In addition, they played Washington, DC on the same day that they performed a show in Maryland. This touring feat remains unchallenged by any other band.
[edit] Album list
[edit] Studio Albums
- (1977) George Thorogood & The Destroyers
- (1978) Move It On Over
- (1980) More George Thorogood & The Destroyers
- (1982) Bad to the Bone
- (1985) Maverick
- (1986) Nadine
- (1988) Born To Be Bad
- (1991) Rockin' My Life Away
- (1991) Boogie People
- (1993) Haircut
- (1999) Half A Boy/Half A Man
- (2003) Ride 'Til I Die
- (2003) Who Do You Love?
- (2006) The Hard Stuff
[edit] Live Albums
- (1986) Live
- (1995) Live: Let's Work Together
- (1999) Live In '99
[edit] Greatest Hits
- (1992) The Baddest of George Thorogood and the Destroyers
- (2004) Greatest Hits: 30 Years of Rock
