George
Thorogood has a theory. In any field,
especially the arts, there are always
two things ‘genius’ and ‘very
clever.’ There’s no in-between.
You’re either a genius or very clever.
I’m going to throw out two names
at you. John Lennon genius, right? And
Mick Jagger? Very clever. See what I’m
saying? I’ll give you another example.
Einstein genius. And George Thorogood
very clever.’’ Yet what about
the people who think Thorogood is a genius
in his own way? OK, I’m a genius
at being very clever,’’ he
says with a hearty laugh. Thorogood loves
quips almost as much as he loves the blues,
so here’s another: Let’s put
it this way. Dylan has a Rolls Royce dealership.
I have a used Chevy dealership. But I’m
in the business. You got it? That’s
all I wanted from this thing. A gig, man.
And I got a gig.’’ Thorogood
and his band the Destroyers have held
that gig for more than 30 years. And he’s
not about to let go now. It’s like
a championship fight,’’ he
says. You’ve got two guys in the
ring one guy who’s the contender
and wants to get the title and you’ve
got the guy who’s got the title
and it took him 15 years to get the title
and he’s held onto it for five years.
Who’s going to be the tougher opponent?
It’s going to be the guy with the
title who worked hard to get it. You’re
going to have to kill him to get it away
from him. And that’s all that I’m
doing up there. I’m trying to hold
my gig. I just want to make sure that
at the end of the night the promoter comes
up and says, ‘I want to hire you
again.’ ‘’ The Destroyers
fought their way to the top. They came
out of Delaware in the ‘70s as a
jarringly high-energy bunch (also featuring
drummer Jeff Simon and bassist Billy Blough)
whose raucous, slide guitar-stoked, blues-rock
takes on tunes by Chuck Berry, Elmore
James, John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley and
others helped land them a contract with
Cambridge’s Rounder Records. They
had moved to Boston and cut their teeth
in the city’s blues circuit before
their second album for Rounder, Move It
On Over,’’ struck big with
the title track, an amped-up cover of
a Hank Williams tune. They added a saxophonist
(Hank Carter) and further fame came in
the ‘80s through a signing to EMI
Records, which released a series of gold
records by the band. These included 1982’s
Bad to the Bone’’ (the title
track is Thorogood’s best-known
composition and its video became a staple
on MTV) and 1988’s Born to Be Bad,’’
with the swaggering hit, You Talk Too
Much.’’ The ‘90s saw
more hitmaking with 1993’s Get a
Haircut,’’ from the album,
Haircut.’’ And albums followed
into the new millennium with 2003’s
Ride ‘Til I Die’’ (on
Eagle Records, which is also putting out
his new disc, Hard Stuff’’)
and a 2004 Capitol compilation, Greatest
Hits: 30 Years of Rock,’’
which went gold and topped Billboard’s
blues chart for 60 weeks, while winning
the magazine’s award for blues record
of the year. And still, Thorogood good-naturedly
downplays his accomplishments. In 1970
I said, ‘You ain’t no genius,
George.’ You’ve got to figure
out a way to do this with barely a high
school education and no voice to speak
of and some interesting chops on the guitar.
But you’ve got to bullshit your
way in there, man. I say this to the world:
The Beatles did what they did, the rest
of us played the blues.’’
The Destroyers have expanded through the
years they now include not only Simon
and Blough, but guitarist Jim Suhler (a
Texan who was brought aboard in 1999)
and saxophonist Buddy Leach, who joined
in 2003. The new album, Hard Stuff,’’
is a keep-the-faith effort with covers
of tracks by John Lee Hooker (Huckle Up,’’
with its Boogie Chillun’’
flavor), Jimmy Reed (‘’Little
Rain Falling’’), and Fats
Domino (Hello Josephine,’’
dedicated to the undying spirit of the
people of New Orleans’’).
And Thorogood did more of his own writing
this time, hooking up with Nashville roots
stalwart Tom Hambridge (who has worked
with Susan Tedeschi, NRBQ and Lynyrd Skynyrd)
for the whomping title track, plus the
gritty travelogue Anytown USA’’
with references to the rock meccas of
Cleveland, Detroit, and Boston. And Suhler,
the Destroyers’ rhythm guitarist,
also chipped in with some writing credits.
Through it all, Thorogood maintains his
cleverness. How far can you stretch three
chords? Or in my case, one chord?’’
he says, laughing again. How many different
paint jobs can I put on ‘Johnny
B. Goode’? You got it? My biggest
thrill is when somebody says to a friend,
‘I’ve got George’s new
CD and it’s just like the last one.’
You know what I mean? Not all of us are
John Lennon and Paul McCartney. They started
off playing Chuck Berry, then they developed
it into ‘Strawberry Fields.’
I am not like that, nor do I ever proclaim
to be like that.’’ Thorogood
prefers to think of himself as a role-player,
but that role has been pleasing a couple
of generations of rock fans by this point.
He retains his innocence and also his
self-deprecating humor. I once talked
to Randy Newman and I was freaked out
because he told me what a big fan of mine
he was,’’ says Thorogood.
I said, ‘Hey, you’re Randy
Newman. You’re a genius. And after
a while, he got a little miffed. He said,
‘George, can’t I like ‘Bad
to the Bone’? What’s the matter
with you?’ He was singing the National
Anthem at a ballgame and I couldn’t
even concentrate on the game because I
was so freaked out that Randy Newman not
only knew who I was, but that he dug what
I do. When I was going home, my father-in-law
said, ‘Look at it this way, I heard
that Laurence Olivier was a big Three
Stooges fan.’ You got it? That’s
all Jeff and Billy and I were: Larry,
Moe and Curley. But Larry, Moe and Curley
are still on TV, OK? I’m still on
the scoreboard.’’
By STEVE MORSE (a critic
at the Boston Globe for 31 years and a
member of the nominating committee for
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
|
|
George
Thorogood
and
the Destroyers
with guest:
Tom Hambridge |
Tues.
Mar. 10, 2009
7:30pm
| TICKET
PRICES |
Reserved
seating:
$31.00 plus theatre restoration fee
Upper Balcony: $28.00 plus theatre restoration
fee
A limited amount of gold circle seating
will be available. Call the box office
for details. (1-800-919-6272)
| TIX
ON SALE FRI DEC 19 AT 10AM |
|
|
