GEORGE THOROGOOD.
EQC I-5 Showroom
8:30 p.m. may 8
George Thorogood and the Destroyers fought their way to the top over the last 30 years. 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” and 1988’s “Born to Be Bad,” with the swaggering hit, “You Talk Too Much.’’ The ‘90s saw more hit-making with 1993’s “Get a Haircut,’’ from the album “Haircut.” And albums followed into the new millennium with 2003’s “Ride ‘Til I Die” and 2006’s “Hard Stuff.”
The Destroyers have expanded through the years – they now include not only Jeff Simon and Billy Blough, but also guitarist Jim Suhler, who joined in 1999 and saxophonist Buddy Leach, who joined in 2003.
The band recently re-joined forces with Capitol/EMI for the 2009 release of “The Dirty Dozen,” a scorching new blues-rock album pairing six new studio recordings with six classic fan favorites, including three popular tracks that were previously out-of-print in the United States. “The Dirty Dozen” features George Thorogood’s signature blues-rock vocals and guitar playing on 12 songs, many of which were written by a who’s-who of American blues legends, including Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, “Sleepy” John Estes, Chuck Berry, Howlin’ Wolf and Willie Dixon.
The album is widely available on CD and digitally, and it will also be exclusively available for purchase on vinyl LP fromwww.georgethorogood.com and at the band’s concerts on tour.
See George Thorogood and the Destroyers live at 8:30 p.m. May 8 at the Emerald Queen Casino. Tickets range from $35- 75. Get tickets online at http://www.ticketmaster .com or by calling the Emerald Queen Casino box office at (888) 831-7655.
