George Thorogood (born February 24th, 1950) is an American blues-rock artist from Delaware, US, known for his high energy sound influenced by blues legends John Lee Hooker, Elmore James and Chuck Berry.
Initially a minor-league baseball player, George Thorogood decided to pursue a music career after seeing a John Paul Hammond performance in 1970. This was to be a sensible choice for the blues man, going on to release over 20 albums, selling 15 million records worldwide. Whilst his music may be dismissed by blues purists, he has become widely popular through his loud, lively hits that gained significant radio exposure in the 80s. His raucous blues channels the Chicago blues sound of the 50s, with a rampant rock & roll backed by his longterm band The Destroyers.
Through regular performances on the blues club circuit, the band were discovered by Rounder Records, releasing their eponymous debut in 1977. The band's second album, "Move It on Over" (1978) was to find them huge popularity, with a cover of Hank Williams' track receiving heavy radio airplay, boosting the album's sales which reached the American top 40 and became certified Gold.
In 1982, George Thorogood signed to major label, EMI Records, releasing their major debut in 1982, titled "Bad to the Bone." The album's title track became a massive crossover hit, appealing to a wide audience and finding extensive radio airplay and rotation on MTV. The song has gone on to be featured in several films and television productions over the years. The album went Gold and spent almost a year in the charts. This success continued for Thorogood's next three albums, all becoming certified Gold.
At the start of the following decade, Thorogood's popularity waned, although he continued to release albums and tour extensively to moderate success, drawing large crowds to his performances. In recent years, Thorogood has recorded two albums of bar blues covers, releasing "The Dirty Dozen" n 2009 and "2120 South Michigan Ave.," in 2011 as a tribute to Chess Records.
Brian Newman
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