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At the appointed time, our mutual contact connected me on the phone with George Thorogood<\/strong>. After a second or two of line noise during which all parties adjusted to the phone call, the renowned blues\/rock guitarist shouted an enthusiastic \u201cHello!\u201d down the line.<\/p>\n \u201cHi, George,\u201d I replied. \u201cIt’s a pleasure to talk with you today. How ya doin’?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBad.\u201d The single-word reply hung in the air, followed by a second or two of my nonplussed silence.<\/p>\n \u201cBad<\/em>-bad? I queried. \u201cOr good<\/em>-bad?\u201d<\/p>\n A second of silence on Thorogood’s end. Then: \u201cBad to the bone<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh…so that’s<\/em> how it’s gonna be,\u201d I thought to myself, chuckling inwardly.<\/p>\n And fair enough, I thought. After all, even though it’s mid 2013, our conversation this day would center on Thorogood’s first two album releases, 1977’s George Thorogood & the Destroyers<\/em>, and Move It On Over<\/em> from the following year. So making a pop culture reference from thirty-plus years ago (specifically, the title of Thorogood’s hit 1982 album) wasn’t thematically too wide of the mark.<\/p>\n Those first two records have now been reissued by Rounder Records, and so rather than simply reviewing the discs, I took the opportunity to score a few minutes with the man himself. \u201cI’ve got time for you,\u201d Thorogood assured me. \u201cThe others, they can wait. My time is yours, my friend.\u201d<\/p>\n I observed aloud that the Rounder LPs have worn well due in part to their avoidance of production gimmicks of their era, giving them instead a no-sheen, timeless feel. Thorogood saw it differently. \u201cNah. Sometimes finance dictates what something’s gonna be. Rounder didn’t have any money, and neither did I. And personally, I don’t think those records sound very good. The first record that we cut that really sounded decent was Maverick<\/em> [Billboard<\/em> #32 in 1985, and self-produced]. Because it sounded good on the radio. The guy who recorded the first album had no idea what we were about. Rounder was a bluegrass label; they played banjos and violins and sang bluegrass harmonies.\u201d<\/p>\n Thorogood still fumes that once the record was completed, \u201cit sat on the shelf for eighteen months. Eighteen months!\u201d he repeated for emphasis. At the time, Thorogood was justifiably worried that the delay could cost him success. He notes that both the Allman Brothers<\/strong> and Tom Waits<\/strong> had cut versions of \u201cOne Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.\u201d Thorogood recalls telling Rounder that if they didn’t get his version out soon, his \u201ccareer is gonna be over before it starts.\u201d So they suggested he record another song instead. \u201cThis is a goddamned classic. What are you talking about?\u201d He replied.\u00a0 They finally relented, but when they did put it out, \u201cThen they wouldn’t even spring for a picture!\u201d He says that Henry Horenstein<\/strong>‘s cover images were mere snapshots.<\/p>\n Some published accounts of the band’s early years recount that George Thorogood and the Destroyers played blues joints. The guitarist takes strong exception to that. \u201cWe were not<\/em> playing blues clubs. Those folks didn’t want us. They showed us the door.\u201d So where did they play? \u201cAnywhere we could. But they were not blues clubs; trust me.\u201d Those high energy gigs \u2013 mostly in the Delaware Valley and central Pennsylvania \u2013 did establish the trio as a musical force to be reckoned with. But the places they played didn’t, Thorogood insists, even understand blues: \u201cThey thought The Supremes<\/strong> were a blues band! They didn’t get it, man.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/musoscribe.com\/images\/george_thorogood_live.jpg\")
<\/center>\u201cI was into Elvin Bishop<\/strong> and Buddy Guy<\/strong> and Duane Allman <\/strong>and Robert Johnson<\/strong>!\u201d Thorogood continued. \u201cI was into the shit<\/em>, Bill!\u201d He went on to explain that the people at the label \u201chad no idea what I was trying to say.\u201d Having described his sound to them as \u201cJohn Hammond<\/strong> meets Johnny Winter<\/strong> with a little bit o’ J. Geils<\/strong> thrown in,\u201d he recalls producer John Nagy<\/strong>‘s response: \u201cWho are they?\u201d He notes that Nagy \u201ccalled himself a producer, but he was just an engineer, really.\u201d<\/p>\n
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