GEORGE THOROGOOD CUTS THROUGH THE U.S.A.

GEORGE THOROGOOD CUTS THROUGH THE U.S.A.

by

Dave Zimmer

You could see it coming. About a hundred yards off, an old Checker Marathon cab was roaring along the asphalt, eating up the broken white line. Two Nebraska corn farmers, standing by the side of the road, hoping to catch a ride into town, tried in vain to flag the cab. It just flew on by. This was one cab that was already booked solid—for 50 straight days. The passengers? George Thorogood and the Destroyers.

More than just another piece of roadwork, the so-called 50/50 tour, from October 23 to December 11, involved a string of consecutive one nighters in every state in the union, including Hawaii and Alaska. The concept, suggested to Thorogood by his cab driver Harry Barzinski, was a fitting testimony to this bluesrockers breakneck style of play and touring.

'i liked the idea of 'no nights off, Thorogood says. You can get a certain rhythm going that carries over into each gig. Ive never been a big fan of planes, too many schedules and too much sitting around and waiting. With the cab, we can just get in and go!

In order to insure the fact that Thorogood would be able to make it to each gig on time, however; the locations of some of the venues in some of the states depended upon which roads they were on, and how far they were from the previous nights stop. Consequently, Thorogood ended up playing places like The Barbarian in Rapid City, South Dakota, Shakey Drakes in Flagstaff, Arizona and the Zodiac in Moorehead, Minnesota.

We sold out Moorehead in five minutes, Thorogood announces proudly. You cant even get a grilled cheese sandwich in Moorehead in five minutes.

The chances of Thorogood physically running out of gas on this 50/50 tour were lessened by a strict physical regiment he followed that involved a prescribed workout designed to build up leg muscles, back muscles and overall endurance.

Our live act is pretty athletic, Thorogood says. So I figured why take a chance. I didnt want to pull a muscle. I needed to be strong, to be able to maintain a certain level of energy.

One thing that George did not want to do was pace himself.

I go all out all the time, he says. I could never hold back in order to conserve energy for the next night. Theres no use playing 50 states in 50 straight nights if all youre going to do is stand there. Anybody could do that.

But you see, George Thorogood isnt just anybody. There are very few, if any, musicians around today who would be able to undertake a tour like this. And no one would be able to do it with as much flair and personal style. Each night, George and the boys would set up in a different state and still play like there was no tomorrow. Songs like Bo Diddleys Who Do You Love, John Lee Hookers One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer, Johnny Cashs Cocaine Blues, Chuck Berrys It Wasnt Me and Hank Williams Move It On Over would shake and vibrate with bursts of wild abandon. Then, after the gigs, there were no late night/ early morning parties. It was basically— play your guts out at the show, head back ^ to the motel, crash, rise first thing in the | morning, pile into the Checker cab and, .§ boom, hit the highway again.

^ Besides occasional weather problems z and mental fatigue, the biggest concern on this tour was...laundry. Thorogood and the Destroyers have quite an extensive wardrobe, comprised of some pretty outrageous sport coats and slacks. Thorogoods been known to walk a mile for a pair of paisley pants. And hes doubly particular about what he wears on stage. He explains, When you perform you need to be comfortable. We have certain thing we like to wear. And if these things arent clean or theyre messed up, it affects the show.

Consequently, while Thorogood was dancing across the stage, there were crew members back at the motel washing, drying and pressing clothes for the next nights gig.

By eschewing a lot of modern conveniences such as tour laundresses, airplanes (used only once for the tours first gig in Honolulu, Hawaii), limousines and fancy hotels, Thorogood brought the basic raw elements back to the very heart of his rock n roll.

We proved we can cut it, Thorogood says. After doing this tour, James Brown will never come up to me and say 'Kid, you don't know.

Thorogood has already been encouraged and applauded by some of his other mentors, namely Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and the Rolling Stones. As a kind of warm-up for the 50/50 tour, Thorogood and the Destroyers opened several stadium shows for the Stones.

I was surprised at how easily we adapted to playing in front of 90,000 people, Thorogood says. It didnt beat us. The only frustrating thing was the fact that we only would play for about 45 minutes. Just when wed get going, it would be time to quit. Its like going out with a girl. Holding hands and kissing gets old after a while. There comes a time when you have to cut loose and get it on! The 50/50 tour gave us that shot every night.

But Im not saying I wasnt honored to be playing on the same bill as the Rolling Stones. As soon as I heard they would be touring, I called my booking agent and said, 'Hey, youve got to get me on one of those shows. He called up Bill Graham (the rock promoter who put together the Stones tour). Graham thought it was a great idea. The Stones thought it was a great idea. So it happened.

Thorogood and the Rolling Stones share a rabid interest in the blues that rumble beneath so many rock riffs. George admits, Back in 64, when I first heard the Stones, I thought they were it. They had that real hard, gravelly sound. After hearing that, I just had to have a guitar.

But rather than spending a lot of time copping Keith Richards licks, Thorogood went straight to the bluesmen who had initially inspired the Rolling Stones. Artists like Robert Johnson, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry. George spent hours absorbing their music and began to slowly acquire his own style of guitar scraping and vocal growling.

There was always the thought in the back of my mind that I would eventually make a living playing music, Thorogood says. But it wasnt until I saw John Hammond [an acoustic bluesman] that I realized, 'its time, time to get serious.

Who do people look up to more than anyone else in the world? he continues. Rock stars, movie stars and sports heroes. If I couldnt be one of them things, Id rather be a bum. Cause playin music, acting and playing baseball are the three things that do it for me and the three things that most people dream about doing. But if you arent rea//y doin em, people think youre nothin.

A lot of Georges fellow high school students back in Wilmington, Delaware apparently thought so. For, as a senior, Thorogood was voted, unanimously, least likely to succeed. This dubious honor didnt phase him, though. He just redoubled his efforts towards what he saw as his strongest talent—music.

For a couple of years, during the mid-70s, Thorogood landed numerous club dates in New England with a group of players who came to be known as the Destroyers—guitarist Ron Smith (eventually replaced by bassist Billy Blough) and drummer Jeff Simon (current saxophonist would not join up until 1980). Thorogood and the Destroyers rough-hewn, slam bang blues rock work-outs attracted some record company interest in early 1977, with Rounder Records finally signing them up to that spring.

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"When I first heard the Stones I had to get a guitar."

GEORGE THOROGOOD

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George Thorogood And The Destroyers, recorded in the summer of 77, captured a lot of emotional spark but didnt really come close to harnessing all of the energy that George puts out on frenzied slide guitar screeches and vocal howls, driving audiences wild.

The stage presence is nothing I ever really worked on, Thorogood says. I couldnt begin to practice any of the moves, like the duck walk, when Im not on stage. But, man, when the lights go on and Im out there in front of a crowd, its like I click into a different gear and my body just starts movin.

Thorogood subsequently recorded two albums for Rbunder, Move It On Over and More Thorogood And The Destroyers. Each of them featured more rock and blues numbers by a variety of Georges musical idols, such as Hank Williams, Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry and John Lee Hooker. Thorogood would always pick out fairly obscure songs by these musicians, feeling, Hey, the masters have already done them so well, why should I cover them. So, I pick out songs that a lot of people may not be aware of, but they still have that basic driving thrust.

I also always try to add my own bit of style, he continues. And Ive had total freedom in the studio to do whatever I please. A lot of people ask my why Im still with Rounder and not with some big label. Well, I enjoy the freedom to be able to make an album that sounds like / want it to sound. We recorded a live album earlier this year called Wanted All Over The World, its in the can and ready to go, But a couple of the guys in my band don't like how they sound oh the record. So, I asked Rounder not to release it. How many other record companies would give me that choice?

Thorogood hasnt ruled out the possibility of shopping around down the road, but, for now hes happy with Rounder and concerning himself with the artistic rather than business end of music.

I have two goals, George says. One is to write some of my own songs and record them. They don't have to be big hits; Id just like to be able to write some songs that make people get up and dance. I havent done that yet. Second, Id like to learn how to use the studio more. Because Id like for people to get as much out of a certain sound there, that me and the Destroyers can get on stage and, so far, no where else. This sound, man, is like a hot knife cutting through wet butter.