Thorogood shows few signs of wear, tear

Randy Matin

Friday, March 23, 2001 | 10 a.m.

Fast Facts

Who: George Thorogood and Joe Bonamassa.

When: 8 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Mandalay Bay's House of Blues.

Tickets: $33, $38, $43.

Information: 632-7600.

There's a passage from the Bible that says the things of heaven are "the same yesterday, today and tomorrow," solid and unchanging.

George Thorogood many not have the same longevity -- he may not even have a new record or a recording contract -- but the reputation of the slide guitarist and blues-rock singer from Wilmington, Del., is about as unchanging. Since his debut in 1985 Thorogood has been putting his signature sound, trends be damned, to little-known songs by such classic bluesmen as John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf and turning them into rock hits.

Along the way hosts of others have come and gone, yet, Thorogood and his band, the Delaware Destroyers, whose latest releases are the August "Anthology" and "Live in' '99," remain a top-name concert draw and play at Mandalay Bay's House of Blues on Saturday.

"I talk about this a lot when I run into guys as old as me (Thorogood is 50) that started when I started and they always ask me, 'George, how come you made it?' And I tell all of them, I will give you three reasons: 'One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer,' 'Bad To The Bone,' and 'Move It On Over.' "

Thorogood's point is simple. He feels that what's made him successful is the quality of the songs he has unearthed from vintage blues records and not his own engaging performance style or guitar-playing.

"My style is pretty conventional," Thorogood says by telephone from Los Angeles. "I can play some pretty mean Chuck Berry and some pretty heavy blues-rock slide guitar. But if the Thorogood thing had a hook it was finding good songs. That was my charm, my expertise. There are a hundred guys who can do what I do, but they didn't have 'One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.' "

Thorogood speaks of his findings in the past tense because he now believes the vein of mineable songs is exhausted.

"The digging is done, the guys who made all those songs are dead, and we've been having to stretch it pretty thin on the last couple of records," he says.

Thorogood's first contract was with Rounder Records, a label known for blues, roots music and field recordings. But even at Rounder, Thorogood had a hard time selling the label on the songs he wanted to record.

"I just had to get 'One Bourbon' out there," Thorogood says. "Then they shelved the project for 18 months."

When the record did come out it became the largest seller in Rounder's history. Led by the Hooker-penned single "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer," the album greatly fattened Thorogood's pockets and earned some nice royalty checks for Hooker as well. Since that time Thorogood had re-recorded "One Bourbon" on "Live in '99" and it appears again on the anthology.

"I was just chattin' with John Lee on the phone. And just as we were about to hang up he said, 'Buh-buh-buh, George' (Hooker has a speech impediment). Thanks for Boogie Two, man." Thorogood says.

Known for his collection of fancy cars, Hooker was thanking Thorogood for the royalty checks that allowed him to buy his latest Cadillac, named Boogie Two.

In addition to catalog sales of his records, Thorogood has done well by licensing his recordings of these songs for use in the movies. So far the most successful track has been "Bad To The Bone" which was featured in "Terminator 2," "Parent Trap" and is now heightening the action in "3000 Miles To Graceland."

Currently without a recording contract, Thorogood says he's considering a solo acoustic album but he'd prefer to do special projects in collaboration with other artists along the lines of the new B.B. King and Eric Clapton album. Top on the list of people Thorogood would like to work with are Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan.

"Bob Dylan could write the songs and I would fill in on slide guitar," Thorogood says. "I am not going to be too picky.

"Other then that, the ideal situation for me would be to find a promoter who could keep me working festivals and the House of Blues for the next 10 years and maybe pop off a live album every five years or so."

Failing that, Thorogood would prefer to spend more time with his wife and daughter who, he says, is showing great musical promise.

"When the day comes that she steps up to the microphone and out of her mouth comes 'I'm buh-buh-buh baaad,' that's the day I'm gonna take off the guitar and say, 'Thank you sweetheart. You've just retired George Thorogood.'

"Then I'm gonna go sit up in the balcony and light a cigar."