Thorogood returned to Rounder Records for the solo album “Party of One” in 2017. Recent releases include “Live In Boston, 1982: The Complete Concert” (Craft Recordings 2020) and the compilation “The Original George Thorogood” (Capitol Records 2022).
The 73-year-old musician, who postponed four weeks of shows in April and May to recuperate from his unplanned surgery, recently discussed his health, the enduring power of rock music and resuming his Bad All Over the World Tour: 50 Years of Rock.
Q: Hi, George. How are you today?
A: Bad.
Q: Bad to the bone?
A: That’s the idea. How are things in the Buckeye State?
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Q: Everything’s good here. It’s a nice, sunny day today. I know you recently had surgery. How are you feeling now?
A: I’m doing well. Thank you for asking.
Q: Are you ready to get back out on tour?
A: I better be. The doctor signed off so we’re getting back out there. I had an issue that was of intense importance, so you have to sit, and you have to take a grip on your mortality or in most cases your lack of immortality. That comes first, just the idea that I have to get through that let alone then strap on a guitar and go out.
Q: What keeps you going out on the road?
A: That’s where the fans come in. Our fans have never let us down – ever. They’re the most important factor of the whole show. I keep that in the back of my mind and in the bottom of my heart when I think, “Is this thing going to work?” I say, “Have faith in your fans, George, they have faith in you.” And it’s not just our fans but the demand of this music. The fans will not let rock die.
Q: Do you still get out to concerts?
A: Yeah, I went to a concert a couple of months ago with my daughter. It was Neil Young, Stephen Still, Willie Nelson and Joe Walsh. Now, those guys are not exactly teenagers, but the show was fantastic. Willie Nelson played for about 20 minutes and was brilliant. (He’s) a 90-year-old man. Next month we’re going to see Neil Young do his show. The fans still love this stuff. It’s not just a matter of our band. Rock music is not an institution anymore. It’s even more than a religion. It’s like a drug that people have to have. They can’t get enough of it, no matter the age. Believe me, Stephen Stills and Neil Young weren’t out there struggling around on crutches. Man, they delivered. You’ve got to deliver, baby.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Q: What does it mean to you have your band behind you after all these years?
A: Everything just falls into place when you’re working with the same people for that long. It’s not a complacent pattern. The passion is still there or they wouldn’t be here and neither would I. In a band in this world of rock ‘n’ roll, you look at a lot of people who did this for a living, myself included, and you say, ‘Thank God for rock ‘n’ roll because it kept us all out of jail.’ (laughs) Besides, we had to do something for a living.
Q: It’s fortunate you all found this vocation at a young age, right?
A: That’s where you’re wrong. You don’t find it – it finds you. That’s the way it works. Let me ask you something. Could you see Keith Richards doing anything but what he does for a living? No, come on, man. I don’t see Stephen Stills working as an accountant or in a bank. This thing was created for certain people. It was meant to be. They fell into it very naturally. I look at Neil Young, the way he dresses, the way he plays, and I go, “What else can this guy do?” Well… nothing, you know. (laughs) That’s the beauty of the whole thing to me.
Contact this contributing writer at 937-287-6139 or donthrasher100@gmail.com.
HOW TO GO
What: WTUE-FM (104.7) Birthday Bash welcomes George Thorogood’s Bad All Over the World Tour: 50 Years of Rock
Where: Fraze Pavilion, 695 Lincoln Park Blvd., Kettering
When: Saturday, July 15 at 8 p.m.
Cost: $40 lawn & terrace, $60 orchestra, ticket prices increase $5 day of show
More info: 937-296-3300 or www.fraze.com
Artist info: georgethorogood.com
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