Working Hard
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By Tom Lanham photo by David Dobson
y all accounts , it was a triumphant prodigal-son homecoming : The night of November 23 , 1982 . when the newly-crowned Tazmanian Devil of roadhouse-scruffy blues George Thorogood and his backing band The Destroyers tornadoed back into their adopted hometown of Boston sprawling , 27-song set at a club then known as the Bradford Ballroom . After making his mark with two classic discs for Rounder — 1977 ’ s George Thorogood and The Destroyers and Move It On Over in 1978 — he ’ d staked his rock-history claim with 1982 ’ s signature Bad to the Bone single and album , featuring Rolling Stones accompanist Ian Stewart on keyboards , following a 1981 U . S . tour opening for Mick and Keith , as well . And last month , before Christmas , Rounder finally issued the concert in all its maniacal glory on the two-disc Live in Boston 1982 : The Complete Concert , immortalized in the cover shot of a frenzied Thorogood leaping almost Looney-Tunes high above the venue stage that evening . It opens with a rousing rendition of Chuck Berry ’ s “ House of Blue Lights ,” caroms through classic covers like “ Cocaine Blues ,” “ Who Do You , Love ,” his trademark serpentine “ One Bourbon , One Scotch , One Beer ,” and builds to a crescendo with “ Bad to the Bone ,” “ Nobody But Me ,” and “ No Particular Place to Go .” However , upon reflection , a disarmingly humble Thorogood , now 70 , can ’ t recall anything specific that set that show apart from any of the countless others in his stillbustling career .
“ Speaking for myself — I don ’ t know about the rest of the band — ALL the shows are special ,” the mongoose-throated growler cedes . “ We ’ re hired to do a gig , and that ’ s what we do . But I heard this
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story that when they asked Stan Musial what the greatest day of his life in baseball was , he said , ‘ The greatest thrill for me was when I ran out every day onto the field with St . Louis Cardinals on my chest .’ So I ’ m kinda like that . My most special gig is every night when I walk out there with my Destroyer ' s shirt on . That ’ s it for me , right there .” Ergo , you don ’ t really interview the man as much as go on a wild , topical rollercoaster ride with him , which even includes him asking you a few questions , for which only he — like the late Alex Trebek — knows the correct answers . What is the single emotion that all human beings experience at one point or another ? Not love , he insists . It ’ s a pain — that ’ s what makes classic tunes like “ The Thrill is Gone ” and “ Somewhere Over the Rainbow ” so perfect and poignant , the anguish lurking within their melodic confines . And what ’ s the greatest blues song ever written ? No , it ’ s not what you ’ re thinking — it ’ s “ Yesterday ” by The Beatles . “ It ’ s the saddest song I ’ ve ever heard and also the most beautiful , a young man singing about the death of his mother . Now , what can be sadder than that ? And that ’ s the most universal song on the planet . So the blues ,” he adds reassuringly , just in case you were wondering , “ is never going to go out of style !”
IE : How ’ s it going ? GEORGE THOROGOOD : Bad . It ’ s bad .
IE : Well , hopefully not …. to the BONE ! GT : Yeah , that ’ s the idea . Hey — not the best way to start off a conversation . But it ’ s kind of a trademark thing with me . How are things up there in the City by the Bay ? San Francisco — that ’ s my town , man . I actually kinda started out in San Francisco , in Ghirardelli Square and Union Square , and on Grant Avenue — those are my old stomping grounds . I was living there , but I wasn ’ t living high on the hog , believe you me . I stayed where anybody would put me up — I was a street musician ; I played in the streets . I got there at the beginning of February of ‘ 73 , and I left around late April , and I spent most of my time playing on street corners , at Fisherman ’ s Wharf , Chinatown , and like I said , Union Square — anywhere there wasn ’ t a cop , I ’ d pull out my guitar and play . And the people in San Francisco were really great to me — street musicians were treated really well . And a lot of times , they didn ’ t put money in my guitar case — they put food stamps , so they ’ d make sure you didn ’ t spend your money on drugs or booze . They made sure you got some good food in you . And I remember hitchhiking on the highways — there ’ d be 20 , 30 kids standing in line to hitchhike , and I ’ d step up there , and if you had a musical instrument , they always put you at the front of the line , first . Just to honor the fact that you ’ re a musician . And if you were successful , you wouldn ’ t need to be hitchhiking , so obviously , they figured it out , like , “ This guy is just starting out or struggling .” And that was the attitude of the whole city , just about everywhere I went . And Mark Twain was right — the coldest winter I ever had was a summer in San Francisco , and how Willie Mays hit all those home runs and caught all those fly balls there , I ’ ll never know .
IE : In Australia , the buskers have to get permits that stake out their turf . Was there a handshake agreement between you and other street performers about who got to play the prime territory and when ?
GT : Well , at the time , I knew John Lee Hooker was living in Oakland and playing on Ventura Avenue . And I went to California to meet him , to see if I could get a job playing in his band because I had John Lee Hooker ’ s style down pretty great , or close enough to make me think that I could get in a band with him . And I actually did meet him , and I went to his house , and he was wonderful . But it was brief . And I had already stopped him at the Coffee Gallery one night — I was really sick and had a bad cold — and I played a few songs because people took mercy on me and my friend put us up . But I didn ’ t assert myself enough — I didn ’ t say , “ Hey , John — put me in your band !” So I saw other people playing on the street , and they said , “ Oh , you ’ re hungry , huh ? Well , no one ’ s gonna just give you a sandwich outta nothing — you ’ ve gotta do what these people are doing .” So it was a matter of survival . m I was talking to the late Norton Buffalo — may he rest in peace — one time , and I said , “ You know I used to play in San Francisco on the streets .” And he said , “ Oh , I had a street band there — me and Huey Lewis played on the streets ! We used to play Ghirardelli Square .” And I said , “ Me , too !” And he said , “ Yeah — it was a lot of fun !” And I said , “ FUN ?” And he said , “ Yeah — I played on my college breaks .” And I thought , “ Oh . That ’ s nice …”
IE : Where some of your scarier SF nights spent crashing ? GT : Uhhh … I wouldn ’ t advise it . Now , though ? I ’ ll tell ya — I ’ ve been back to San Francisco a few times recently , and I took my daughter out to Fisherman ’ s Wharf . It ’ s all changed now , it ’ s really fantastic ,
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