Bad to the Bone | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 9, 1982 | |||
Recorded | 1981–1982 | |||
Studio | Dimension Sound Studios, Boston, Massachusetts | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 41:38 33:55 (25th Anniversary Edition bonus tracks) 75:33 (25th Anniversary Edition) | |||
Label | EMI America | |||
Producer | The Delaware Destroyers | |||
George Thorogood and the Destroyers chronology | ||||
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Singles from Bad to the Bone | ||||
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Bad to the Bone is the fifth studio album by American blues rock band George Thorogood and the Destroyers. It was released in 1982 by the label EMI America Records. The album contains the Destroyers best known song, "Bad to the Bone". The album also features Rolling Stones side-man Ian Stewart on piano.
A 25th anniversary edition of the album was released in 2007, featuring new bonus tracks. [1]
EMI America released Bad To The Bone on August 9, 1982. The album eventually sold more than 550,000 copies, mostly in the United States.
Two tracks from the album were released as singles, "Nobody but Me" is a cover of the The Human Beinz song of the same name. The single was released in July, 1982. While the song did not enter the US Billboard Hot 100, it did peak at number six on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 extension chart. [2]
"Bad to the Bone" was released September 17, 1982. While the single did not chart, and was not popular upon release, its music video received recurrent appearances on MTV. The song's use in films, television, and commercials has since made it more popular.
In August 2007, a special edition of the album was released to mark the 25th anniversary of its original release. [1]
The re-issue featured the "Nobody but Me" Instrumental B-Side, "That Philly Thing", as well as new re-recordings of some of the songs from the album.
Bad to the Bone received positive reviews from critics. AllMusic's Tim Sendra says the album is "Thorogood's finest work and established him as one of the unsung heroes of the age of AOR". [3] Robert Christgau says "He's added true boogie macho to his persona, so he gets his rocks off complaining about the Mann Act." [4] The Music Box's John Metzger wrote "While Bad to the Bone still isn’t an essential album, it nonetheless is as enjoyable as ever." [5]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [6] |
Robert Christgau | B− [7] |
The Music Box | [8] |
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings | [9] |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Back To Wentzville" | George Thorogood | 3:33 |
2. | "Blue Highway" | Nick Gravenites, David Getz | 4:44 |
3. | "Nobody but Me" | The Isley Brothers | 3:28 |
4. | "It's a Sin" | Jimmy Reed | 3:32 |
5. | "New Boogie Chillen" | John Lee Hooker | 5:04 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Bad to the Bone" | George Thorogood^ | 4:52 |
2. | "Miss Luann" | George Thorogood | 4:13 |
3. | "As the Years Go Passing By" | Deadric Malone | 5:03 |
4. | "No Particular Place to Go" | Chuck Berry | 4:00 |
5. | "Wanted Man" | Bob Dylan | 3:12 |
Total length: | 41:38 |
^ Musician James Pobiega (stage name "Little Howlin' Wolf"), has claimed that he wrote "Bad to the Bone" and that George Thorogood stole the song from him. [10]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "That Philly Thing" | George Thorogood | 2:25 |
2. | "Blue Highway" | Nick Gravenites, David Getz | 4:08 |
3. | "New Boogie Chillun" | John Lee Hooker | 7:10 |
4. | "No Particular Place To Go" | Chuck Berry | 4:26 |
5. | "As The Years Go Passing By" | Deadric Malone | 4:44 |
6. | "Bad To The Bone" | George Thorogood | 7:05 |
7. | "Wanted Man" | Bob Dylan | 3:57 |
Total length: | 33:55 (75:33) |
Musicians
Technical
Chart (1982/83) | Peak position |
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Australia (Kent Music Report) [11] | 50 |
Canada (RPM) | 78 |
United States (Billboard 200) | 43 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [12] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United States (RIAA) | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
George Lawrence Thorogood is an American musician, singer and songwriter from Wilmington, Delaware. His "high-energy boogie-blues" sound became a staple of 1980s USA rock radio, with hits like his original songs "Bad to the Bone" and "I Drink Alone". He has also helped to popularize older songs by American icons, such as "Move It on Over", "Who Do You Love?", and "House Rent Blues/One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer".
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"Bad to the Bone" is a song by American blues rock band George Thorogood and the Destroyers, released in 1982 on the album of the same name by EMI America Records. The song adapts the hook and lyrics of Muddy Waters' 1955 song "Mannish Boy". While "Bad to the Bone" was not widely popular upon its initial release, its music video made recurrent appearances on MTV, created a year before. Licensing for films, television, and commercials has since made the song more popular. Author Jim Beviglia opined that despite the song not landing on the Hot 100 chart, it "outstrips all other 80s songs in terms of the way it has essentially become cultural shorthand".
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George Thorogood and The Destroyers have released 15 studio albums, 7 live albums, 7 compilation albums, 30 singles and 8 music videos. George Thorogood has released 1 solo album.
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