"I Drink Alone" | ||||
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Single by George Thorogood & The Destroyers | ||||
from the album Maverick | ||||
Released | February 1, 1985 | |||
Genre | Blues rock, hard rock | |||
Length | 4:35 | |||
Label | EMI America | |||
Songwriter(s) | George Thorogood | |||
Producer(s) | Terry Manning | |||
George Thorogood & The Destroyers singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"I Drink Alone" on YouTube |
"I Drink Alone" is a rock song by American blues rock band George Thorogood and the Destroyers, released as a single from the 1985 album Maverick by EMI America. It was written by George Thorogood.
The song describes a man who, as the name of the song suggests, spends most of his time alone drinking. It name-checks various alcoholic beverages - Wiser's (or alternately Budweiser), Jack Daniel's, Jim Beam, Johnnie Walker (Black and Red Labels), and Old Grand-Dad - in the verses. (In some live versions, the Old Grand-Dad verse is replaced with a verse referencing Wild Turkey).
Thorogood says that the song "is about a loner who wants to be alone.", [1] and that I Drink Alone is meant to be a comedy song. [2]
George Thorogood wrote I Drink Alone as a dedication to American film and television actor Lee Marvin. [3] Thorogood originally wrote it as a country song, and wanted George Jones to record it, but EMI wanted the Destroyers to record it, so they ended up recording the song instead. [4]
I Drink Alone was first released as the second track on the Destroyer's sixth studio album Maverick. [6] It was then released as a single in February 1985. The song peaked at number 13 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. [7] [8]
The video starts with Thorogood riding on a motorcycle with a guitar case on his back, he stops at a gas station, lights a cigarette and looks around, before picking up his guitar case and entering the bar at the gas station. When he enters the bar, he finds it empty. He sits down, and starts lip syncing the song. Thorogood then opens his guitar case, and takes out an alcoholic beverage, and glass and starts drinking. The video then cuts to Thorogood playing the solo on his guitar, after which he goes back to drinking alcohol and singing. The video ends with Thorogood taking a shot, when he notices a woman next to him. He gets up, walks to the door and mutters the words "I drink alone" before leaving. The whole video is in black and white. [9]
"I Drink Alone" is often considered to be one of Thorogood`s best songs, and is played often in live performances, and is included in many live and compilation albums. [6]
AllMusic critic James Christopher Monger called "I Drink Alone" one of Thorogood's "high points". [10]
Chart (1985) | Peak position |
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U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks [7] | 13 |
George Lawrence Thorogood is an American musician, singer and songwriter from Wilmington, Delaware. His "high-energy boogie-blues" sound became a staple of 1980s US 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".
"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. It was written by George Thorogood. The song became a staple of classic rock radio. The song is on many compilation and live albums, and is often played live by the Destroyers. The song is often considered to be the Destroyers' best song.
Move It On Over is the second studio album by American blues rock band George Thorogood and the Destroyers, released by Rounder Records in November 1978. Move It On Over peaked at No. 33 on the Billboard 200 chart.
The Hard Stuff is the thirteenth studio album by American blues rock band George Thorogood and the Destroyers. It was released on May 30, 2006, on the Eagle Records label. The album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Top Blues Album chart. It was their first album recorded after the departure of long time saxophone player Hank "Hurricane" Carter, a 23-year member of the band.
George Thorogood and the Destroyers is the self-titled debut studio album by American blues rock band George Thorogood and the Destroyers, released in 1977. Consisting mostly of covers of blues hits, it includes a medley of John Lee Hooker's "House Rent Boogie" and "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer", the latter a song written by Rudy Toombs for Amos Milburn, and later covered by Hooker.
Maverick is the sixth studio album by the American blues rock band George Thorogood and the Destroyers. It was released on January 25, 1985 by the label EMI America Records. Some of its songs are among Thorogood's best-known, including "I Drink Alone" and "Willie and the Hand Jive". The album peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard 200 chart.
"Who Do You Love?" is a song written by American rock and roll pioneer Bo Diddley. Recorded in 1956, it is one of his most popular and enduring works. The song represents one of Bo Diddley's strongest lyrical efforts and uses a combination of hoodoo-type imagery and boasting. It is an upbeat rocker, but the original did not use the signature Bo Diddley beat rhythm.
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. The band promoted the album with a worldwide tour, as well as a large marketing campaign by EMI America.
More George Thorogood and the Destroyers is the fourth studio album by American blues rock band George Thorogood and the Destroyers, released in 1980. An alternate name for the album is I'm Wanted. The album eventually sold more than 600,000 copies, making it one of the Destroyer`s best selling albums.
"One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" is a blues song written by Rudy Toombs and recorded by Amos Milburn in 1953. It is one of several drinking songs recorded by Milburn in the early 1950s that placed in the top ten of the Billboard R&B chart. Other artists released popular recordings of the song, including John Lee Hooker in 1966 and George Thorogood in 1977.
The Dirty Dozen is the fourteenth studio album by American blues rock band George Thorogood and the Destroyers, released on July 28, 2009, by the label EMI America Records. The album contains all cover material. The Dirty Dozen reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Blues Albums and was on the chart for 11 weeks.
Born to Be Bad is the seventh studio album by American blues rock George Thorogood and the Destroyers. It was released on January 13, 1988 on the EMI America label. The album peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard 200, and was on the charts for 24 weeks.
Boogie People is the eighth studio album by American blues rock band George Thorogood and the Destroyers. It was released in 1991 by the label EMI America Records. The album peaked at No. 77 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Haircut is the ninth studio album by American blues rock band George Thorogood and the Destroyers, released on July 27, 1993. The first single from the album was "Get a Haircut", which charted in multiple countries. The album peaked at No. 120 on the Billboard 200. The band supported the album with a North American tour.
Rockin' My Life Away is the tenth studio album by American blues rock band George Thorogood and the Destroyers. It was released March 25, 1997. The album peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Top Blues Album chart.
2120 South Michigan Ave. is the fifteenth studio album by George Thorogood and the Destroyers. It was released on June 12, 2011, on the Capitol Records label. The album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Top Blues Albums chart. The title refers to the address of the offices and recording studios of Chess Records in Chicago.
Half a Boy/Half a Man is the eleventh studio album by American blues rock band George Thorogood and the Destroyers. It was released on April 13, 1999, on the CMC International label. The album failed to chart in any capacity.
"Willie and the Hand Jive" is a song written by Johnny Otis and originally released as a single in 1958 by Otis, reaching #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #5 on the Billboard R&B chart. The song has a Bo Diddley beat and was partly inspired by the music sung by a chain gang Otis heard while he was touring. The lyrics are about a man who became famous for doing a dance with his hands, but the song has been accused of glorifying masturbation, though Otis always denied it. It has since been covered by numerous artists, including The Crickets, The Strangeloves, Eric Clapton, Cliff Richard, Kim Carnes, George Thorogood, The Bunch, and in live performances by The Grateful Dead. Clapton's 1974 version was released as a single and reached the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 26. Thorogood's 1985 version reached No. 25 on the Billboard Rock Tracks chart.
Jim Suhler is an American Texas blues guitarist. Suhler has been playing professionally since the 1980s and has performed with a variety of blues musicians that include George Thorogood, Johnny Winter, AC/DC, Buddy Whittington, Billy F. Gibbons, Joe Bonamassa, Elvin Bishop, and Buddy Guy, along with many other notable musicians. He resides in Dallas, Texas, and plays locally in and around Texas' major cities, especially Dallas/Fort Worth with his own band, Jim Suhler & Monkey Beat, in addition to the remainder of the United States and also Canada.
Party of One is the debut solo album by American blues rock artist George Thorogood. It was released August 4, 2017 by the label Rounder Records. Party of One is the first album Thorogood recorded and released without his long-time band "the Destroyers".