Free Republic

For most people, the first thing that comes to mind about George Thorogood & the Destroyers is "Bad to the Bone." The song. But not the album of the same name. Thorogood's iconic hit, part of enough movie and TV soundtracks to buy him much more than one bourbon, scotch or beer, serves as the title track for the band's fifth album and the first for a major label, EMI, after a tenure with the independent Rounder Records. The 10-song set caught Thorogood and his group in high flight, too, hot off dates opening for the Rolling Stones and the...

The first original song that George Thorogood ever wrote was "Bad to the Bone." Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the track is still omnipresent on classic rock radio and has been used in countless movies and television shows. Not a bad place to begin your career as a songwriter. Thorogood and his band have put their spin on plenty of blues staples over the years, notably making radio classics out of John Lee Hooker's "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer," "Move It On Over" by Hank Williams and Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love." But Thorogood felt pigeonholed as...