George Thorogood, Bad to the Bone | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 150^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2023), we recollect and reflect on “Bad to the Bone” by George Thorogood & The Destroyers. 

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 150^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2023), we recollect and reflect on 🎵 “Bad to the Bone”, performed by 🎙 George Thorogood & The Destroyers.

“Bad to the bone / Bad to the bone / B-b-b-b-bad  / Bad to the bone.” 🎙 George Thorogood & The Destroyers exemplify badassery in their 1982 classic, 🎵 “Bad to the Bone”. Although “Bad to The Bone” has become a fixture in pop culture, surprisingly, the record was NOT a hit 🤯!  Utter blasphemy if you ask me.  Nonetheless, Thorogood’s 1982 album, also titled, 💿 Bad To The Bone, was certified gold by the RIAA in 1985.  Now that accomplishment right there is pretty badass!

“Bad to the Bone” interpolates a 1950s blues classic, 🎵 “Mannish Boy (I’m a Man)” by the legendary 🎙 Muddy Waters.  Besides the interpolation, George serves as the writer.  Furthermore, he’s the lead vocalist and guitarist. Who helps to elevate the bad-assery besides Thorogood’s playful vocals? Well, 🎙 Hank Carter blows the hell 😈 out of the saxophone 🎷,  🎙 Ian Stewart handles the keys 🎹, Billy Bough covers the low end (the bass),  and 🎙 Jeff Simon is on drums 🥁. Thorogood has no shortage of personality, with plenty of fun lyrics.  In the first verse, he speaks of the nurse’s assessment of his bad-ness: “The head nurse spoke up / Said, ‘Leave this one alone,’ / She could tell right away / That I was bad to the bone.” The second verse is suggestive: “I broke a thousand hearts / Before I met you / I’ll break a thousand more, baby / Before I am through.” There are two more verses, finding Thorogood confirming the fact that he is – wait for it – 🎵 “Bad to the Bone”. Billboard Hot 100 chart be damned, this song right here is the sugar honey iced tea.

Appears in 🔻:

• 11 Skeletal, Hella Bony, Bone Songs (2023)

🎙 George Thorogood & The Destroyers • 💿 Bad To The Bone • 🏷 EMI • 📅 1982

George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Bad to the Bone: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 150 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; EMI; John Alan Sperry, PIRO via  Pixabay]