(RED BANK, NJ) -- Count Basie Center for the Arts presents George Thorogood & The Destroyers on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 at 8:00pm. Led by Thorogood's gravelly vocals, the band which includes Jeff Simon, Bill Blough, Jim Suhler, and Buddy Leach, has been a staple on rock radio for decades.
By reverently reinventing obscure blues, country and RB tracks by icons that include Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker and Hank Williams – via now-classic hits like ‘Who Do You Love?’, ‘Boogie Chillun’ and ‘Move It On Over’ – George The Destroyers have kept the music of these American Masters alive for the MTV Generation and beyond. And with his own smash originals such as ‘I Drink Alone’, ‘Gear Jammer’, and the ultimate badass anthem ‘Bad To The Bone’, Thorogood and band have forged a one-of-a-kind career built on humor, fervor and six-string swagger delivered with equal parts fire and fun. “The dreams we had as teenagers all came true,” Jeff Simon says. “We’ve shared stages with our music heroes. We perform for audiences all over the world. We’ve always stayed true to who we are. And most of all, we still love what we do.”
It all started on the evening of December 1st, 1973 at The University of Delaware’s Lane Hall, a guitarist, a drummer, and their rhythm guitarist set up on the small bandstand. Though the three-piece band had barely rehearsed, guitarist George Thorogood and drummer Jeff Simon had been bashing out covers of songs they loved – including ‘No Particular Place To Go’, ‘Madison Blues’ and ‘One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer’ – in suburban Wilmington basements since they were teens. The Lane Hall audience was wary at first. “Then it was like somebody flipped a switch,” Simon recalls. “Everybody hit the dance floor all at once.”
“We had the place rockin’,” Thorogood says. “From that very first show, Jeff and I knew we were onto something.” Five decades, 15 million albums and more than 8,000 performances later, few bands can still rock the house like George Thorogood & Destroyers. But when asked to pick a career highlight, maybe one night over the past half century that changed everything for George Thorogood & The Destroyers, he shakes his head, flashes a huge grin and heads off to soundcheck. “My highlight is when I step on that bandstand,” Thorogood says. “The promoters invited us, the fans came to hear us, and we’re ready to rock. Every night I play for people can be the biggest night of my life.”
Tickets range from $25-$99 (+ fees) and are available for purchase online starting Friday, November 1st at 10:00am. Count Basie Center for the Arts is located at 99 Monmouth Street in Red Bank, New Jersey.
Count Basie Center for the Arts is New Jersey’s premier center for the cultural arts, dedicated to fostering powerful, inclusive artistic experiences and creative exchange of ideas. The Basie mission is to inspire, educate and entertain through its distinct and engaging cultural and artistic offerings embrace and amplify the diversity of the region. As a nonprofit organization, the Basie is committed to enriching the community’s quality of life by generating opportunities for participation in the arts, partnering with schools, collaborating with other mission-based organizations and driving regional economic prosperity.
