Thorogood brings new meaning to 'bad to the bone'

On their current cross-Canada tour, George Thorogood and the Destroyers are giving new meaning to the motto 'bad to the bone'.

In an effort to make a difference, the Delaware rocker is donating one dollar from every ticket sold for the Badder Than Ever tour to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.

Also, when show-going fans purchase an exclusive Destroyers blood drop t-shirt from the merch booth, 100 percent of the net proceeds will be given to the cause.

"If there was a trust fund for all incurable diseases, I'd put that on my shirt," Thorogood told SooToday during a recent phone interview. "I have people close to me who've come down with this disease. Some of them made it through thanks to the miracle of technology and modern medicine. But there's not enough done about it. We're bad to the bone, so we'll donate to bone marrow."

"Entertainers bring attention to themselves whether they want to or not," he said. "So if I'm going to bring attention to myself, I want to bring attention to this disease."

George Thorogood and the Destroyers are scheduled to bring the Badder Than Ever tour to the Essar Centre in Sault Ste. Marie on Monday, May 2, 2016.

No stranger to traversing this vast nation, he said touring Canada is "just about as good as it gets."

"It's a big country. There's a lot of territory to travel, but it's worth it."

He, his bandmates and his music have been celebrated from coast to coast in their 40 years of performing.

They've even had honorary citizenship bestowed upon them by the City of Thunder Bay.

"The response from the [Canadian] audience is really fantastic," Thorogood told us. "They're really appreciative. Not that they aren't in the United States. But when you visit someone's country, and you're there for more than one date, every city is aware of that and they show their appreciation."

"It's very warm, it's very friendly, it's very welcoming. We say Canada is like our second home," he said.

Second home indeed, considering he's one of many famous citizens of the United States claiming a desire to relocate to Canada should Donald Trump be successful in the upcoming presidential election.

"This day and age with the politics going on in America, a lot of people are saying that," he laughed. "Who knows who means it. I've been saying it for years because it's like having a wonderful neighbour that you go visit every now and again, and you say: 'Why don't you invite me over more often?' That's how our band feels about coming to Canada."

Since forming in 1974 and releasing their certified-gold debut release in 1977, George Thorogood and the Destroyers have more than 8,000 live performances under their straps and 15 million record sales in the books.

In addition to penning his own hits, including Bad to the Bone and I Drink Alone, Thorogood is a master at bringing other's material into a new rock-washed light, including the work of Willie Dixon, Bo Diddley, Hank Williams, John Lee Hooker, and Chuck Berry to name a few.

In fact, he began his playing career as a solo Robert Johnson blues-style performer.

"When I first picked up a guitar in the late 60s, rock and roll was only about 10 years old, and the blues was only about 25 years old," Thorogood explained. "Those songs were not old at the time as far as I was concerned. Now, they're just a bit old--er."

Saultites interested in hearing what George Thorogood pulls out of his bag tricks - old--er and otherwise - can purchase tickets to the Essar Centre gig by clicking here.

SooToday hopes his version of Bob Dylan's Wanted Man is included in the evening's setlist.

"I'm not sure there's room to wiggle Wanted Man in, but I'll see what I can do," Thorogood teased.

Fingers crossed.