Bad to the Bone explained

Bad to the Bone
Cover:BadtotheBonesingle.jpg
Caption:US single picture sleeve
Type:single
Artist:George Thorogood and the Destroyers
Album:Bad to the Bone
B-Side:No Particular Place to Go
Released:September 17, 1982
Recorded:1982
Genre:
Length:4:52
3:36 (single edit)
Label:EMI America
Producer:The Delaware Destroyers
Prev Title:Nobody but Me
Prev Year:1982
Next Title:Rock and Roll Christmas
Next Year:1983

"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. The song adapts the hook and lyrics of Muddy Waters' 1955 song "Mannish Boy".[1] While "Bad to the Bone" was not widely popular upon its initial release, its music video made recurrent appearances on MTV, created a year before. Licensing for films, television, and commercials has since made the song more popular. Author Jim Beviglia opined that despite the song not landing on the Hot 100 chart, it "outstrips all other 80s songs in terms of the way it has essentially become cultural shorthand".[2]

Music video

The video intercuts a live performance by Thorogood and his band with footage of him entering a pool hall and challenging Bo Diddley to a game. Word of the challenge quickly spreads throughout the neighborhood, and a spectator brings pool player Willie Mosconi from an adjoining boxing gym where he is watching a fight. Mosconi wagers a large sum of money on Diddley, and the game lasts several hours, with Thorogood gaining the advantage.

As the video ends, Thorogood attempts to sink the 8-ball but leaves it sitting at the edge of a pocket. He grins and flicks ashes onto the floor from a cigar he has been smoking throughout the game, causing just enough of a disturbance to sink the ball, and the children gathered outside the pool hall celebrate his victory.

Personnel

Authorship claim

Chicago area musician James Pobiega, who goes by the stage name "Little Howlin' Wolf", has claimed that he wrote "Bad to the Bone" and that Thorogood stole it from him.[3] The song is influenced by Muddy Waters' "Mannish Boy".[4] Thorogood initially offered the song to Waters, who rejected it outright.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Fender.com. Muddy Waters. 24 January 2021. Learn How to Play 'Mannish Boy' by Muddy Waters. Fender.com.
  2. Jim Beviglia. "'Bad to the Bone' by George Thorogood and the Destroyers." Playing Back the 80s: A Decade of Unstoppable Hits. Rowman & Littlefield, 2018. p. 79.
  3. News: Mehr. Bob. Out of the Wilderness. 13 June 2014. Chicago Reader. 10 November 2005.
  4. Web site: Bad to the Bone. 2021-01-25. Rolling Stone Magazine.
  5. Web site: 2021-01-25. George Thorogood Interview 2014. earlofnewt.com.