George Thorogood has announced that he’ll release The Baddest Show on Earth: Greatest Hits Live on June 12. You can hear a version of “Who Do You Love” below, which was recorded in Atlanta in 1980.
The new collection pays tribute to the road work that the Delaware blues-rocker has logged for more than 50 years with his band, the Destroyers. It highlights a series of recordings captured between 1978 and 2024, including a swath of previously unreleased tracks.
What Fans Can Expect From ‘The Baddest Show on Earth’
Among the highlights from the band’s vaults, you’ll hear staples like “Bad to the Bone,” “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer,” plus additional fan favorites including “Boogie Chillun,” “Tail Dragger” and “Madison Blues.”
The version of “Bourbon” is just one high point. It was captured in 1980 and finds Thorogood engaged in a memorable musical duel with his late, longtime saxophonist Hank Carter.
Today, George Thorogood & The Destroyers—which currently consists of Jeff Simon (drums, percussion), Bill Blough (bass guitar), Jim Suhler (rhythm guitar), and Buddy Leach (saxophone)—have played more than 8,000 live shows. There are numerous milestones within that big number, including the famous blitz where they set a goal to knock out 50 shows in 50 days.
Listen to George Thorogood & the Destroyers’ ‘Who Do You Love,’ Live in Atlanta
How George & the Destroyers Played 50 States in 50 Days, the Hard Way
They’d shared the bill for concerts with Rolling Stones in that same era and as Thorogood remembered, the 50-date marathon was grueling in more ways than one. “I caught a real bad head cold and after we played those shows with the Stones and Bill Graham wanted us to play a whole bunch more.,” he told UCR in 2019.
“But the 50/50 tour was already booked. So I missed out on some big gigs. Madison Square Garden, among other places, with the Stones,” he explained. “Even one of the dates we did on the 50/50 tour was with the Rolling Stones, in New Orleans. But I was sick as a dog, I had a temperature of about 110. [Laughs] and I was in front of 80 thousand people and I had to go on after the Neville Brothers and before the Rolling Stones. That was tough.”
See George Thorogood & the Destroyers Live in 2026
Thorogood and the band are already out on the road with close to 40 tour dates on deck. He continues to be energized by the stage time and expects fans will enjoy what has been collected for The Baddest Show on Earth: Greatest Hits Live as well.
“When the lights go down, the downbeat hits and the audience erupts; all bets are off,” he said in a press release. “The Destroyers are at their best when we play for the people, and these are some of our favorite—and rarest—performances from the past five decades. You wanted the baddest, you got it.”
The band will add another milestone in April when they are inducted into Nashville’s Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in April, as part of a class that includes Michael McDonald, Keith Urban, late keyboardist Nicky Hopkins (Rolling Stones, Who) and others.
READ MORE: George Thorogood Expands 2026 Tour
George Thorogood & the Destroyers, ‘The Baddest Show on Earth: Greatest Hits Live’ Track Listing
Vinyl:
Side A
Who Do You Love (Live in Atlanta, Georgia – 1980)*Move It On Over (Live in Boston, Massachusetts – 1982)One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer (Live in Atlanta, Georgia – 1980)*
Side B
Ride On Josephine (Live in Roslyn, New York – 1978)*Madison Blues (Live in Boston, Massachusetts – 1982)Bad To The Bone (Live in Boston, Massachusetts – 1982)Born To Be Bad (Live in Sarasota, Florida – 2024)**previously unreleased
CD/Digital:
Who Do You Love (Live in Atlanta, Georgia – 1980)*Move It On Over (Live in Boston, Massachusetts – 1982)One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer (Live in Atlanta, Georgia – 1980)*Ride On Josephine (Live in Roslyn, New York – 1978)*Madison Blues (Live in Boston, Massachusetts – 1982)Bad To The Bone (Live in Boston, Massachusetts – 1982)Born To Be Bad (Live in Sarasota, Florida – 2024)*Steppin’ Out (Live in Midland, Texas – 2022)*Howlin’ For My Baby (Live in Hyannis, Massachusetts – 2023)*Tail Dragger (Live in Kansas City, Missouri – 2020)*Boogie Chillun (Live in Toronto, Canada – 1978)**previously unreleased
George Thorogood – The Baddest Show on Earth: Greatest Hits Live
Top 100 Live Albums
These are more than just concert souvenirs or stage documents from that awesome show you saw last summer.
Gallery Credit: UCR Staff
