This is one of a series of posts expanding on my 50 States in 50 Dates blog by documenting the global touring adventures of George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers and the earlier years of their career.
Although the Destroyers’ first official concert was at the University of Delaware’s Lane Hall dormitory on December 1, 1973, their musical journey began even before that important day. Given the general unreliability of online information and peoples’ long term memories, I am only including performance dates up to November 1973 that I can confirm from primary sources.
Quick Links:
- Jan. 13, 1965 – Sweet 16 Birthday Party. Brandywood, DE. USA.
- Sep. 11, 1971 – Arden Center YWCA. Ardentown, DE. USA.
- Nov. 13, 1971 – Goldie’s Door Knob. Newark, DE. USA.
- Apr. 11-16, 1973 – Max’s Kansas City. New York, NY. USA.
- May 1-6, 1973 – Joe’s Place. Cambridge, MA. USA.
- Jul. 27-28, 1973 – Sandy’s North Shore. Beverly, MA. USA.
- Oct. 4, 1973 – Bridgewater State College. Bridgewater, MA. USA.
Sweet 16 Birthday Party.
Date: January 13, 1965.
Source: Facebook.
Venue: Private home. Brandywood, Delaware. USA.
Source: The News Journal. Feb. 2, 1963. Pg. 8.
Source: Brandywood Civic Association.
Find it on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/xdYZ5g8mkyHRNGHHA
Set List: “The band played all the current music of 1965”.
Source: Facebook.
Was the Concert Recorded? Yes. There is a short snippet of silent film footage of this event on YouTube.
Concert Photos:
Source: https://youtu.be/-kiTJEFCyGc
Other Notes: In the description accompanying his YouTube video, Peter Christy provides helpful details about this event:
“George Thorogood was invited to perform at a party in my wife’s parents’ basement during her high school years in Wilmington, Delaware. George and my wife were classmates at Brandywine High School although he was a year behind [her]. They both were in Mr. Pro’s World History class where my wife became aware of George’s musical talents and she invited him to perform at her party. The party was during the winter of 1965… George performed with his original band. My father-in-law took this brief home movie of his daughter’s party, hardly realizing that the band would become famous. George and his band are playing in the basement corner and he can be seen with his tambourine.”
One online commenter suggests that Thorogood and company were performing under the name “Midnight Sun” at this time. That is consistent with info from a 1983 interview with George’s parents:
Source: University of Delaware Review. May 10, 1983. Pg. 10.
Arden Center YWCA.
Date: September 11, 1971.
Venue: Arden Center YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association). 2210 Swiss Lane. Ardentown, DE. 19810. USA.
Find it on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/diJ5jEZjGVzkFZ3MA
Venue Exterior:
1973:
Source: The Morning News. Jan. 27, 1973.g 10
2019:
Press & Promotion:
Source: Delaware Morning News. Sept. 11, 1971. Pg. 34.
Other Notes: None.
Fate of the Venue: The Arden Center YWCA was sold in 1986 and redeveloped into a retirement home.
Goldie’s Door Knob.
Date: November 13, 1971.
Venue: Goldie’s Door Knob. University of Delaware Student Center. Dover Room. 325 Academy St. Newark, DE. 19716. USA.
Source: University of Delaware Review. Nov. 12, 1971. Pg. 10.
Find it on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/nGG82rHkiT1CdaYF7
Venue Exterior:
1963:
2019:
Venue Interior:
1968:
Source: University of Delaware Review. Oct. 1, 1968.
Press & Promotion:
Source: University of Delaware Review. Nov. 12, 1971. Pg. 10.
Ticket Price: Free.
Other Notes: None.
Max’s Kansas City.
Dates: April 11-16, 1973.
Note: I am not able to confirm if George Thorogood played all of these dates, some of these dates or just one of these dates. Please get in touch if you have more information.
Venue: Max’s Kansas City. 213 Park Avenue S. New York, NY. 10003. USA.
Find it on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/16bgsMjLCAU3La527
Venue Exterior:
1970s:
Source: Ray Stevenson. Shutterstock.
2018:
Venue Interior:
November 1977:
Above: Devo perform at Max’s Kansas City. Source: www.bobgruen.com/maxs-kansas-city/
Opening Act: George Thorogood (solo) opened for Bonnie Raitt and Little Feat.
Above: Bonnie Raitt performs with Little Feat at the Roxy in Los Angeles, 1976. Source: Erica Echenberg/Getty Images.
Press & Promotion:
Source: Village Voice. April 12, 1973.
Source: Village Voice. April 12, 1973. Pg. 58.
Concert Reaction:
Dan Nooger of the Village Voice reviewed the April 11th date from this run of concerts at Max’s Kansas City. While George Thorogood is not mentioned in the review, the article provides a nice overview of what these shows were like.
“On Wednesday, Warner Bros. hosted a fried-chicken box dinner party for Little Feat at Max’s to celebrate their new album, “Dixie Chicken.” Despite the catering, Little Feat are anything but greasy. Recently expanded from four to six men, the group is built around former Mothers guitarist Lowell George, who produced the album as well as writing most of the songs. They sometimes use blues and R&B structural devices, but the finished product is their own and it wails… Their incredibly humorous “Fat Man in the Bathtub” and “Dixie Chicken”, a tale of loving and losing in the moist Southern night with a jaunty chorus by the boys at the bar, highlighted a set of songs from their three fine albums.
Topping the bill was Bonnie Raitt, who despite a cold that had her coughing and half-whispering “You’re gonna see a first tonight; singer dies onstage at Max’s”, turned in a fine set about equally divided between blues and ballads. Her treatment of Joni Mitchell’s lovely “Midway”, with its octave-jumping vocal line, was nothing short of awe-inspiring. On Chris Smithers’ ballsy blues “Love Me Like a Man” she was helped out by the Feat’s Lowell George on bottleneck, conga player Sam Clayton, and Bill Payne, who played some fine barrelhouse piano, as well as her longtime bassman Freebo.”
Source: Village Voice. April 19, 1973. Pg. 67.
Other Notes:
In various interviews over the years, George Thorogood has pointed to his performance at Max’s Kansas City as an important early breakthrough in his music career. Inspired after seeing John Hammond, Jr. at the Gaslight in New York in 1970, Thorogood headed to northern California to break into the local scene as a solo acoustic act. After a time in the San Francisco Bay area, Thorogood introduced himself to Hammond who, in turn, introduced George to “a couple of managers”. Soon after, George landed a guest spot opening up for Bonnie Raitt and Little Feat at Max’s in April 1973. The connections from that New York gig led to George being hired by music promoter (and Bonnie Raitt’s manager) Dick Waterman to open a week of shows for Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee at a blues club called Joe’s Place in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Source: Crawdaddy. May 1978. Pg. 25; RecordOnline.com; YouTube.
Fate of the Venue:
This version of Max’s Kansas City went bankrupt in July 1974 and closed in December 1974. The club re-opened and closed a few more times before finally shutting its doors for good in 1981.
Source: Billboard Magazine. August 17, 1974. Pg. 4.
Joe’s Place.
Dates: May 1-6, 1973.
Venue: Joe’s Place. 1281 Cambridge St. Cambridge, MA. 02139. USA.
Find it on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/8AmPfkY8umLY5kHk8
Venue Exterior:
1974:
Source: Boston Phoenix. Sept. 17, 1974. Pg. 6.
2019:
Opening Act: George Thorogood (solo) opened for Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.
Above: Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee perform in Denmark, 1967. Source: Jan Persson/Getty Images.
Press & Promotion:
Source: Boston Phoenix. May 1, 1973. Pg. 17.
Other Notes: None.
Fate of the Venue: This version of Joe’s Place was destroyed in a fire on April 1, 1974. Joe’s Place was operating out of the second floor of 11 Windsor Street in Cambridge, MA as of 1975.
Source: Boston Globe. April 3, 1974. Pg. 71 & Boston Phoenix. July 8, 1975. Pg. 2-12.
Sandy’s North Shore.
Dates: July 27-28, 1973.
Venue: Sandy’s North Shore. 54 Cabot St. Beverly, MA. 01915. USA.
Find it on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/3cCQeiLMrynnc3ph6
Venue Exterior:
2018:
Venue Interior:
1974:
Source: Boston Phoenix. Sept 17, 1974. Pg. 5.
Opening Act: George Thorogood (solo) opened for Hound Dog Taylor and the House Rockers.
Press & Promotion:
Source: Boston Phoenix. July 24, 1973. Pg. 16.
Source: Boston Globe. July 26, 1973. Pg. 22.
Other Notes: None.
Fate of the Venue: Sandy’s North Shore was closed in late 1974 for a major renovation. The venue re-opened in April 1975 as Sandy’s Jazz Revival. The venue closed for good in 1986.
Bridgewater State College.
Date: October 4, 1973.
Blind Jim Brewer and George Thorogood performed two shows on this date: An afternoon show from 1 to 3pm in the Student Union Foyer and an evening show from 7 to 11pm in another location.
Venue: Bridgewater State College. 19 Park Ave. Bridgewater, MA. 02325. USA.
Find it on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/MzPw9g5r8cQeDGRg9
Venue Exterior:
1970s:
2019:
Opening Act: George Thorogood (solo) opened for Blind Jim Brewer.
Press & Promotion:
Source: The Comment. Sept. 27, 1973. Pg. 6.
Source: The Comment. Oct. 4, 1973. Pg. 7.
Ticket Price: Free (afternoon show); $0.50 (evening show).
Other Notes:
Above: Blind Jim Brewer and George Thorogood in Newton, MA. September 1973. Source: Facebook.
50 States in 50 Dates 