George Thorogood

Guitarist George Thorogood once compared his music to diner fare, stating that customers do not mind eating cheeseburgers on a regular basis as long as they are good cheeseburgers. That sort of no-nonsense approach to rock-n-roll epitomized Thorogood's career, which focused on producing a slew of super-charged rock and blues tracks that drew influence from early 1950s records by such iconic artists as John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry. His connection to those founding fathers earned him a devoted following among rock traditionalists, though blues purists initially disregarded his output until the new millennium. Thorogood hit his peak in the 1980s with near-constant airplay on rock radio and in feature films, before he settled into the status of favored veteran, enjoying sizable audiences at his concerts while still mining hits on the blues listings.