Ravinia 2019, Issue 2, Week 3

7:00 PM SUNDAY, JUNE 23, 2019 PAVILION GEORGE THOROGOOD & THE DESTROYERS –Intermission– MELISSA ETHERIDGE GEORGE THOROGOOD& THE DESTROYERS Originally coming together in Delaware, George Thorogood & The Destroyers are longtime fol- lowers of the Chicago blues sound. The group cut several demo recordings while gigging around the East Coast in the mid-’70s, but large- ly established itself in live performances and be- came a featured attraction on the New England blues club circuit. Securing a contract with Rounder Records in 1977, Thorogood &The De- stroyers released their eponymous debut album that year and soon found themselves becoming an FM radio staple as well with their version of “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.” The group’s second album, Move It On Over , was released the following year and became its first top-40-charter on the strength of its title-track cover of the Hank Williams classic and a pounding rendition of Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love?” In 1982 Thorogood & The Destroyers moved over to the EMI label and recorded Bad to the Bone , from which the title track became the band’s first top-40 rock single and its signature original song. The 1985 follow-up Maverick featured another smash-hit original in “I Drink Alone,” as did 1988’s Born to Be Bad with its title track and “You Talk Too Much,” as well as 1993’s Haircut with “Get a Haircut.” Thoro- good &The Destroyers’ most recent album, 2120 South Michigan Avenue (2011), named for the address of Chess Records in Chicago, pays tribute to that legendary blues label. Over their more than 35 years together at that point, the group had covered more than a dozen songs from the label’s artists over the years; another 10 were added to their catalogue with the recording, which featured guest spots from two major figures in the label’s history: Buddy Guy and Charlie Musselwhite. Thorogood returned to Rounder Records in 2017 to release his first solo album, Party of One . Tonight George Thorogood & The Destroyers return for their third season at Ravinia, where they first appeared in 2004. MELISSA ETHERIDGE Growing up in Kansas, Melissa Etheridge played guitar in local bands throughout her teens be- fore attending the Berklee School of Music and then relocating to Los Angeles, where she began a long association with Island Records. Etheridge’s first recorded music appeared on the soundtrack to the 1986 movie Weeds , and shortly thereafter she released her eponymous debut al- bum, which featured the single “Bring Me Some Water,” a mainstream-rock hit that garnered her the first of many Grammy nods. That 1988 al- bum drew comparisons to rock icons John Mel- lencamp and Bruce Springsteen and was quickly followed by Brave and Crazy the following year; both charted in the top 40 and went platinum. Etheridge won her first Grammy for “Ain’t It Heavy” from Never Enough (1992), and then her subsequent album, Yes I Am (1993), permanently etched her rock credentials. Produced by Hugh Padgham of Genesis andThe Police fame, the al- bum’s singles “I’m the Only One” and “Come to My Window” burst onto Billboard ’s charts and each garnered Best Rock Song Grammy nomi- nations (the latter winning for Best Rock Vocal, Female). Certified six-times platinum, Yes I Am remains bestseller, and its follow-up, Your Little Secret (1995), became her highest-charting al- bum at number six. Etheridge won the ASCAP Songwriter of the Year Award in 1996 and con- tinued to earn Grammy nominations, including for the song “I Need to Wake Up,” which she wrote for the documentary An Inconvenient Truth and won her an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Her last album with Island, 4th Street Feeling (2012), was named for the main thoroughfare of her Leavenworth, KS, home- town. Etheridge has since released three albums independently under ME Records: the explor- atory This Is M.E. (2014), featuring collabora- tions with producers Jerrod Bettis, Jon Levine, and Roccstar; the blues disc MEmphis Rock and Soul (2016), covering standards by the likes of Otis Redding, William Bell, and Sam & Dave; and this year’s spotlight on healing and self-care, The Medicine Show . Melissa Etheridge is making her third appearance at Ravinia, where she first performed in 2013. RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 17 – JUNE 23, 2019 104