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Song · George Thorogood

“Bad to the Bone” by George Thorogood

“Bad to the Bone” by George Thorogood appears on 79 radio countdowns from 26 stations between 1991 and 2026. Its best result is #24 on the KISW Top 99 Rock Songs (2001). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #151 classic rock song of all time.

79countdowns
26stations
#24best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1991–2026years charted

Watch

George Thorogood & The Destroyers - Bad To The Bone

Video from YouTube (GeorgeThorogoodVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Bad to the Bone" gave George Thorogood and the Destroyers the title track for their 1982 album and a single on EMI America, and Thorogood wrote it himself, piecing it together over a few months during the band's 50/50 tour. The title came off the street: "bad" was his neighborhood's word for hip, one local guy was forever saying "bad to death," and Thorogood took it to the bone, figuring somebody was bound to write that song and it might as well be him.

The stutter in the chorus is borrowed swagger, lifted from Roger Daltrey on "My Generation" and from Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet", riding a cocky blues-rock strut. Classic rock radio adopted it for good, it keeps turning up on compilations and live records, and it's often rated the band's best.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1991 322 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1991) 500
1994 154 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) 1000
1995 156 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 95 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1996 283 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1996) 500
1997 27 104.5 KZEP KZEP Memorial Weekend Top 500 (1997) 500
1997 122 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
1998 67 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1999 72 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2001 24 KISW KISW Top 99 Rock Songs (2001) 99
2002 165 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (2002) 500
2002 747 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 29 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) 923
2004 28 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) 923
2010 180 97.9 The Loop The Loop USO Rock 'N' Roll 500 (2010) 500
2011 182 97.9 The Loop The Loop Rock N Roll 500 (2011) 500
2011 145 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2012 146 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2012 177 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2012) 500
2012 686 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 118 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2013 223 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 257 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR CT 500 (2013) 500
2013 253 Big 100 BIG 500 Labor Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 113 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) 500
2014 103 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 169 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2014 460 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 119 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2015 113 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2015) 500
2015 109 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2016 229 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2016) 500
2016 37 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2016) 500
2016 169 103.5 The Fox The Fox Memorial Day 500 (2016) 299
2016 405 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2017 57 97.9 The Loop 97.9 The Loop Top 540 Countdown (2017) 540
2017 240 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2017) 500
2018 237 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2018) 500
2019 179 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2019) 499
2019 393 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2019 293 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2019) 500
2020 302 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2020) 500
2020 217 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2020) 500
2020 351 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 43 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2020 155 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2020) 500
2021 291 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2021) 500
2021 233 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2021) 500
2021 175 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2021 460 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2021 236 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2021) 499
2021 91 WCSX WCSX Rock & Roll 500 (2021) 499
2022 482 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 222 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 91 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2022 860 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 140 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 126 94.1 KRNA KRNA Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 437 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2022) 500
2023 267 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2023 243 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 493 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2023 49 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2023 197 97.1 The Drive 97.1 The Drive Memorial Day Weekend Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 126 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2024 251 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2024) 500
2024 66 KQRS KQRS KQ 500 (2024) 499
2024 196 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 451 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2024) 500
2024 631 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2024 57 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2024) 498
2025 178 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 283 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2025) 500
2025 421 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2025 57 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2025) 498
2026 107 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2026) 500
2026 437 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2026) 500
2026 225 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500
2026 230 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: Bad To The Bone.

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