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(Originally finalized on December 12, 2025)
Preface: From the I'll Bet You Saw This One Coming Department, we're gonna flip the coin and do "bad" songs this week. Both are fertile subjects; while surveying songs for a prospective "Good & Bad" theme, it quickly became apparent to me that there were more than enough of both to tackle them separately.
Monday: George Thorogood & The Destroyers - Bad To The Bone [Bad To The Bone, 1982]
Comments: Debuting as late as 1977, blues rocker and slide guitarist George Thorogood has kind of slipped under my radar, but his music is entirely consistent with what I typically listen to. Dripping with swagger, this title track from '82 is his biggest hit, and features pianist Ian Stewart, who met the band while they were touring in support of The Rolling Stones.
Tuesday: ZZ Top - I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide [Deguello, 1979]
Comments: On the subject of blues rockers with swagger, here's the Texas trio ZZ Top, with another track from the album we just heard from two weeks ago. It's a noteworthy album - in addition to the smash hit Cheap Sunglasses, it also contains a Robert Johnson cover, and a song that would fit right in on a Thanksgiving playlist.
Wednesday: Bad Company - Good Lovin' Gone Bad [Straight Shooter, 1975]
Comments: Written by guitarist Mick Ralphs, who (as we've seen) left Mott The Hoople to form Bad Company with singer Paul Rodgers, this song kicks off the first side of the band's sophomore album - a veritable loaded gun that includes the hit Feel Like Makin' Love, and Shooting Star - a story song that pays homage to all the musicians we've lost too young.
Thursday: Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising [Green River, 1969]
Comments: Speaking of shooting stars, CCR courted enormous success, given that the bulk of their material was released within a short span of just two years, including three albums in 1969 alone! From the middle one, this unexpectedly upbeat tune (for all of its apocalyptic imagery) is one of the band's most well-known.
Friday: Cream - Born Under A Bad Sign [Wheels of Fire, 1968]
Comments: Both supergroup and power trio, Cream was another band that was enormously successful, despite existing for only a few short years. On their third album, they recorded a cover of Albert King's Born Under A Bad Sign; although it wasn't as revolutionary as their interpretation of Robert Johnson's Crossroads from the same album.
Saturday: Fleetwood Mac - Need Your Love So Bad [The Pious Bird of Good Omen, 1969]
Comments: Also on the British blues scene, and splintering from the same group that Peter Green and Eric Clapton both alternately played in (to reference another episode of Band Connections), the original Fleetwood Mac slows it down on this track from a compilation of early singles and album cuts (not unlike Pink Floyd's Relics).
Sunday: The Runaways - Born To Be Bad [Queens of Noise, 1977]
Comments: Maintaining that slower tempo - while still putting the "power" in "power ballad" - I'm gonna end the week with this track from The Runaways' second album, featuring Joan Jett on vocals. If you recall, The Runaways were the focus of yet another episode of Band Connections (the last one I did, just last quarter).
Honorable Mention: Jimmy Dawkins Band - Feel So Bad [Blisterstring, 1976]
Comments: The honorable mention this week goes to a song that I had considered for my Blues With A Feeling theme; the particular arrangement of songs I decided upon pushed this one aside for Jimmy Dawkins' version of the titular track. Robin Trower also recorded a version of this song, which I also considered for that theme, but his 21st century output is not very well documented online. Finally, Michael Bloomfield has recorded songs titled both Feel So Good and Feel So Bad, but his recorded output is notoriously inconsistent, and I would not rate these as being among his better tracks.