Rock analogies seem to pop into George Thorogood’s head as often as bluesy guitar hooks. His band has been touring and recording for well over 30 years now, a feat achieved only by musicians who know what they’re doing. To explain his formula for success, Thorogood compared himself to a restaurateur. 

 

If you’re opening a sports bar, he asked, what’s the first thing you put on tap? Budweiser. And if you’re opening a casual restaurant, what’s the first thing you put on the menu? Burgers. His point? Beer and burgers work, and when you find something that works, you’re wise to stick with it. 

 

“That’s what I do. That’s why we’ve stayed in business. We have a thing that works. It’s not expensive, but at the same time it’s tasty, and it doesn’t go out of fashion—like a Chevy,” he said, switching metaphors on a dime. “Not too many Chevy dealers go under.” 

Thorogood’s philosophy is reflected in his music. He’s never suffered from delusions of musical brilliance. He doesn’t attempt to get fancy and mimic Hendrix on guitar. He just puts all his sweat into what he does best, which is applying his gravelly vocals and gritty guitar licks to a no-nonsense blues-rock sound.

 

Thorogood will deliver the goods at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom on Tuesday, Aug. 3. Returning to the Ballroom for the eighth consecutive year, he fondly refers to the venue as “my room.” 

 

George Thorogood and The Destroyers released their self-titled debut album in 1977 and followed it up with their breakthrough “Move It on Over” in ’78. The title track, a louder, faster version of an old Hank Williams tune, became the band’s first big hit. They amplified that success in 1982 with the release of “Bad to the Bone.” The title track of that album, an original written by Thorogood, remains his best-known composition—and one of the most recognizable songs of the ’80s. 

 

Thorogood is known for recording hard rock adaptations of old blues songs, including John Lee Hooker’s “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer” and Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love?” But don’t call The Destroyers a cover band. 

 

“In my line of work, there is a little different slant on doing covers,” Thorogood said. “Linda Ronstadt does covers and Joe Cocker does covers. They cover material that’s already been popular. I cover obscure material and I make it popular.”

 

Music fans already knew The Beatles’ “With a Little Help from my Friends” when Cocker recorded his famous version, but few people were familiar with “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer” until Thorogood put it on his debut album. He amps up obscure but catchy blues songs with heavy chords.

 

“We make them a little closer to a rock format, which is what gets people’s ears, let’s face it. That’s what the Rolling Stones did on their first three records,” he said. “That’s all I’ve been doing for 30 years, pretty much.”

 

Thirty-three years after unveiling his debut album, Thorogood has released more than 20 studio albums, live recordings and compilations. His latest, out July 27, is a live recording of a concert he performed in Boston in 1982, the same year “Bad to the Bone” stormed MTV. 

 

Asked what was special about that particular concert, Thorogood replied, “I have no idea.” He said Rounder Records culled through thousands of hours of recorded live material before fixing on the ’82 show in Boston. But Thorogood is more focused on his current tour than a show that took place 28 years ago.

 

“I’d rather do a live album now,” he said. “It’s like bringing out an old photograph and saying, ‘I still had braces then.’”

 

But Boston does have a special place in the band’s history. Originally from Delaware, the group formed as a power trio consisting of Thorogood, drummer Jeff Simon and bassist Billy Blough. They moved to Boston in the 1970s, where they at first struggled to compete with some of New England’s other prominent blues-based rockers, like James Montgomery and Duke Robillard.

 

“Those guys ruled. We were the outcasts. We couldn’t get any work,” Thorogood said.

He recalled one show at a college campus when a group of drunken students stood in front of the stage obnoxiously chanting for Aerosmith. Thorogood had not yet heard of “The Bad Boys from Boston.”

 

“I didn’t know what Aerosmith meant. I thought it was like a bombardier battalion from World War II. I said, ‘What the fuck is Aerosmith!?’ I just couldn’t shut these guys up,” he said. (Thorogood has since met members of Aerosmith and no longer holds a grudge. “Now everything’s cool. It wasn’t exactly comfortable then.”)

 

Only when Thorogood signed with fledgling label Rounder Records and released an album did the band begin to gain steam, he said. Thorogood’s success helped put Rounder on the map—and vice versa. 

 

The group later signed with EMI Music, which released “Bad to the Bone” and several other gold records by The Destroyers. EMI label Capitol Records released the band’s most recent studio album, 2009’s “The Dirty Dozen,” which included six new studio recordings and six old songs pulled from the group’s catalogue. 

 

Although “The Dirty Dozen” came more than three decades after The Destroyers’ debut, Thorogood said his musical approach hasn’t changed much. 

 

“The only way it’s evolved is we got two other guys in the band (guitarist Jim Suhler and saxophonist Buddy Leach) who play better than I do, thank God.” 

 

Lacking the guitar genius to lead a trio as forceful as Cream or the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Thorogood said the quintet format has given the band a more complete sound. “Now’s the time to come see us. It only took me 30 years to get it together,” he said with a hearty laugh. “I was in no hurry to grow up.”  

 

Asked if he has a favorite song to play on stage, Thorogood responded without hesitation. “All of them,” he said. But, just as B.B. King tears up when he plays “The Thrill Is Gone,” Thorogood admitted that he has an emotional connection to his all-time biggest moneymaker, “Bad to the Bone.” Even after playing the song thousands of time, he doesn’t tamper much with the tune or try to add new twists. It all goes back to his restaurant analogy. Or, better still, his hot dog analogy. 

 

Thorogood recently read in USA Today that of all the items sold at baseball stadiums during games—despite the fact that many ballparks now offer martinis and fancy meals—

the single highest selling product is still the hot dog. 

 

“That’s me,” Thorogood said. “I’m the hot dog without the mustard.”

 

And this hot dog looks forward to returning to the Ballroom. As for what fans can expect at the show, Thorogood offered yet another analogy: “It might not be the best beer they ever tasted, but it’ll be the coldest.”

The show begins with opener Tom Hambridge at 8 p.m. on Aug. 3 at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, 169 Ocean Blvd., Hampton, 603-929-4100, www.casinoballroom.com. Tickets are $28 to $46.