Rockin' My Life Away is the tenth studio album by American blues rock band George Thorogood and the Destroyers. It was released in 1997 by the label EMI America Records. The album peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Top Blues Albums chart, and spent 9 weeks on the chart.
Rockin' My Life Away was the first Destroyers studio album since Haircut in 1993. The album was recorded from November to December 1996, and was released March 25, 1997. It was their first album, since their debut in 1977, to not reach the Billboard 200, which caused EMI America to drop them the next year.
In 1995 the Destroyers embarked on a summer tour, after which they began preparing material for Rockin' My Life Away. Waddy Wachtel wanted to work with them, and after a show, Thorogood and Wachtel met for the first time. The album was recorded from November to December 1996 in Los Angeles.
The album consists of 12 songs, ten covers, and two originals, written by Thorogood.
"Get Back Into Rockin'" was written by Jerry Lynn Williams. Thorogood first heard the song in a demo tape by Williams, liked it, and decided to record it. "Trouble Every Day" was written by Frank Zappa. The Destroyers recorded the song as a tribute to him. "Night Rider" was written by Thorogood. According to him,
"The Usual" was written by John Hiatt, who was a good friend of George's. It was released as a single. "Rockin' My Life Away" was written by Mack Vicekry. Thorogood decided to record it after hearing the Jerry Lee Lewis cover of the song. It was first recorded during the recording sessions for Haircut in February 1993, before being re-recorded for this album. The February 1993 recording made it on their compilation album '. It was the lead single from the album. "Manhattan Slide" was written by Elmore James, while "Jail Bait" was written by Andre Williams.
EMI America released Rockin' My Life Away on March 25, 1997. Two tracks from the album were released as singles, "Rockin' My Life Away" and "The Usual". The album debuted, and peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Top Blues Albums chart. The album spent 9 weeks on that chart.
Rockin' My Life Away received mixed reviews from critics. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine says "and while he's losing energy as he ages, it actually adds some subtlety to his music. Still, if Rockin' My Life Away is anything, it's bloozy boogie and it's predictable, and for longtime fans, the lack of spark may cancel out the strength of the material." A reviewer for RPM magazine wrote that the album "may not be entirely new material, but it is more than enough to keep many a Thorogood fan happy". A Hartford Courant reviewer says that he "kept expecting the band to get in my face and start rocking. That didn't happen, but Rockin' My Life Away is still a nice, albeit misnamed, blues album."
The following personnel are credited on the album: