I was never a huge ZZ Top fan, but this one still hits me hard. For a 3 piece band, ZZ Top was simply amazing. The first time I heard them, I was 11 years old. It was 1975, and “Fandango” had just been released. Top 40 radio wasn’t giving them airplay, but we had a GREAT Rock/Top 40 hybrid station in Minneapolis/St. Paul called U100. WYOO played “Tush” in heavy rotation. After hearing those guitars a few times, I was hooked!
Top 40 radio continued to ignore this little Texas boogie band until 1983. That’s when “Eliminator” was released. “Gimme All Your Lovin'”, “Sharp Dressed Man”, and “Legs” all became big hits, thanks largely to the inclusion of their videos on MTV. Both “Legs” and 1985’s “Sleeping Bag” from “Afterburner” made the Top 10 on Billboard’s pop chart.
If I had to pick a favorite ZZ tune, it would be this one. Not a Top 40 hit. In fact, it failed to crack Billboard’s Hot 100, peaking at #103 in the fall of 1981. Album rock stations played it, though, and it was one of my favorite songs during my senior year of high school. Especially the catch line “I got a girl, she lives on the hill. She won’t do it, but her sister will!”
R.I.P., Dusty. Thanks for 50+ years of great rock and roll.