Sharp Dressed Man

"Sharp Dressed Man"
Single by ZZ Top
from the album Eliminator
B-side "I Got the Six"
Released 1983
Format 7"
Recorded 1982
Genre Hard rock
Length 4:13 (album)
3:01 (single edit)
Label Warner Bros.
Writer(s) Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard
Producer(s) Bill Ham
ZZ Top singles chronology
"Got Me Under Pressure"
(1983)
"Sharp Dressed Man"
(1983)
"TV Dinners"
(1983)

"Sharp Dressed Man" is a song performed by ZZ Top from their 1983 album Eliminator. The song was produced by band manager Bill Ham, and recorded and mixed by Terry Manning. Pre-production recording engineer Linden Hudson was very involved in the early stages of this song's production.[1]

At 2007's VH1 Rock Honors, Nickelback covered the song as a tribute (Billy Gibbons had earlier made a guest appearance on Nickelback's own song "Rockstar" & "Follow You Home"). ZZ Top played this song at halftime of the 2008 FedEx Orange Bowl.

Music video

The video for "Sharp Dressed Man" continues the "male fantasy come to life" of the "Gimme All Your Lovin'" video released earlier in 1983. As in the previous video, an attractive man (dancer/model Peter Tramm) who is experiencing frustration in his menial job is assisted in gaining social stature and prowess by a triad of very attractive and somewhat mysterious women traveling in ZZ Top's signature red car. ZZ Top themselves play a role in the narrative, both by playing themselves as performing band members and as rather ethereal spirits who encourage and assist the young man by providing him with the car keys that enable him to go for a very long drive with the women. The young man returns to the site of his previous frustration (his workplace, a nightclub) and empowered both by his new-found status and by both the women's and ZZ Top's encouragement, embarks on a new romantic adventure with another attractive young woman who has previously abandoned her date.

Directed by Tim Newman

This is the only video in the trilogy that does not have an intro.

Cover versions and parodies

Charts

Chart (1983-1985) Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report 66[6]
Belgian VRT Top 30 15
Dutch Singles Chart 9[7]
Irish Singles Chart 8
U.K. Singles Chart 22
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 56
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 2

Year-end charts

Chart (1985) Position
Dutch Top 40 81

Personnel

References

  1. 1 2 Blayney, David (1994). Sharp Dressed Men. New York: Hyperion. pp. 196–203. ISBN 0-7868-8005-8.
  2. "Sharp-Dressed Man". deborah-harry.com.
  3. "Steven Tyler, Wolfmother and Others Record ZZ Top Tribute Album". Gibson.com. 2011-08-24. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
  4. "Mountain Man Guraedy reflects on 'Duck' billing". Portland Leader. 2012-11-30. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
  5. http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/tomandalex/blog/s3307243.htm
  6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. "Top 40: ZZ Top - Sharp Dressed Man". Top40.nl. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
  8. Frost, Deborah (1985). ZZ Top - Bad and Worldwide. New York: Rolling Stone Press. ISBN 0020029500.
  9. Sinclair, David (1986). Tres Hombres: The Story of ZZ Top. Virgin Books. ISBN 0-86369-167-6.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/25/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.