Sharp Dressed Man

"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.[3]

"Sharp Dressed Man"
Single by ZZ Top
from the album Eliminator
B-side"I Got the Six"
Released1983
Recorded1982
Genre
Length4:13 (Album Version)
3:01 (Single Edit)
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(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)

Music

The guitar solo in the song was chosen by Guitar World as #43 in their list of The 50 Greatest Guitar Solos Of All Time; when asked, Gibbons revealed that the solo is actually a composite of two solos played on two different guitars in two different tunings.[4]

Appearances

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 Orange Bowl college football bowl game.

In 2012 the song was chosen to be the opening theme song for the A&E reality show Duck Dynasty. The show ran on A&E from 2012 until 2017.

In 2020, the song reentered the Billboard charts following the release of the documentary ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas.[5]

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 (actress Galyn Görg) who has previously abandoned her date. The red car is the Eliminator, a 1933 Ford Coupe Hot rod.[6]

Charts
Chart (1983–1985) Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report 66[7]
Belgian VRT Top 30 15
Dutch Singles Chart 9[8]
Irish Singles Chart 8
U.K. Singles Chart 22[9]
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 56[10]
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 8[11]
Chart (2020) Peak
position
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[12] 14

Year-end charts
Chart (1985) Position
Dutch Top 40 81

Personnel

References
  1. "ZZ Top: Rhythmeen". RollingStone.com. February 2, 1996. Archived from the original on 2009-05-25. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  2. Gundersen, Edna (December 21, 2013). "Catalog box sets sum up Beatles, Dylan, Eagles, Ramones". USA Today. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  3. Blayney, David (1994). Sharp Dressed Men. New York: Hyperion. pp. 196–203. ISBN 0-7868-8005-8.
  4. https://www.guitarworld.com/gw-archive/50-greatest-guitar-solos
  5. https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9338794/zz-top-documentary-rock-chart-debuts
  6. https://teamspeed.com/articles/hot-rods-zz-tops-billy-gibbons-car-collection/
  7. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. "Top 40: ZZ Top – Sharp Dressed Man". Top40.nl. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
  9. "Sharp Dressed Man". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2017-01-14.
  10. "Music: Top 100 Songs | Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 2017-01-14.
  11. "Rock Music: Top Mainstream Rock Songs Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 2017-01-14.
  12. "ZZ Top Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  13. Frost, Deborah (1985). ZZ Top – Bad and Worldwide. New York: Rolling Stone Press. ISBN 0020029500.
  14. Sinclair, David (1986). Tres Hombres: The Story of ZZ Top. Virgin Books. ISBN 0-86369-167-6.
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