Rough Boy

1986 single by ZZ Top

"Rough Boy"

Single by ZZ Top
from the album  Afterburner
B-side| "Delirious"
Released| March 1986 (1986-03)
Recorded| 1985
Genre|

* Rock
* synth-rock

Length|

* 4:52 (album version)
* 3:45 (single version)

Label| Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)|

* Billy Gibbons
* Dusty Hill
* Frank Beard

Producer(s)| Bill Ham
ZZ Top singles chronology
| "Stages"
(1985)  | "Rough Boy"
(1986)  | "Velcro Fly"
(1986)

|
|

Music video
"Rough Boy" on YouTube

"Rough Boy" is a song by the American rock band ZZ Top. It was released by Warner Bros. Records in the US in March 1986, as the third single from their ninth studio album, Afterburner. The song reached No. 5 on the Album Rock Tracks chart[1] and No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100,[2] as well as No. 23 on the UK Singles Chart.[3] Unlike the other songs on the album, this song has a much slower tempo and is more of a power ballad. It also shares a similar tune to their song "Leila", from their seventh studio album, El Loco.

## Background

[edit]

Dusty Hill said in 2007, "'Rough Boy' is a pretty li'l song. We're doin' it this tour. We pulled it back out. I like that song so much, I had it played at my wedding."[4]

## Reception

[edit]

Cash Box called it a "rapturous teen ballad" in which "the band turns its leather-tough into pure silk."[5]

## Music video

[edit]

The music video (directed by Steve Barron[6]) features the band's "Eliminator" car/spaceplane hybrid (from the Afterburner album cover) visiting a space car wash, interspersed with images of the band members' hands and faces, as well as a woman's legs, protruding from metal plates, some of which double as lighted message signs or crosswalk signals.

## Charts

[edit]

1986 weekly chart performance for "Rough Boy"  | Chart (1986)  | Peak
position

|

Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] | 85
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[8] | 58
France (SNEP)[9] | 22
Ireland (IRMA)[10] | 23
UK Singles (OCC)[3] | 23
US Billboard Hot 100[2] | 22
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[1] | 5
1992 weekly chart performance for "Rough Boy"  | Chart (1992)  | Peak
position

|

Australia (ARIA)[11] | 165
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] | 81
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] | 38
UK Singles (OCC)[14] | 49

## Personnel

[edit]

* Billy Gibbons \- guitar, lead vocals
* Dusty Hill \- bass, keyboard, backing vocals
* Frank Beard \- drums

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "ZZ Top Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
2. ^ a b "ZZ Top Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
3. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
4. ^ Tripplet, Gene (March 8, 2007). "On the road or recording, ZZ Top still ready to rock". The Oklahoman.
5. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. March 29, 1986. p. 11. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
6. ^ "ZZ Top - 'Rough boy'". MVDBase.com (video). ASG. 1998–2017. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
7. ^ "Kent Music Report No 620 – 2 June 1986 > National Top 100 Singles (Continued)". Kent Music Report. Retrieved July 14, 2024 – via Imgur.com.
8. ^ "RPM 100 Singles – May 31, 1986" (PDF). RPM. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
9. ^ "ZZ Top – Rough Boy" (in French). Le classement de singles. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
10. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Rough Boy". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
11. ^ "ZZ Top chart history, received from ARIA on July 30, 2021". ARIA. Retrieved July 14, 2024 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column indicates the release's peak on the national chart.
12. ^ "ZZ Top – Rough Boy" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
13. ^ "ZZ Top – Rough Boy". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
14. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 14, 2024.

* v
* t
* e

ZZ Top

* Billy Gibbons
* Frank Beard
* Elwood Francis

* Lanier Greig
* Dan Mitchell
* Billy Ethridge
* Dusty Hill

Studio albums|

* ZZ Top's First Album
* Rio Grande Mud
* Tres Hombres
* Fandango!
* Tejas
* Degüello
* El Loco
* Eliminator
* Afterburner
* Recycler
* Antenna
* Rhythmeen
* XXX
* Mescalero
* La Futura

Compilations|

* The Best of ZZ Top
* Greatest Hits
* One Foot in the Blues
* Rancho Texicano: The Very Best of ZZ Top

Live albums|

* Live from Texas

Box sets|

* The Six Pack
* Chrome, Smoke & BBQ

Singles|

* "Francine"
* "La Grange"
* "Tush"
* "It's Only Love"
* "Arrested for Driving While Blind"
* "I Thank You"
* "Cheap Sunglasses"
* "Leila"
* "Tube Snake Boogie"
* "Gimme All Your Lovin'"
* "Sharp Dressed Man"
* "TV Dinners"
* "Legs"
* "Sleeping Bag"
* "Stages"
* "Velcro Fly"
* "Rough Boy"
* "Doubleback"
* "My Head's in Mississippi"
* "Viva Las Vegas"
* "Pincushion"
* "She's Just Killing Me"
* "What's Up with That"

Other songs|

* "Waitin' for the Bus"
* "Jesus Just Left Chicago"
* "Master of Sparks"
* "Pearl Necklace"
* "Got Me Under Pressure"

Video albums|

* Greatest Hits
* Live from Texas
* Live at Montreux 2013

Tours|

* Worldwide Texas Tour
* Recycler Tour
* XXX Tour
* Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers Tour
* Whack Attack Tour
* Hollywood Blues Tour
* El Camino Ocho Tour
* 2010 World Tour
* Gang of Outlaws Tour
* Tonnage Tour
* Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour

Related articles|

* Discography
* Super Bowl XXXI halftime show
* CadZZilla
* Bill Ham
* Moving Sidewalks
* American Blues
* Sharp Dressed Men: A Tribute to ZZ Top
* ZZ Top: A Tribute from Friends

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz work
* MusicBrainz release group

|

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