Rough Boy

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1986 single by ZZ Top

"Rough Boy"

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

* Rock
* pop 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)

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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 and No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as No. 23 in the UK Singles Chart. 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."[1]

## Reception[edit]

Cash Box called it a "rapturous teen ballad" in which "the band turns its leather-tough into pure silk."[2]

## Music video[edit]

The music video (directed by Steve Barron[3]) 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]

Chart (1986)  | Peak
position

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US Billboard Hot 100 | 22
US Billboard Album Rock Tracks | 5
Canadian RPM Top Singles[4] | 58
Dutch Singles Chart | 81
French Singles Chart[5] | 22
Swiss Singles Chart | 38
UK Singles Chart | 23

## Personnel[edit]

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

## References[edit]

1. ^ Tripplet, Gene (March 8, 2007). "On the road or recording, ZZ Top still ready to rock". The Oklahoman.
2. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. March 29, 1986. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
3. ^ "ZZ Top - 'Rough boy'". MVDBase.com (video). ASG. 1998–2017. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
4. ^ Peaked on RPM 100 Singles Chart on May 31, 1986
5. ^ Steffen Hung. "ZZ Top Singles". lescharts.com. Retrieved November 8, 2022.

* 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

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 release group

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