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| "Tush" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by ZZ Top | ||||
| from the album Fandango! | ||||
| B-side | "Blue Jean Blues" | |||
| Released | July 1975 | |||
| Recorded | December 30, 1974 –March 23, 1975 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:15 | |||
| Label | London | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Bill Ham | |||
| ZZ Top singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio sample | ||||
"Tush" is a song by American blues rock band ZZ Top and was the only single from their fourth album Fandango! The song was named the 67th best hard rock song of all time by VH1. [4]
The song is a twelve-bar blues in the key of G in standard tuning. Bassist Dusty Hill has said the song was written at a sound check in about ten minutes. The recording was produced by Bill Ham and recorded and mixed by Terry Manning. The title is a double entendre, referring both to slang for buttocks (with the connotation of "a piece of ass"), and slang for "luxurious" or "lavish", according to a 1985 interview with Hill in Spin magazine. [5] [ better source needed ]
Billy Gibbons said, "We were in Florence, Alabama, playing in a rodeo arena with a dirt floor. We decided to play a bit in the afternoon. I hit that opening lick, and Dave Blayney, our lighting director, gave us the hand [twirls a finger in the air]: 'Keep it going.' I leaned over to Dusty and said, 'Call it 'Tush.'
"The Texas singer Roy Head had a flip side in 1966, 'Tush Hog.' Down South, the word meant deluxe, plush. And a tush hog was very deluxe. We had the riff going, Dusty fell in with the vocal, and we wrote it in three minutes. We had the advantage of that dual meaning of the word 'tush' [grins]. It's that secret blues language — saying it without saying it." [6]
Cash Box said that it has "some slide lead guitar work that'll have 'em bumpin' their 'tushes' from Dallas to L.A." and called the song "super summer dance rock and roll." [7] Record World said the song "comes in a tight little hard rock package, just waiting to be let loose to boogie, boogie, boogie!" [1]
As the closing song in their setlists for many tours "Tush" would be the last song Hill would sing. After the death of Hill in 2021, the band performed the song for the first time on July 30, 2021, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, with Gibbons placing Dusty's hat on his microphone then Gibbons taking lead vocals to the song. A few tour dates later on August 6, Gibbons told the crowd “We’re going to have Dusty singing through the magic of Memorex.” The band would now end their concerts by playing the song along to an audio vocal recording from Hill's last performance. [8]
"Tush" peaked at number twenty on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. [9] In Chicago, "Tush" peaked at number five on WLS. [10]
| Chart (1975) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 87 |
| Canada RPM Top Singles [11] | 14 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [9] | 20 |
| U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [12] | 12 |
| Chart (1975) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [13] | 126 |
ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. For 51 years, it consisted of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound based on Gibbons' blues style and Hill and Beard's rhythm section. They are known for their live performances, sly and humorous lyrics, and the matching appearances of Gibbons and Hill, who wore sunglasses, hats and long beards.
ZZ Top's First Album is the debut studio album by American rock band ZZ Top, produced by Bill Ham and released in January 1971 by London Records. Establishing ZZ Top's attitude and humor, the album incorporates styles such as blues, boogie, hard rock, and Southern rock influences. "(Somebody Else Been) Shakin' Your Tree" was the only single released from the album.
Tres Hombres is the third studio album by the American rock band ZZ Top, released on July 26, 1973 by London Records. It was the band's first collaboration with engineer Terry Manning. The album would be ZZ Top's commercial breakthrough in the United States charts. It peaked at number 8 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in 1974. Its lead single "La Grange" reached number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is the first of many ZZ Top albums to incorporate the use of Spanish terminology in their branding. "Tres Hombres" means "three men" in Spanish.
El Loco is the seventh studio album by the American rock band ZZ Top, released in 1981. It foreshadowed the band's extensive usage of synthesizers on Eliminator, Afterburner, and to a lesser extent, Recycler, by way of employing a synthesizer on a couple tracks, played by an uncredited Linden Hudson.
Eliminator is the eighth studio album by American rock band ZZ Top. It was released on March 23, 1983, by Warner Bros. Records, and rose high on the charts in many countries. Four hit singles were released—"Gimme All Your Lovin'" which reached the American Top 40, "Sharp Dressed Man", "TV Dinners" and their most successful single, "Legs". Eliminator is ZZ Top's most commercially successful release, with sales of 11 million and diamond certification in the US.
Rancho Texicano: The Very Best of ZZ Top is a greatest hits album by the rock band ZZ Top. It was released in 2004 on Rhino Entertainment. The title is a portmanteau of "texan" and "mexicano", meaning "Tex-mex Ranch". The 2-CD compilation is essentially a pared-down version of the 4-CD box set Chrome, Smoke & BBQ, released the previous year. All songs are original mixes that have been digitally remastered.
Rhythmeen is the twelfth studio album by the American rock band ZZ Top, released in 1996. It is their last album with longtime producer Bill Ham.
Joe Michael "Dusty" Hill was an American musician who was the bassist of the rock band ZZ Top for more than 50 years. He also sang backing and lead vocals and played keyboards.
"Cheap Sunglasses" is a 1979 single by ZZ Top from their 1979 studio album Degüello.
"Legs" is a song by the band ZZ Top from their 1983 album Eliminator. The song was released as the fourth single in May 1984 more than a year after the album came out. It reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, and the dance mix version of the song peaked at number 13 on the dance charts.
"La Grange" is a song by the American rock group ZZ Top, from their 1973 album Tres Hombres. One of ZZ Top's most successful songs, it was released as a single in 1973 and received extensive radio play, rising to No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1974. The song refers to a brothel on the outskirts of La Grange, Texas. The brothel is also the subject of the Broadway play and film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
"Stages" is a song by American rock band ZZ Top. It was released as the second single from their ninth studio album Afterburner (1985). It peaked at number 21 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for two weeks.
"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.
Live from Texas is a live DVD/Blu-ray by ZZ Top. It was recorded on November 1, 2007, at the Nokia Theatre in Grand Prairie, Texas, and released on June 24, 2008, by Eagle Rock Records. It was also released on audio CD in Europe on October 28, 2008, and in the US on November 4, 2008. A vinyl version is also available in Europe.
Fandango! is the fourth album by the American rock band ZZ Top, released in 1975. The album's first side consists of selections from live shows, with the second side being new studio recordings. A remastered and expanded edition of this album was released on February 28, 2006.
"My Head's In Mississippi" is a song by ZZ Top from their album Recycler. The song was produced by band manager Bill Ham, and recorded and mixed by Terry Manning. In December 1990, the song reached number one on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and number 166 in Australia.
"What's Up with That" is a song by ZZ Top, released as the second single from their 1996 album Rhythmeen.
"It's Only Love" is a song by American blues rock band ZZ Top. It was released as the lead single from their fifth studio album Tejas (1976).
"Arrested for Driving While Blind" is a song by American blues rock band ZZ Top. Written by all three band members Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard, it was released as the second single from their fifth studio album Tejas (1976).
"Waitin' for the Bus" and "Jesus Just Left Chicago" are two songs by American rock band ZZ Top from their 1973 album Tres Hombres. The two songs open the album, segued into each other, and for years radio stations played the two tracks together. "Waitin' for the Bus" was written solely by Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill, while "Jesus Just Left Chicago" was also co-written by drummer Frank Beard.
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