Rough Boy

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

"Rough Boy" was the third single by American rock band ZZ Top from their 1985 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 album El Loco.

Background[]

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]

Music video[]

The music video (directed by Steve Barron^[2]) features the band's "Eliminator" car/space shuttle 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[]

Personnel[]

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

References[]