Warner Bros. 7-28733 (original) USA, February 1986
Words & Music by: Side A – Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank
Beard; Side B – Gibbons, Hill, Beard
Musicians: Billy Gibbons (vocals, lead on side A, guitars), Dusty Hill (vocals,
lead on side B, bass, keyboards), Frank Beard (drums)
Recording sessions: Produced by Bill Ham at Ardent Studios, Memphis, TN,
March – July 1985
Highest chart positions: Side A – US #22, US Mainstream #5, Canada
#58, UK #23, Ireland #23; Side B - none
Both sides appeared on ZZ Top’s 1985 album “Afterburner”. The album version of “Rough Boy” is 4 minutes and 45 seconds long while the single version is a minute and 7 seconds shorter (optimized for the radio play).
Some parts of the song sound a lot like their earlier song “Leila” from 1981 album “El Loco”
“Rough Boy” was played at Dusty Hill’s wedding on 23. March 2002 by a group called “Duck Soup”.
This copy is from the vinyl pressing by Specialty Records Corporation (“SR” marking in the runout). Some pressings by other companies were made of cheap and brittle styrene plastics that wear out faster.
List price: The estimated market price for this is around $1,50 - $3,50. This was pressed in huge quantities. Styrene pressings valued at the low end of the range.
