Album
Degüello
Degüello is ZZ Top's sixth studio album, released on 27 August 1979 and their first for Warner Bros. Records. It arrived after a two-year break, and the band came back with fresh ideas. Billy Gibbons had spent time in Europe, where he picked up on punk, and some of that attitude seeped into the songs. The record eventually went platinum.
It's also a record of tinkering. After watching a talk show that disguised a guest's voice with a pitch shifter, Gibbons got engineer Terry Manning to track down the unit, and the effect turned up on both vocals and guitars, "Manic Mechanic" among them. It's the first ZZ Top studio album to include covers: Isaac Hayes and David Porter's "I Thank You" and the blues standard "Dust My Broom". "Hi Fi Mama" later appeared in an episode of *Bones*, with Gibbons guest starring.
Degüello: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 34:16Tracklist
- 1I Thank YouIsaac Hayes and David Porter3:26
- 2She Loves My AutomobileBeard, Gibbons, Hill2:23
- 3I’m Bad, I’m NationwideBeard, Gibbons, Hill4:53
- 4A Fool for Your StockingsBeard, Gibbons, Hill4:16
- 5Manic MechanicBeard, Gibbons, Hill2:36
- 6Dust My BroomElmore James and Robert Johnson3:09
- 7Lowdown in the StreetBeard, Gibbons, Hill2:50
- 8Hi Fi MamaBeard, Gibbons, Hill2:25
- 9Cheap SunglassesBeard, Gibbons, Hill4:48
- 10Esther Be the OneBeard, Gibbons, Hill3:30
- Produced by
- Bill Ham
- Recorded at
- Ardent Studios
- Recorded
- April–August 1979
- Engineered by
- Bob Ludwig, Terry Manning
- Labels
- Warner Bros. Records, Warner Bros.
- Length
- 34:16
Line-up
- Frank Beard · drums (drum set), alto saxophone, percussion
- Billy Gibbons · guitar, lead vocals, baritone saxophone, electric guitar
- Dusty Hill · bass guitar, tenor saxophone, electric bass guitar, vocals, lead vocals
Singles
- “I Thank You” · 1979
- “Cheap Sunglasses” · 1979
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1979–1980 | 24 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1979–1980 | 5 |
| Austrian Albums · 1979–1980 | 19 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1979–1980 | 100 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada · 1982 | Platinum |
| Germany · 1995 | Gold |
| United States · 1984 | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
61.7
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.9k
ListenBrainz listeners
78k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
618
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 27 August
Every year →
More from ZZ Top
Full discography →
ZZ Top’s First Album
1971
Rio Grande Mud
1972
Tres hombres
1973
La Grange
1974
Fandango!
1975
Tejas
1976
The Best of ZZ Top
1977
El loco
1981
Eliminator
1983
The ZZ Top Summer Holiday E.P.
1985
Afterburner
1985
The ZZ Top Sixpack
1987
ZZ Top Club 1987
Club
1987
Recycler
1990
Greatest Hits
1992
Antenna
1994
One Foot in the Blues
1994
Rhythmeen
1996
XXX
1999
Mescalero
2003
Chrome, Smoke & BBQ
2003
Rancho Texicano: The Very Best of ZZ Top
2004
Hi‐Five: ZZ Top
2005
Live From Texas
2008
Texicali
2012
La futura
2012
Live! Greatest Hits From Around the World
2016
The best of 1979
All of 1979 →
The Wall
Pink Floyd · 1979
Highway to Hell
AC/DC · 1979
In Through the Out Door
Led Zeppelin · 1979
Tusk
Fleetwood Mac · 1979
Time Waits for No One
The Rolling Stones · 1979
Overkill
Motörhead · 1979
Night in the Ruts
Aerosmith · 1979
The Soundhouse Tapes
Iron Maiden · 1979
Bomber
Motörhead · 1979
On Parole
Motörhead · 1979
Unleashed in the East: Live in Japan
Judas Priest · 1979
Live Killers
Queen · 1979
More on Warner Bros. Records
The label →
Hybrid Theory
Linkin Park · 2000
Meteora
Linkin Park · 2003
Minutes to Midnight
Linkin Park · 2007
One More Light
Linkin Park · 2017
Rumours
Fleetwood Mac · 1977
A Thousand Suns
Linkin Park · 2010
The Hunting Party
Linkin Park · 2014
Out of Time
R.E.M. · 1991
Automatic for the People
R.E.M. · 1992
Reanimation
Linkin Park · 2002
Collision Course
Linkin Park · 2004
Tusk
Fleetwood Mac · 1979
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 27 August 1979 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | November 1979 | |
| Wikidata | 27 August 1979 | |
| US release | 27 August 1979 | earliest US date |
19 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | DE | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| — | CA | Warner Bros. Records | 075992740029 | other |
| — | US | Warner Bros. Records | 020831298728 | other |
| — | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992740029 | other |
| — | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992740029 | other |
| — | DE | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| — | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 0075992740029 | other |
| 1979 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | 075992740012 | other |
| 27 August 1979 | US | Warner Bros. Records | original | |
| 1984 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1990 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 081227976460 | other |
| 1990 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | 075992740029 | other |
| 15 November 1990 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4988014739856 | other |
| 2011 | US | Rhino | 081227979409 | other |
| 2013 | — | Rhino | 075992740029 | other |
| 7 June 2013 | — | Rhino | 603497921409 | other |
| 7 June 2013 | — | Warner Bros. Records | 603497968039 | other |
| 28 August 2013 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674147632 | other |
| 17 October 2013 | — | Rhino | 603497921539 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 240×240 | upscaled |