Album
Rio Grande Mud
Rio Grande Mud is ZZ Top's second studio album, released on 4 April 1972 through London Records. It followed ZZ Top's First Album from 1971 and came a year before Tres Hombres, so it sits right at the start of the Texas band's story, well before the 1980s records that made them a fixture on rock radio.
The title nods to the Rio Grande, the river that marks the border between Mexico and Texas, and the music is rooted in the same ground. It leans on blues rock, boogie and hard rock with a distinctly southern flavour. If you know ZZ Top mainly from Eliminator and its glossy sheen, this is a good place to hear them in their earlier, rawer form, still finding the sound they would build on.
Rio Grande Mud: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 40:51Tracklist
- 1FranceneCordray, Gibbons, Perron3:33
- 2Just Got PaidBeard, Gibbons, Ham4:49
- 3Mushmouth Shoutin’Billy Gibbons and Bill Ham3:41
- 4Ko Ko BlueBeard, Gibbons, Hill4:56
- 5ChevroletBilly Gibbons3:47
- 6Apologies to PearlyBeard, Gibbons, Ham, Hill2:39
- 7Bar‐B‐QBilly Gibbons and Bill Ham3:34
- 8Sure Got Cold After the Rain FellBilly Gibbons7:39
- 9Whiskey’n MamaBeard, Gibbons, Ham, Hill3:20
- 10Down BrownieBilly Gibbons and Dusty Hill2:53
- Produced by
- Bill Ham
- Recorded at
- Robin Hood Studios (Tyler, Texas)
- Recorded
- September 1971 – January 1972
- Engineered by
- Robin Hood Brians
- Labels
- London Records, London
- Length
- 40:51
Line-up
- Frank Beard · drums (drum set), percussion
- Billy Gibbons · electric guitar, lead vocals, slide guitar, guitar, harmonica, background vocals
- Dusty Hill · bass guitar, background vocals, bass, lead vocals
- Pete Tickle · acoustic guitar · guest
- Robin Hood Brians
Singles
- “Francine” · April 1972
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1972–1974 | 104 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1972–1974 | 85 |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
58.7
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.1k
ListenBrainz listeners
72k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
485
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 4 April
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More from ZZ Top
Full discography →
ZZ Top’s First Album
1971
Tres hombres
1973
La Grange
1974
Fandango!
1975
Tejas
1976
The Best of ZZ Top
1977
Degüello
1979
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 1972
All of 1972 →
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Vol 4
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Bare Trees
Fleetwood Mac · 1972
More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies)
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Milestones
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More on London Records
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Aftermath
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Tell Me
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The Rolling Stones – Vol. 4
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The Rolling Stones – Vol. 5
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 4 April 1972 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 4 April 1972 | |
| Wikidata | 1972 | |
| US release | 4 April 1972 | earliest US date |
16 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992738026 | other |
| — | DE | Warner Bros. Records | 075992738026 | other |
| 1972 | US | London Records | other | |
| 4 April 1972 | US | London Records | original | |
| 1980 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1986 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992738026 | other |
| 1986 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4988014430012 | other |
| 3 November 1987 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992738026 | other |
| 1990 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | 075992738026 | other |
| 15 November 1990 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4988014739818 | other |
| 2011 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 081227979416 | other |
| 28 May 2013 | XW | Warner Bros. Records | 603497921843 | other |
| 7 June 2013 | XW | Rhino | 603497921478 | other |
| 11 June 2013 | XW | Rhino | 603497921164 | other |
| 28 August 2013 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674147588 | other |
| 17 October 2013 | XW | Rhino | 603497921843 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 2400x2400
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 2400×2400 | native: native 2400x2400 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |