March of 1983 ZZ TOP Took Us All For A Ride
1983 Smash Hit Album ZZ TOP ELIMINATOR
It was 40 years ago Billy Gibbons decided to take ZZ TOP boogie and blues rock to a new level. After the release of El Loco in 1981 which features a different sound with synthesizer parts. Billy Gibbons decided to go all out on the next record. Right after a tour in 1982 the boys, Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard, went into the studio to start experimenting with more of a driving beat and synthesized groove. The finished album was the tightest upbeat rock record they had ever made.
March of 1983 ZZ TOP Took Us All For A Ride. The album was titled, “Eliminator.” ZZ TOPS record executives noticed 1983 the popularity of Music Television and took full advantage of the opportunity by quickly producing 3 videos of the band. “Gimme All Your Lovin'”, “Sharp Dressed Man“, and “Legs.” The videos had everything from pretty girls to a custom 1933 red Ford coupe “the Eliminator car“, ZZ Top’s spinning guitars, covered in white sheepskin. And a storyline of the car intertwined into each video.
1983’S ELIMINATOR ZZ TOP album
In the Summer of 1983, I will never forget an outdoor backyard party with a DJ. The crowd’s reaction to almost every song off the album. People went crazy dancing to every song. We had to wait for the tour to come to Michigan. August, ZZ TOP played Joe Louis Arena with Blackfoot opening the show. One of the best ZZ TOP shows I had ever seen.
Happy 40th anniversary to the Texas Trio including the late Dusty Hill, who passed in 2021.
ZZ Top: Their 40 Best Songs, Ranked
ZZ Top is an American institution and a very rare one. Up until the passing of bassist Dusty Hill in 2021, the band has had no lineup changes since Billy F. Gibbons, Hill and Frank Beard got together in 1969.
Considering this, many wondered whether ZZ Top would continue. The band quickly put any of that buzz to rest the day after Hill’s death. In a statement from Gibbons, he said, “As Dusty said upon his departure, ‘Let the show go on!’ And … with respect, we’ll do well to get beyond this and honor his wishes…Dusty emphatically grabbed my arm and said, ‘Give Elwood the bottom end and take it to the Top.’ He meant it, amigo. He really did.” (The Elwood mentioned in the statement is Elwood Francis, ZZ Top’s veteran guitar tech.)
They released their debut, ZZ Top’s First Album, in 1971. Their most recent (and likely final) studio album, La Futura, produced by Rick Rubin, was released in 2012. It was their strongest effort — by far — since 1983’s Eliminator.
Of course, Eliminator helped introduce ZZ Top to a slew of new fans thanks to the album’s three massive hits: “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs.” Each of these songs had music videos that were in heavy rotation on MTV, which launched about 18 months prior to the release of Eliminator.
As expected, a number of songs from Eliminator are featured. However, plenty of songs from La Futura pop up often in our list of the band’s best songs, too. A true rarity, ZZ Top is a band with something to say when they were well over four decades into their career. And if it turns out to be their last, that’s even more rare: a legendary band who went out with a classic album.
Born in Mt Clemens, Screamin’ Scott has been a part of the Detroit airwaves for 30-plus years. With 40 years of experience in radio. When he’s not out on the streets for WCSX, you can find him devoting time to local charities with his, “Screamin Angels”; and for 16 years with Rock 4 Tots charity. And last 10 years with his local band, "Chit!." Screamin Scott likes to write about nostalgic Detroit area memories, classic rock, and local metro Detroit topics.
