"Dirty Little Thing" is a hard rock song by the supergroup Velvet Revolver

Velvet Revolver

Velvet Revolver is an American hard rock supergroup consisting of former Guns N' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum, alongside Dave Kushner formerly of punk band Wasted Youth. Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland was Velvet Revolver's lead singer from their formation until...

, released as the fourth single off the band's debut album Contraband. The song was a top-ten hit on rock radio, but could not repeat the number one success of their previous singles, "Slither

Slither (song)

-Personnel:*Scott Weiland – lead vocals*Slash – lead guitar*Duff McKagan – bass, backing vocals*Matt Sorum – drums*Dave Kushner – rhythm guitar...

" and "Fall to Pieces

Fall to Pieces (Velvet Revolver song)

"Fall to Pieces" is a song by Velvet Revolver written by band vocalist Scott Weiland that appears on their debut album Contraband. It was the band's third single and was very successful. "Fall to Pieces" is a power ballad about then lead singer Scott Weiland's battle with heroin and its toll on...

".

History

Before Scott Weiland

Scott Weiland

Scott Weiland is an American musician, lyricist, and vocalist, most notable for his work with Grammy Award-winning rock band Stone Temple Pilots. Weiland is also known for his five-year career with supergroup Velvet Revolver as well as his own solo career...

 and Dave Kushner

Dave Kushner

David "Dave" Kushner is an American musician perhaps best known as the rhythm guitarist for the hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver...

 joined the band, the band was slated to include Josh Todd

Josh Todd

Josh Todd is an American musician and actor, best known as the lead singer of the rock band Buckcherry.-Background:...

 and Keith Nelson from the band Buckcherry

Buckcherry

Buckcherry is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1995. The band released two albums, Buckcherry and Time Bomb , before partially dissolving in the summer of 2002. In 2005, lead vocalist Josh Todd and lead guitarist Keith Nelson reformed Buckcherry and released a new album...

. "Dirty Little Thing" was written during the time with them. Suddenly, Slash

Slash (musician)

Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...

 decided to boot the two from the band, but Nelson was given songwriting credit.

The song has recently been the subject of a plagiarism dispute. Tony Newton formerly of rock band Dirty Deeds recently settled with Velvet Revolver after successfully proving that the main riff of "Dirty Little Thing" is a "carbon copy" of the riff in Dirty Deeds song "Cyber Babe".

Song composition

The song's lyrics center around a girl who lives a crazy life involving sex, drugs and alcohol. The song opens with bass riffs from Duff McKagan

Duff McKagan

Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan is an American musician and writer. He is best known for his twelve-year tenure as the bassist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s...

 and then the guitar enters, playing major chords. The song has a string chorus and a guitar solo by Slash

Slash (musician)

Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...

. The song's structure and sound is very similar to the opening track on Contraband, "Sucker Train Blues".

Music video

The band is playing in the inside of a train, where there are a lot of women and gambling. The inside of the train is live action film, whereas the outside is animated. This train goes through various places such as San Francisco, Las Vegas

Las Vegas Strip

The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...

, and finishing in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, by the end of the video, the train car starts losing its fuselage and the band is seen as animated cartoons. The video was originally intended to be for the band's track "Sucker Train Blues"; however, the idea was turned down on label's imposition, which opted to release "Dirty Little Thing" in its place.

Charts

Charts (2005)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	8
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	18