Sharp Dressed Man
Encyclopedia
"Sharp Dressed Man" is a song performed by ZZ Top
from their album Eliminator released in 1983. The song was produced by band manager Bill Ham
, and recorded and mixed by Terry Manning
.
At 2007's VH1 Rock Honors
. Nickelback
covered the song as a tribute (Billy Gibbons had earlier made a guest appearance on Nickelback's own song "Rockstar
"). ZZ Top played this song at halftime of the 2008 FedEx Orange Bowl.
Chris Hollins
and Ola Jordan
performed a tango
to "Sharp Dressed Man" as their first dance in the seventh series
of Strictly Come Dancing
.
" video released earlier in 1983. As in the previous video, an attractive man who is experiencing frustration in his menial job is assisted in gaining social stature and sexual experience by a triad of very attractive and somewhat mysterious women traveling in ZZ Top's signature red car. ZZ Top themselves play a role in the narrative, both by playing themselves as performing band members and as rather ethereal spirits who encourage and assist the young man by providing him with the car keys that enable him to go for a very long drive with the women. The young man returns to the site of his previous frustration (his workplace, a nightclub) and empowered both by his newfound status and by both the women's and ZZ Top's encouragement, embarks on a new romantic adventure with another attractive young woman who has previously abandoned her date.
This is the only video in the trilogy that does not have an intro.
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
from their album Eliminator released in 1983. The song was produced by band manager Bill Ham
Bill Ham
Bill Ham was the manager, producer, and image-maker of ZZ Top, from its inception in late 1969 until September 2006.-Career:...
, and recorded and mixed by Terry Manning
Terry Manning
Terry Manning is a music producer, songwriter, photographer and recording engineer known for work in rock, rhythm and blues, and pop music genres....
.
At 2007's VH1 Rock Honors
VH1 Rock Honors
The VH1 Rock Honors were an annual ceremony paying homage to bands who influenced the sound of rock music. The events began in 2006, and the final event took place in 2008. The general format of each show is for modern bands to "pay tribute" to classic greats of the rock/metal world , after which...
. Nickelback
Nickelback
Nickelback is a Canadian rock band from Hanna, Alberta. Since 1995 the band has included guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist and back-up vocalist Ryan Peake and bassist Mike Kroeger.. The band's current drummer and percussionist is Daniel Adair who has been with the band since 2005....
covered the song as a tribute (Billy Gibbons had earlier made a guest appearance on Nickelback's own song "Rockstar
Rockstar (Nickelback song)
"Rockstar" is the fifth U.S. single by the Canadian rock band Nickelback from their 2005 fifth studio album All the Right Reasons. It was only released in the U.S. and Canada, and has since been re-released worldwide...
"). ZZ Top played this song at halftime of the 2008 FedEx Orange Bowl.
Chris Hollins
Chris Hollins
Chris Hollins is an English journalist, presenter and sportsman, currently employed by the BBC and best known for being the sports correspondent for BBC Breakfast, and for winning Strictly Come Dancing 2009.-Early life:...
and Ola Jordan
Ola Jordan
Aleksandra "Ola" Jordan is a professional Latin dance specialist best known for her appearances on the British TV show Strictly Come Dancing. After winning a championship event in Poland she moved to England and began a new partnership with James Jordan...
performed a tango
Tango (ballroom)
Ballroom Tango is a ballroom dance that branched away from its original Argentine roots by allowing European, American, Hollywood, and competitive influences into the style and execution of the dance....
to "Sharp Dressed Man" as their first dance in the seventh series
Strictly Come Dancing (series 7)
The seventh series of Strictly Come Dancing commenced on BBC One on 18 September 2009. Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly returned as presenters together with Craig Revel Horwood, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli as judges. Series 5 winner, Alesha Dixon, joined the judging panel, replacing Arlene Phillips...
of Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing is a British television show, featuring celebrities with professional dance partners competing in Ballroom and Latin dances. The title of the show suggests a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing, with an allusion to the film Strictly Ballroom...
.
Music video
The video for "Sharp Dressed Man" continues the "male fantasy come to life" of the "Gimme All Your Lovin'Gimme All Your Lovin'
"Gimme All Your Lovin" is a song by ZZ Top from their 1983 album Eliminator. The song was released as the album's first single in 1983 ....
" video released earlier in 1983. As in the previous video, an attractive man who is experiencing frustration in his menial job is assisted in gaining social stature and sexual experience by a triad of very attractive and somewhat mysterious women traveling in ZZ Top's signature red car. ZZ Top themselves play a role in the narrative, both by playing themselves as performing band members and as rather ethereal spirits who encourage and assist the young man by providing him with the car keys that enable him to go for a very long drive with the women. The young man returns to the site of his previous frustration (his workplace, a nightclub) and empowered both by his newfound status and by both the women's and ZZ Top's encouragement, embarks on a new romantic adventure with another attractive young woman who has previously abandoned her date.
This is the only video in the trilogy that does not have an intro.
Cover versions
- LucyfireLucyfireLucyfire is a musical project of Johan Edlund, the main member and vocalist of the band Tiamat. The original Tiamat band, as Edlund points out, will go on, and Lucyfire is the place for all the tracks that don't suit Tiamat....
, the musical project of Johan Edlund, TiamatTiamat (band)-Biography:Initially, the band played straightforward black metal under the name Treblinka. After having recorded the album Sumerian Cry in 1989, vocalist/guitarist Johan Edlund and bassist Jörgen Thullberg parted ways with the other two founding members, and subsequently changed the name to Tiamat...
front-man, covered this song on their first album, This Dollar Saved My Life At Whitehorse, released in 2001. - Brad PaisleyBrad PaisleyBrad Douglas Paisley is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His style crosses between traditional country music and Southern rock, and his songs are frequently laced with humor and pop culture references....
released a country version of the song as a single in 2002, which also appeared on the album Sharp Dressed Men: A Tribute to ZZ TopSharp Dressed Men: A Tribute to ZZ TopSharp Dressed Men: A Tribute to ZZ Top is a tribute album released in 2002 featuring various country music artists performing classic ZZ Top songs.-Critical reception:...
. - The song was performed by 2008 American Idol winner David CookDavid Cook (singer)David Roland Cook is an American rock singer-songwriter, who rose to fame after winning the seventh season of the reality television show American Idol...
along with the legendary band on the American Idol finale on May 21, 2008 - NorwegianNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
heavy metalHeavy metal musicHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Chrome DivisionChrome DivisionChrome Division is a heavy metal band from Norway formed in 2004 by Shagrath, the lead vocalist of symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, and Lex Icon, founder of The Kovenant...
recorded a cover of the song for their 2008 album, Booze, Broads and BeelzebubBooze, Broads and BeelzebubBooze, Broads and Beelzebub is the second studio album by Norwegian heavy metal band Chrome Division. It was released on July 18, 2008 through Nuclear Blast. The band announced that they had finished recording the album on January 15, 2008 on their MySpace blog, and announced the title and the...
. - Canadian Electropop band DragonetteDragonetteDragonette is a Canadian electropop group active since 2005. Dragonette consists of singer-songwriter Martina Sorbara, bassist and producer Dan Kurtz and drummer Joel Stouffer....
created a cover of this song. - Debbie HarryDebbie HarryDeborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
covered the song on her "Domination" tour of the UK in July 1991. - "Weird Al" Yankovic"Weird Al" YankovicAlfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
used "Sharp Dressed Man" in his song Hooked on Polkas. - Alvin and the ChipmunksAlvin and the ChipmunksAlvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual;...
covered the song in "Romancing Miss Stone," an episode of their 1980s TV seriesAlvin and the Chipmunks (TV series)Alvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated television series featuring The Chipmunks, produced by Bagdasarian Productions in association with Ruby-Spears Enterprises from 1983–87, and DIC Entertainment from 1988-90....
. During the song, Simon and Theodore impersonate ZZ Top. - Clifton ChenierClifton ChenierClifton Chenier , a Creole French-speaking native of Opelousas, Louisiana, was an eminent performer and recording artist of Zydeco, which arose from Cajun and Creole music, with R&B, jazz, and blues influences. He played the accordion and won a Grammy Award in 1983...
performed Sharp Dressed Man on his 1992 album "I Ain't No Playboy." - One episode of Irregular Webcomic!Irregular Webcomic!Irregular Webcomic! is a webcomic created by David Morgan-Mar, an Australian physicist. The comic is illustrated photographically, primarily with Lego figures, although a few of the story arcs use role playing game miniatures. The comic debuted on 31 December 2002 and ended on 29 October 2011,...
s podcast, Irregular Podcast, featured the authors singing a parody entitled "Time Traveling Man" in a time travelTime travelTime travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
-themed episode. - Dutch singer Ilse DeLangeIlse DeLangeIlse Annoeska de Lange is a Dutch country and pop singer, better known as Ilse DeLange .-Biography:...
sometimes performs this song in live concerts. - AustinAustin, TexasAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
band 8½ Souvenirs8½ Souvenirs8½ Souvenirs was an American swing jazz band active from approximately 1993 to 2000and based in Austin, Texas.The band was signed to the RCA Victor label and had two releases under that label, as well as two other releases under Austin, Texas indie labels....
play a swing version on their album Twisted Desire. - NickelbackNickelbackNickelback is a Canadian rock band from Hanna, Alberta. Since 1995 the band has included guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist and back-up vocalist Ryan Peake and bassist Mike Kroeger.. The band's current drummer and percussionist is Daniel Adair who has been with the band since 2005....
at the 2007 VH1 Rock Honors Ceremony. - Charlie Daniels Band covered the song on their Tailgate Party album, released in 1999.
- ApologetiXApologetiXApologetiX is a Christian parody band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. The band was founded in 1992, and since then, has played in 44 states, released 17 studio albums, and built up a fan club that includes 45,000 people. The band is currently composed of J...
parodies the song in Smart Blest ManBiblical GraffitiBiblical Graffiti is the 5th album by Christian parody band ApologetiX. 5 tracks from this album would later be featured on the band's greatest hits album, while another 2 would later be included on Hits: The Road....
, telling the story of SolomonSolomonSolomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before... - Jessica SimpsonJessica SimpsonJessica Ann Simpson is an American recording artist, actress, television personality, and fashion designer whose rise to fame began in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has achieved many recording milestones, starred in several television shows, movies, and commercials, launched a line of hair and...
performed the song along with ZZ Top in 2008. - The M.O.B. (a supergroupSuperGroupSuperGroup is a 2006 reality show on VH1 that follows five well-known hard rock and heavy metal musicians over a 12-day period where they live together in a Las Vegas mansion in order to create, plan and perform a live show together...
consisting of Mick FleetwoodMick FleetwoodMichael John Kells "Mick" Fleetwood is a British musician and actor best known for his role as the drummer and namesake of the blues/rock and roll band Fleetwood Mac. His surname, combined with that of John McVie, was the inspiration for the name of the originally Peter Green-led Fleetwood Mac...
, John McVieJohn McVieJohn Graham McVie is a British bass guitarist best known as a member of the rock group Fleetwood Mac. His surname, combined with that of Mick Fleetwood, was the inspiration for the band's name...
, guitarist Jonny LangJonny LangJonny Lang is a Grammy award-winning American blues, gospel, and rock singer, songwriter and recording artist. Lang's music is notable for both his unusual voice, which has been compared to that of a forty-year-old blues veteran, and for his guitar solos...
, and Steven TylerSteven TylerSteven Tyler is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the frontman and lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, and occasional piano and percussion. He is known as the "Demon of Screamin'", due to his high screams...
) performed the song on the 2011 album ZZ Top: A Tribute from FriendsZZ Top: A Tribute from FriendsZZ Top: A Tribute from Friends is the fourth tribute album to honor American rock band ZZ Top. It includes performances from Daughtry, Nickelback, Wolfmother, Filter and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith among others.-Background information:...
.
Charts
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998... |
66 |
| Belgian VRT Top 30 | 15 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 9 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 8 |
| U.K. Singles Chart | 22 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
56 |
| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock Tracks Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue... |
2 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1985) | Position |
|---|---|
| Dutch Top 40 | 81 |
Personnel
- Billy GibbonsBilly GibbonsWilliam Frederick "Billy" Gibbons is an American musician, actor and car customizer, best known as the guitarist of the Texas blues-rock band ZZ Top. He is also the lead singer and composer for many of the band's songs. Gibbons is known for playing his Gretsch Billy Bo guitar and his famous 1959...
- lead vocals, lead & rhythm guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Dusty HillDusty HillJoseph Michael "Dusty" Hill is the bassist and vocalist with the American rock group ZZ Top.-History:Hill was in Dallas, Texas and grew up in the Lakewood neighborhood of East Dallas...
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Frank BeardFrank Beard (musician)Frank Lee Beard is the drummer in the rock band ZZ Top. Beard was formerly with the bands The Cellar Dwellars, who originally were a three-piece band, The Hustlers, The Warlocks, and American Blues before starting to play and record with Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill as ZZ Top.Beard was born in...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....