"Tuff Enuff" is a popular song by the blues-rock

Blues-rock

Blues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...

 band The Fabulous Thunderbirds

The Fabulous Thunderbirds

The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American, Grammy-nominated Blues rock band, formed in 1974.-Career:After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records, and later on signed with Epic Records.Their first two albums,...

. It was written by the band's lead singer Kim Wilson

Kim Wilson

Kim Wilson is an American blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman for The Fabulous Thunderbirds on two hit songs of the 1980s; "Tuff Enuff", and "Wrap It Up."-Career:...

 and appeared on the album Tuff Enuff

Tuff Enuff

Tuff Enuff is a 1986 studio album by Texas-based Blues Rock band The Fabulous Thunderbirds which pointed the band in a more mainstream direction. The single, "Tuff Enuff" was featured in the films Gung Ho, Tough Guys, as was the follow-up single "Wrap It Up". It has also been played a number of...

. It was produced by Dave Edmunds

Dave Edmunds

David 'Dave' Edmunds is a Welsh singer, guitarist and record producer. Although he is primarily associated with Pub rock and New Wave, and had numerous hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s style rock and roll.-Early bands:As a teenager Edmunds first...

.

Released as a single in 1986, "Tuff Enuff" peaked at number 10 on the 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...

 chart, at number four on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and it appeared on the top 20 charts in other countries as well. It was ranked #96 on VH1

VH1

VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s. As lead singer Kim Wilson said, "Blues rock groups aren't supposed to have Top Ten hits."

It was the band's first single and has since become the band's most well-known song. It also had an accompanying music video.

Popular culture

The song has been used in multiple films. It appeared in the 1986 film Gung Ho

Gung Ho (film)

Gung Ho is a 1986 Ron Howard comedy film, released by Paramount Pictures, and starring Michael Keaton and Gedde Watanabe. The film's story portrayed the takeover of an American car plant by a Japanese corporation...

, starring Michael Keaton

Michael Keaton

Michael John Douglas , better known by the stage name Michael Keaton, is an American actor known for his early comedic roles, most notably his performance as the title character of Tim Burton's Beetlejuice . Keaton is also famous for his dramatic portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Tim Burton's...

 and Gedde Watanabe

Gedde Watanabe

Gedde Watanabe is an American theatre, film, and television actor.He was in several dramatic productions in high school, both acting and singing...

, the 1986 film The Naked Cage, starring Shari Shattuck

Shari Shattuck

Shari Shattuck is an American actress and author.Shattuck was born in Atlanta, Georgia. She was a longtime actress on The Young and the Restless, portraying the character Ashley Abbott...

 and Angel Tompkins

Angel Tompkins

Angel Tompkins is an American actress and Golden Globe nominee, who appeared in several films and television shows.-Career:...

, the 1986 film Tough Guys

Tough Guys

Tough Guys is a 1986 comedy starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Eli Wallach and Dana Carvey. It was directed by Jeff Kanew.Lancaster and Douglas made several films together, including I Walk Alone , Gunfight at the O.K. Corral , The Devil's Disciple , and Seven Days in May , becoming something...

, starring Burt Lancaster

Burt Lancaster

Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...

 and Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...

, the 1991 film Ricochet

Ricochet (film)

Ricochet is a 1991 crime-thriller film, directed by Russell Mulcahy and starring Denzel Washington, John Lithgow, Ice-T, Kevin Pollak, and Lindsay Wagner...

, starring Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington

Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...

 and John Lithgow

John Lithgow

John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...

 and the 2007 film The Game Plan

The Game Plan

Game Plan or The Game Plan may refer to:* The Game Plan , a 2007 comedy starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson* "The Game Plan" , an episode of The O.C.* Game Plan , a defunct American pinball machine manufacturer...

, starring Dwayne Johnson and Madison Pettis

Madison Pettis

Madison Michelle Pettis is an American teen actress, best known for playing Sophie Martinez on the Disney Channel sitcom Cory in the House and as Peyton Kelly in the 2007 film The Game Plan.-Life and career:...

. It also appeared on the television show Married With Children.

Critical reception

The Michigan Daily called the song "...a real rocker," while the Reading Eagle

Reading Eagle

The Reading Eagle is the major daily newspaper in Reading, Pennsylvania, in the United States. This family-owned newspaper has a daily circulation of 64,000 and a Sunday circulation of 100,000...

called it "an unforgettable R&B scorcher."