Sharp Dressed Man
{{short description|Single by ZZ Top}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2009}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Sharp Dressed Man
| cover = ZZTop SharpDressedMan Single 1983.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = ZZ Top
| album = Eliminator
| EP =
| B-side = "I Got the Six"
| written =
| published =
| released = July 1983
| recorded = 1982
| studio =
| genre =
- Blues rock{{cite news|first= Edna |last= Gundersen |title= Catalog box sets sum up Beatles, Dylan, Eagles, Ramones |url= https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2013/12/21/catalog-box-sets-beatles-dylan-clash-eagles-mellencamp-ramones/4133473/ |newspaper= USA Today |date= December 21, 2013 |access-date= May 7, 2015}}
- synth-pop{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/zztop/albums/album/213224/review/5946213/rhythmeen |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525130759/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/zztop/albums/album/213224/review/5946213/rhythmeen |archive-date=2009-05-25 |title=ZZ Top: Rhythmeen |publisher=RollingStone.com |date=February 2, 1996 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 16, 2012}}
- Southern rock{{cite web|url=https://www.yardbarker.com/entertainment/articles/20_essential_southern_rock_classics_032524/s1__38769359#slide_7|title=20 essential Southern rock classics|author=McCarthy, Amy|publisher=Yardbreaker|date=March 26, 2024|accessdate=April 5, 2024}}
- electronic rock{{cite book|title= Listening to the Music the Machines Make: Inventing Electronic Pop 1978-1983|first=Richard|last=Evans|date= August 6, 2024|chapter= 1983.3|page= 446|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=978-1-915841-45-2
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EID8zgEACAAJ}}
| length =
- 4:13 (album version)
- 3:01 (single edit)
| label = Warner Bros.
| writer =
| composer =
| lyricist =
| producer = Bill Ham
| prev_title = Gimme All Your Lovin'
| prev_year = 1983
| title =
| next_title = TV Dinners
| next_year = 1983
}}
"Sharp Dressed Man" is a song by American rock band ZZ Top, released on their 1983 album Eliminator. The song was produced by band manager Bill Ham, and recorded and mixed by Terry Manning. Pre-production recording engineer Linden Hudson was very involved in the early stages of this song's production.{{cite book|last=Blayney|first=David|year=1994|title=Sharp Dressed Men|location=New York|publisher=Hyperion|pages=196–203|isbn=0-7868-8005-8}}
Composition
The guitar solo in the song was chosen by Guitar World as number 43 in their 2009 list of the 50 Greatest Guitar Solos.{{Cite web|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/gw-archive/50-greatest-guitar-solos|title=The 50 Greatest Guitar Solos |author=Staff |date=January 2009 |website=Guitar World |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107022520/https://www.guitarworld.com/gw-archive/50-greatest-guitar-solos |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |access-date=September 6, 2021}}
Appearances
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 songs "Rockstar" and "Follow You Home").
ZZ Top played this song at halftime of the 2008 Orange Bowl college football bowl game.
In 2020, the song reentered the Billboard charts following the release of the documentary ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas.{{Cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9338794/zz-top-documentary-rock-chart-debuts|title=ZZ Top's New Documentary Spurs Rock Chart Debuts, Streaming & Sales Gains|website=Billboard.com|access-date=8 June 2021}}
Music video
The "Sharp Dressed Man" music video continues the story of the "Gimme All Your Lovin'" video, and forms a loose trilogy ending with the video for "Legs". In the video, a male parking valet is remade as a star by a trio of women driving up in the Eliminator car; the band grants him the keys to the car.{{cite magazine|last=Sheffield|first=Rob|date=July 29, 2021|title=How ZZ Top Conquered MTV With the 'Eliminator' Trilogy|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/zz-top-eliminator-videos-mtv-1204268/|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=September 3, 2021}}
The video was directed by Tim Newman, who had also directed the video for "Gimme All Your Lovin'". Warner Bros. Records record executive Jeff Ayeroff said that Warner did not want to do a second video, but he convinced them to pay more money for the "Sharp Dressed Man" video.{{cite book|last1=Tannenbaum|first1=Rob|title=I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution|last2=Marks|first2=Craig|date=2012|publisher=Penguin|isbn=9780452298569|pages=115–120}} Newman said, "When they asked me to do another one, the idea that you would do a sequel in a form that isn't even a form struck me as funny, in a very insidery way." He said that a beer company, likely Schlitz, secretly paid Warner for a product placement in the video, but MTV refused to air it until the shots were removed. After this damaged his reputation, Newman told Warner he would no longer direct their videos. After negotiating, he returned to direct the video for "Legs".{{cite book|last1=Tannenbaum|first1=Rob|title=I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution|last2=Marks|first2=Craig|date=2012|publisher=Penguin|isbn=9780452298569|pages=115–120}}
Charts
| class="wikitable" |
| align="left"|Chart (2020)
!align="left"|Peak |
|---|
| {{single chart|Billboardrocksongs|14|artist=ZZ Top|rowheader=true|access-date=March 17, 2020}} |
| class="wikitable" |
| align="left"|Chart (2021)
!align="left"|Peak |
|---|
| {{single chart|Hungarysingle|30|year=2021|week=30|rowheader=true|access-date=August 5, 2021}} |
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable" |
| Chart (1985)
!Position |
|---|
| Dutch Top 40
| style="text-align:center;"|81 |
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|artist=ZZ Top|title=Sharp Dressed Man|award=Platinum|relyear=1983|certyear=2022|source=radioscope|access-date=April 13, 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Spain|type=single|artist=ZZ Top|title=Sharp Dressed Man|award=Gold|relyear=1983|certyear=2025|access-date=April 13, 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=ZZ Top|title=Sharp Dressed Man/I Got the Six|award=Gold|relyear=2004|certyear=2023|id=15906-140-1|access-date=December 15, 2023|note=with "I Got the Six"}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
Personnel
- Billy Gibbons – vocals, lead and rhythm guitars
- Dusty Hill – bass, keyboards
- Frank Beard – drums
- Linden Hudson – preproduction engineer{{cite book|first=Deborah|last=Frost|year=1985|title=ZZ Top – Bad and Worldwide|location=New York|publisher=Rolling Stone Press|isbn=0020029500}}{{cite book|title=Tres Hombres: The Story of ZZ Top|first=David|last=Sinclair|publisher=Virgin Books|year=1986|isbn=0-86369-167-6}}
- Terry Manning – engineer