Maps of Music

Degüello (1979)

Where the lyrics of Degüello take you, and where it was really made.

The title Degüello is a Spanish phrase meaning 'slashing of the throat', and the same name was once a bugle call used by the Mexican Army at the Alamo in 1836.

Key places

Where the album was recorded (1979)

Recording site Ardent Studios — Terry Manning recorded and mixed the album, and the recording place is listed here as Ardent Studios in Memphis. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Degüello is the sixth studio album by the American rock band ZZ Top
• Released in 1979, it was the first ZZ Top release on Warner Bros. Records
• The album eventually went platinum
• Produced by Bill Ham, recorded and mixed by Terry Manning, mastered by Bob Ludwig
• The title is Spanish for 'slashing of the throat'

Background

• The album came after a two-year hiatus
• After the break, the band showed the influences it had collected during the time away
• Gibbons' time in Europe introduced him to punk music, and its influence seeped into the album
• It marked the first time ZZ Top featured cover versions on a studio album
• The covers were 'I Thank You' by Isaac Hayes and David Porter, and 'Dust My Broom'

Recording

• Gibbons saw a Phil Donahue Show episode in which a person's identity was protected with a silhouette and a pitch shifter
• He asked engineer Terry Manning to call the show and find out what the effects unit was
• Manning convinced a reluctant show producer to reveal it
• The effect was used on both vocals and guitars, for example on 'Manic Mechanic'

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969 after Billy Gibbons' band Moving Sidewalks disbanded.
• The name came from Gibbons' idea, inspired by B.B. King and Z.Z. Hill, reasoning that "king is at the top."
• Signed with London Records and released ZZ Top's First Album in 1971.

Members

• Billy Gibbons on vocals and guitar, the only constant member since 1969.
• Dusty Hill on bass and vocals from 1970 until his death in 2021.
• Frank Beard on drums from 1969 until his death in 2026.
• Elwood Francis took over on bass after Hill's death, at Hill's request.
• Michael Monahan has been on tour as drummer since 2025.

Career

• Tres Hombres (1973) and Fandango! (1975) brought radio success; "La Grange" and "Tush" became classic rock staples.
• Eliminator (1983) reached international stardom and sold over 10 million copies, the only ZZ Top album certified diamond.
• Afterburner (1985) was their highest-charting album, reaching number four on the Billboard chart.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.
• Recognized by Guinness in 2018 as the longest-running active group with no lineup changes.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• The Boston Globe noted that the extended layoff had taken some of the edge off Gibbons' lead vocals
• The Boston Globe also said the album lacks a killer cut
• The Boston Globe praised ZZ Top's shuffling guitar-bass-drums attack as hard and funky as ever
• AllMusic considered it the band's best album since Tres Hombres (1973)

Records

• Billboard 200 peak: number 24 in the United States
• Singles: 'I Thank You' reached number 34 and 'Cheap Sunglasses' reached number 89 in the US
• RIAA platinum certification in 1984 (per Spanish Wikipedia)
• Platinum certification in the United States (per French Wikipedia)

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Gibbons saw a Phil Donahue Show episode where a person's identity was protected with a silhouette and a pitch shifter, liked the sound, and asked Manning to find out the effects unit.
• The Spanish Wikipedia says the title was put into practice at the Battle of the Alamo in Texas in 1836.
• The French Wikipedia says Gibbons' voice on 'Manic Mechanic' was distorted after the recording.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

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