Legs
The fourth Eliminator single and the band's highest-charting pop hit.
ZZ Top, from Eliminator (1983)
- Written by
- Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard
- Released
- 1983
- Album
- Eliminator
Legs was released as the fourth single in May 1984, more than a year after the album. It reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, their highest-charting pop single, and its dance mix peaked at number 13 on the dance chart. Gibbons said the idea came from driving to the studio in a rainstorm and seeing a woman getting drenched who disappeared when they circled back: she had legs and knew how to use them.
Hudson created the pulsing synthesizer by sending the synth through a noise gate triggered by sixteenth-note hi-hat samples from a drum machine, which gave a tempo of 125 beats per minute. The song was not coming together for Gibbons at Ardent, so Manning took the tape home and reworked every part except Gibbons' guitar and vocals. Manning also made a longer dance mix.
Tim Newman directed the video, in which a timid shoe store clerk, played by Wendy Frazier, is given confidence by the three Eliminator women and the Eliminator car. It introduced the band's spinning guitars covered in white sheepskin. Newman negotiated a fixed payment each time the album was certified for another 250,000 US sales. The video won Best Group Video at the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. The Wright Brothers Band covered Legs for the 1987 film Overboard, Kid Rock in 2002 and Nickelback in 2011.
Covers and versions
- Wright Brothers Band (1987) Recorded for the soundtrack of the film Overboard.
- Kid Rock (2002) Recorded for the album WWF Forceable Entry.
- Nickelback (2011) Recorded for the tribute album ZZ Top: A Tribute from Friends.
More songs by ZZ Top
La Grange, Tush, Gimme All Your Lovin', Sharp Dressed Man, Sleeping Bag
Sources
- Legs (song), Wikipedia
- ZZ Top, Handbook of Texas, Texas State Historical Association