La Grange (song)

"La Grange"
Single by ZZ Top
from the album Tres Hombres
B-side "Just Got Paid"
Released 1973 (1973)
Format 7-inch single
Studio Brian & Ardent, Memphis, Tennessee
Genre
Length 3:51
Label London
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Bill Ham
ZZ Top singles chronology
"Waitin' for the Bus" / "Jesus Just Left Chicago"
(1973)		 "La Grange"
(1973)		 "Tush"
(1975)
Audio sample
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"La Grange" is a song by the American rock group ZZ Top, from their 1973 album Tres Hombres. One of ZZ Top's most successful songs, it was released as a single in 1973 and received extensive radio play, rising to No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. The song refers to a brothel on the outskirts of La Grange, Texas (later called the "Chicken Ranch"). The brothel is also the subject of the Broadway play and film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, the latter starring Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds.

The first time ZZ Top played the song in La Grange, Texas was during the Fayette County Fair on September 5, 2015.[3]

Information

In March 2005, Q magazine placed "La Grange" at 92nd of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.[4] The song is also ranked No. 74 on Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time. Rolling Stone called the song, "...a standard for guitarists to show off their chops."[5]

Billy Gibbons played the lead on a 1955 Fender Stratocaster with a stop tailpiece through a Marshall Super Lead 100 amp with Celestion greenback speakers. The song was produced by Bill Ham and mixed by Terry Manning.

The initial groove of the song is based on a traditional boogie blues rhythm used by John Lee Hooker in "Boogie Chillen'" and by Slim Harpo in "Shake Your Hips". A failed lawsuit by the copyright holder of "Boogie Chillen'" resulted in the court ruling that the rhythm was in the public domain.[6] The line "a-how-how-how-how" is quoted from John Lee Hooker's song "Boom Boom".

Chart performance

Chart (1974) Peak
position
Australia (Go-Set National Top 40)[7] 15
Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 21
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[9] 34
France (IFOP)[10] 58
US Billboard Hot 100[11] 41
US Cash Box[12] 24
US Record World[13] 33

Appearances

Covers

  • The song has been covered by Australian rock band The Angels as a B-Side to their 2015 commemorative re-release of the hit single Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again with the guitar solos completely replaced by harmonica solos from guitarist John Brewster.
  • The Mexican rock band El Tri sampled "La Grange" in the song El Muchacho Chicho, in their 1997 album Cuando Tú No Estás.
  • Black Oak Arkansas performs a cover of the song in the album Lynyrd Skynyrd Family & Southern Classics.
  • A cover of the song by Junkie XL appears in the Xbox game Forza Motorsport.
  • The song is covered by the French artist Renaud Papillon Paravel as well as by Hank Williams, Jr. on the album Strong Stuff.
  • The song was covered by Crazy Backwards Alphabet on their lone album.
  • D.O.A. recorded a cover of the song for their 2002 EP Play It Over and Over Again. The liner notes included a comment from lead singer/guitarist Joey "Shithead" Keithley lamenting his inability to find the brothel that inspired the song when D.O.A. were touring through Texas.
  • Tracy Byrd released a country version of the song in 2002 for the album Sharp Dressed Men: A Tribute to ZZ Top.
  • The band Phish covered it often in their early career, especially the late 1980s and 1990, but was almost completely dropped from rotation after 1991, appearing only sparsely throughout their extensive touring schedule. It was played for the first time since September 22, 1999 on July 8, 2012 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, New York as the first-set closer.
  • Blues Traveler has covered the song regularly in their live performances since 2013. It is the only song in Blues Traveler's repertoire with lead vocals not handled by frontman John Popper. Keyboardist Ben Wilson handles vocals instead.
  • The song was covered by Molotov on their album Con Todo Respeto (Spanish for "with all due respect"), where they changed the lyrics.
  • The song was covered live by Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and John Petrucci on the G3: Live in Tokyo concert DVD.

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ Gundersen, Edna (December 21, 2013). "Catalog box sets sum up Beatles, Dylan, Eagles, Ramones". USA Today. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  2. ↑ Wood, Mikael (June 5, 2014). "CMT Awards: ZZ Top, Jason Derulo, Florida Georgia Line go all in". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  3. ↑ "ZZ Top Setlist at Fayette County Fairgrounds, La Grange, TX, USA". Setlist.fm. September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Q Magazine – 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Ever!". Q magazine. Rocklist.net. March 2005. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  5. ↑ "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time". Archived from the original on May 31, 2008. . Rolling Stone.
  6. ↑ "La Grange by ZZ Top". Songfacts. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Go-Set Australian charts – 13 July 1974". Go-Set. Poparchives.com.au. cf. last week position. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5040a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Les Tubes de chaque Artiste commençant par Z". InfoDisc (in French). Select "ZZ Top" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Tres Hombres – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  12. ↑ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending JULY 13, 1974". Cash Box. Archived from the original on October 3, 2012.
  13. ↑ "The Singles Chart" (PDF). Record World. July 13, 1974. p. 25. ISSN 0034-1622. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
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