Degüello

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title: "Degüello" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["zz-top-albums", "1979-albums", "albums-produced-by-bill-ham", "warner-records-albums"] topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degüello" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox album"]

Field	Value
name	Degüello
type	studio
artist	ZZ Top
cover	ZZ Top - Degüello.jpg
released
recorded	April–August 1979
genre	{{Flatlist
* Blues{{cite web	url
* boogie rock{{AllMusic	class
length
label	Warner Bros.
producer	Bill Ham
prev_title	The Best of ZZ Top
prev_year	1977
next_title	El Loco
next_year	1981
misc	{{Singles
name	Degüello
type	studio
single1	I Thank You
single1date	1979
single2	Cheap Sunglasses
single2date	1979
::

::callout[type=note] the ZZ Top album ::

| name = Degüello | type = studio | artist = ZZ Top | cover = ZZ Top - Degüello.jpg | alt = | released = | recorded = April–August 1979 | venue = | studio = | genre = {{Flatlist|

• Blues
• boogie rock | length = | label = Warner Bros. | producer = Bill Ham | prev_title = The Best of ZZ Top | prev_year = 1977 | next_title = El Loco | next_year = 1981 | misc = {{Singles | name = Degüello | type = studio | single1 = I Thank You | single1date = 1979 | single2 = Cheap Sunglasses | single2date = 1979 Degüello ( **) is the sixth studio album by the American rock band ZZ Top, released in November 1979. It was the first ZZ Top release on Warner Bros. Records and eventually went platinum. It was produced by Bill Ham, recorded and mixed by Terry Manning, and mastered by Bob Ludwig.

Returning from a two-year hiatus, the band began to showcase the influence they had collected during the time away; Gibbons' time in Europe introduced him to punk music, the influences of which seeped into the creation of the album. The band also consciously tried experimenting with technology: Gibbons saw an episode of The Phil Donahue Show where a person's identity was protected using silhouette and a pitch shifter; liking the sound, he asked engineer Manning to call the show and find out what the effects unit was. Manning eventually convinced a reluctant show producer to reveal it, and the effect was used for both vocals and guitars on songs like "Manic Mechanic".

The album marked the first time that ZZ Top featured cover versions on a studio album: "I Thank You" by Isaac Hayes/David Porter and "Dust My Broom", credited on early editions to Elmore James but subsequently credited to Robert Johnson who recorded it in 1936. Elmore James had adapted and popularized the song in 1951.

The song "Hi Fi Mama" was later featured on the episode "The Twist in the Twister" of the TV series Bones, where Gibbons also guest starred.

Meaning of the title

"Degüello" means "slashing of the throat" in Spanish; idiomatically, when something is said to be done "a degüello", it means "no quarter" in Spanish (as in, "no surrender to be given or accepted—a fight to the death"). It was also the title of a Moorish-origin bugle call used by the Mexican Army at the Battle of the Alamo in 1836.

Critical reception

| rev1 = AllMusic | rev1Score = |rev2 = Christgau's Record Guide |rev2Score = A− | rev3 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide | rev3score = | rev4 = Smash Hits | rev4Score = 8/10 | rev5 = Tom Hull | rev5score = A The Boston Globe noted that "the extended layoff has taken some of the edge off Gibbons' lead vocals and the album lacks a killer cut... On the plus side is ZZ Top's shuffling guitar-bass-drums attack, which is as hard and funky as ever."

Track listing

| all_writing = Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard, except where noted | headline = Side one | title1 = I Thank You | length1 = 3:22 | writer1 = | title2 = She Loves My Automobile | length2 = 2:22 | title3 = I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide | length3 = 4:45 | title4 = A Fool for Your Stockings | length4 = 4:15 | title5 = Manic Mechanic | length5 = 2:36 | headline = Side two | title1 = Dust My Broom | length1 = 3:06 | writer1 = Robert Johnson | title2 = Lowdown in the Street | length2 = 2:49 | title3 = Hi Fi Mama | length3 = 2:22 | title4 = Cheap Sunglasses | length4 = 4:46 | title5 = Esther Be the One | length5 = 3:30 Original LP pressings of Degüello credited authorship of "Dust My Broom" to Elmore James.

Personnel

• Billy Gibbons – guitar, vocals, baritone saxophone
• Dusty Hill – bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, lead vocal on "Hi Fi Mama", tenor saxophone
• Frank Beard – drums, percussion, alto saxophone

Production

• Producer – Bill Ham
• Engineer – Terry Manning
• Mastering engineer – Bob Ludwig

Charts

::data[format=table] | Chart (1979–1980) | Peak position | Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) | |---|---|---| | 100 | | | ::

Certifications

Charting Singles

::data[format=table]

Single	Peak chart positions	US	CAN
"I Thank You"	34	52
"Cheap Sunglasses"	89	—
::

References

References

1. Edwards, Eyries and Callahan. (2004). "WB Album Discography, Part 9". Both Sides Now Publications.
2. DeRiso, Nick. (November 20, 2015). "When ZZ Top Began Their ’80s Transformation". Ultimate Classic Rock.
3. {{AllMusic
4. Gibbons, Billy. (2023-04-21). "Billy F Gibbons on How ZZ Top Adopted The Beard Look". [[AXS TV]].
5. (2019). "ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas".
6. [{{AllMusic
7. Christgau, Robert. (1981). "[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]". [[Ticknor & Fields]].
8. Cross, Charles R.. (2004). "[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide". [[Simon & Schuster]].
9. Hepworth, David. "ZZ Top: ''Deguello''". [[Smash Hits]].
10. "Tom Hull: Grade List: ZZ Top". [[Tom Hull (critic).
11. (28 Feb 1980). "Records". The Boston Globe.
12. Kent, David. (1993). "Australian Chart Book 1970–1992". Australian Chart Book.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::