Rough Boy

"Rough Boy" was the third single by American rock band ZZ Top from their 1985 album Afterburner. The song reached No. 5 on the Album Rock Tracks chart and No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as No. 23 in the UK Top 40. Unlike the other songs on the album, this song has a much slower tempo and is more of a power ballad. It also shares a similar tune to their song "Leila" from their album El Loco.

"Rough Boy"
Single by ZZ Top
from the album Afterburner
B-side	"Delirious"
Released	March 1986
Recorded	1985
Genre	Rock
Length	4:50 (Album Version) 3:32 (Single Version)
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Billy Gibbons Dusty Hill Frank Beard
Producer(s)	Bill Ham
ZZ Top singles chronology
"Stages" (1985) "Rough Boy" (1986) "Velcro Fly" (1986)

Music video

The music video (directed by Steve Barron[1]) features the band's "Eliminator" car/space shuttle hybrid (from the Afterburner album cover) visiting a space car wash, interspersed with images of the band members' hands and faces, as well as a woman's legs, protruding from metal plates, some of which double as lighted message signs or crosswalk signals.

Charts

Chart (1985)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100	22
US Billboard Album Rock Tracks	5
Canadian RPM Top Singles[2]	58
Dutch Singles Chart	81
French Singles Chart	22
Polish Singles Chart[3]	12
Swiss Singles Chart	38
UK Singles Chart	23

Personnel

• Billy Gibbons - guitar, lead vocals
• Dusty Hill - bass, keyboards, backing vocals
• Frank Beard - drums

Notes

1. "ZZ Top - 'Rough boy'". MVDBase.com (video). ASG. 1998–2017. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
2. Peaked on RPM 100 Singles Chart on May 31, 1986
3. "Polish Singles Chart |".