ZZ Top release “Tube Snake Boogie” video
“Tube Snake Boogie,” a track featured on ZZ Top’s forthcoming RAW album is now available in advance of the album’s July 22 release by Shelter Records/BMG. Like the other 11 selections on RAW, it was recorded at Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, TX. The classic honky-tonk setting, dating back to 1878, was chosen for an unfettered, roots-oriented recording session that is chronicled in the Grammy-nominated documentary ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band from Texas. Directed by Sam Dunn and released by Banger Films, the feature offers insight into the history of the band’s classic line-up: Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard and Dusty Hill.
“Tube Snake Boogie” debuted in 1981 as part of ZZ Top’s El Loco album and is one of their most enduring in-concert favorites, typically provoking frenzied audience participation. Upon its release as a single, “Tube Snake Boogie” entered the Top 5 of Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Chart and became a mainstay of the format. The late Dusty Hill had characterized it as the ultimate “party song” while Billy Gibbons credits drummer Frank Beard for getting it up and running. He noted, “It really revolves around Frank’s opening which is kind of surf-meets-jungle.” For his part, Beard credits his drum intro as having been inspired by Sandy Nelson’s classic percussion-driven instrumental “Teen Beat.” While “Tube Snake Boogie,” written by Gibbons, Hill and Beard, has been one of ZZ Top’s signature songs for more than four decades, others have attempted to cover it, most notably Serbian rock band Cactus Jack, as well as Canadian blues artist Bill Durst.
The new album’s liner notes by Gibbons and Beard note of the RAW sessions, “..it was, in a very real way, a return to our roots. Just us and the music, no audience of thousands, no concession stands, no parking lot social hour, no phalanx of tour busses. Just us and the music. We knew right then it was a very special circumstance, all of us in the same place at the same time and what a time it most certainly was!”
The RAW tracks, including this new version of “Tube Snake Boogie” were recorded over the course of one day with an eye to keeping the whole process as simple and straightforward as possible, a nod to the band’s early days. Billy F Gibbons served as producer, with engineering by Jake Mann and G.L. G-Mane Moon; RAW was mixed by Ryan Hewitt. It will be available on 180-gram vinyl, CD and through digital platforms, and will be released “In righteous memory of Dusty Hill.”
RAW Tracklisting:
Brown Sugar
Just Got Paid
Heard It On The X
La Grange
Tush
Thunderbird
I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide
Legs
Gimme All Your Lovin’
Blue Jean Blues
Certified Blues
Tube Snake Boogie
The release of the RAW album will be supported by ZZ Top’s forthcoming RAW WHISKY TOUR. The tour, starting on May 27 in San Diego, CA, will see the band on stage in 100 dates across North America, with more dates announcing today. The tour’s title is a hat tip to both the forthcoming album as well as the recent release of ZZ Top Tres Hombres whisky from Balcones Distilling of Waco, TX, a flavorful 100 proof mash bill of roasted blue corn, malted barley and rye.
TOUR DATES
May 27th San Diego, CA Humphries Concerts by the Bay
May 28th Pomona, CA LA County Fair
May 29th Paso Robles, CA Vina Robles Amphitheatre
June 1st Redding, CA Redding Civic Auditorium
June 2nd Saratoga, CA The Mountain Winery
June 4th Lincoln, CA Thunder Valley Casino Resort
June 5th Jacksonville, OR Britt Pavilion
June 7th Bend, OR Hayden Homes Amphitheater
June 8th Walla Walla, WA Wine Country Amphitheater
June 9th Spokane, WA First Interstate Center for the Arts
June 12th Billings, MT MetraPark – First Interstate Arena
June 14th Grand Junction, CO Las Colonias Park Amphitheater
June 15th Salt Lake City, UT Red Butte Garden
June 17th Tucson, AZ Casino Del Sol’s AVA Amphitheater
June 18th Taos, NM Kit Carson Park
June 19th Colorado Springs, CO Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts
June 21st Loveland, CO Budweiser Events Center
June 22nd Grand Island, NE Fonner Park – Heartland Events Center
June 24th Park City, KS Hartman Arena
June 25th Oklahoma City, OK Zoo Amphitheatre
June 26th Little Rock, AR First Security Amphitheater
June 29th Rogers, AR Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion
July 1st Toledo, OH Toledo Zoo & Aquarium – Amphitheater
July 2nd Sterling Heights, MI Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill
July 3rd Woodstock, IL McHenry County Fairgrounds
July 5th Fort Wayne, IN Foellinger Theatre
July 7th Grand Rapids, MI Meijer Gardens
July 8th Traverse City, MI Cherry Festival
July 9th Greenville, WI Greenville Lion’s Park
July 22nd Boston, MA Leader Bank Pavilion
July 23rd Watertown, NY Watertown Fairgrounds Arena
July 24th Grantville, PA Hollywood Casino
July 26th Baltimore, MD MECU Pavilion
July 27th Harrington, DE Delaware State Fairgrounds
July 29th Cuyahoga, OH Blossom Music Center
July 30th Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
July 31st Burgettstown, PA The Pavilion at Star Lake
August 2nd Portsmouth, VA Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion
August 3rd Asheville, NC Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
August 5th Greensboro, NC White Oak Amphitheatre
August 6th Atlanta, GA Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
August 7th Simpsonville, SC CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park
August 10th Hyannis, MA Cape Cod Melody Tent
August 12th Gilford, NH Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
August 13th Bethel, NY Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
August 14th Darien Center, NY Darien Lake Theme Park Resort
August 16th Des Moines, IA Iowa State Fair
August 17th Sedalia, MO Missouri State Fairgrounds
August 18th St Louis, MO Saint Louis Music Park
August 20th Mystic Lake, MN Mystic Lake Casino
August 21st Lincoln, NE Pinewood Bowl Theater
August 23rd Dubuque, IA Five Flags Center
August 24th Madison, WI The Sylvee
August 26th Indianapolis, IN TCA Amphitheater at Whiteriver State Park
August 27th Beaver Dam, KY Beaver Dam Amphitheater
August 28th Pikeville, KY Appalachian Center Arena
