On March 23rd, 1983 ZZ Top released their eighth studio album "Eliminator". It remains the band’s most commercially successful album thanks to several singles with an undeniable beat and hook along with three videos that are among the most popular in MTV history.

While MTV would launch the careers of new artists, it would revive the careers of veteran bands like ZZ Top. And while MTV helped ZZ Top, the trio of guitarist Billy Gibbons, bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard would return the favor. They were exactly what the network was looking for. They had "a look". The long beards, the sunglasses, the tricked out Eliminator 1933 Ford Coupe, the spinning guitars. They weren’t just a rock band…they were as Classic Rock Magazine’s Paul Rees wrote - otherworldly beings.

But as cool as those videos were, they wouldn’t have been much without songs that were just as good…and they were. Inspired by the new wave music heard while on a European tour in the early '80s, ZZ Top infused synthesizers and danceable beats into their already recognizable boogie blues sound. The results speak for themselves. Selling over 10 million copies since its release, "Eliminator" is among the first albums to be certified diamond. A full year after its release it was still selling 100 thousand copies a week.

In this episode we’ll get to the story of what led to the creation of the '80s ZZ Top sound, hear early demos of the tracks, the stories behind all 11 tracks, the videos, the album cover and more.

TRACKLISTING:

SIDE ONE:
1. "Gimme All Your Lovin'"
2. "Got Me Under Pressure"
3. "Sharp Dressed Man"
4. "I Need You Tonight"
5. "I Got the Six"

SIDE TWO:
1. "Legs"
2. "Thug"
3. "TV Dinners"
4. "Dirty Dog"
5. "If I Could Only Flag Her Down"
6. "Bad Girl"

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