Day After Day #315: I Thank You

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

I Thank You (1979)

After yesterday's foray into offensive content warnings (which I believe was caused by an apparently risque lyric that I later deleted), I'm going to keep things brief and relatively family friendly today. It's Thanksgiving, and I've watched exactly zero minutes of football and spent no time on my couch...because we're up in Canada for the second year in a row. We drove up to Toronto to visit my youngest daughter, who's in her junior year of college. We brought Thanksgiving to her, going to Whole Foods and getting the fixings for a low-key dinner, substituting a rotisserie chicken for a turkey. It was great to have the four of us together for Thanksgiving for the first time in five years.

In the spirit of the holiday, I'm going with ZZ Top's 1979 cover of "I Thank You," which was originally done by Sam and Dave in 1968. The original, written by David Porter and Isaac Hayes, is excellent, but I'm more familiar with the ZZ Top version that came out when I was 12. 

Billy Gibbons provides the gruff yet soulful vocals while also delivering the goods with some gutbucket blues guitar, while Dusty Hill on bass and Frank Beard on drums keep things tight on the bottom end. 

"You didn't have to love me like you did/But you did, but you did/And I thank you/You didn't have to love me like you did/But you did, but you did/And I thank you/But you took your love to someone else/I wouldn't know what it meant to be loved to death/You made me feel like I never felt/Kisses so good I had to holler for help."

The song was the first single on ZZ Top's album Deguello and it hit #34 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was still a few years before the band blew up with the 1983 album Eliminator.

"Every day was something new/You put on your bag and your fine to-do/You got me trying new things too/Just so I can keep up with you/You didn't have to shake it but you did/But you did, but you did/And I thank you/You didn't have to make it like you did/But you did, but you did/And I thank you."

The Sam and Dave version was a big hit, going to #9 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and #4 on the R&B chart. The song has also been covered by numerous artists over the years, including Bonnie Raitt, the Casanovas, Bon Jovi, Paul Rodgers, Robert Randolph and Tom Jones.

I wrote about another ZZ Top song from the same album a few months back. They kicked a whole lot of ass back in the day. That's it! Hope you had a great Turkey Day.

Day After Day #187: Cheap Sunglasses

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Cheap Sunglasses (1979)

Long before they had flashy videos on MTV and were spinning their guitars, the guys in ZZ Top were touring the country playing their own brand of gutbucket blues and hard rock. 

The band formed in Houston in 1969 after the breakup of singer-guitarist Billy Gibbons' previous band, Moving Sidewalks. He was joined by bassist Lanier Greig and drummer Dan Mitchell; Greig was replaced by Billy Ethridge and Mitchell by Frank Beard. The band was signed by London Records; Ethridge wouldn't sign the contract so he was replaced by Dusty Hill. 

The band's third album, Tres Hombres, came out in 1973 and featured the hit "La Grange," about a brothel; the album went to #8 on the Billboard 200. Gibbons' guitar tone made the band stand out, and both he and Hill traded off lead vocals. Their next album, Fandango!, was half live and half new songs, one of which was "Tush," which hit #20 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

ZZ Top made one more album, Tejas, for London Records before going on hiatus in 1978 while Beard was dealing with addiction issues. Gibbons went to Europe, Beard went to Jamaica and Hill went to Mexico; Hill later worked for three months at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport because he wanted to feel normal after spending several years touring the world. The band reunited in 1979 to make a new album, with Gibbons and Hill both sporting the long beards that would become synonymous with ZZ Top. 

The band signed with Warner Bros. and released Deguello in late 1979. The first single was a cover of Sam and Dave's "I Thank You," which was a minor radio hit. The second single was an original that was a good encapsulation of the ZZ sound: Gibbons singing about his love for inexpensive shades, combining swampy boogie riffs with a unique guitar sound thanks to the fake Fender Gibbons played through a Marshall amp with a blown tube. 

"When you wake up in the morning/And the light is hurt your head/The first thing you do/When you get up out of bed/Is hit that street a-runnin'/And try to beat the masses/And go get yourself some cheap sunglasses/Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah."

Gibbons said in a Guitar World interview that the song's three verses came to him while the band ws driving through La Grange, Texas.

"Spied a little thing and/I followed her all night/In funky fine Levi's and her/Sweater's kind of tight/She had a West Coast strut/That was sweet as molasses/But what really knocked me out was her cheap sunglasses/Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah."

The album version features an almost 2-minute instrumental break, and the song closes with another 90 seconds of funky vamping, punctuated by Hill's thumping bass. The single version is 2:40, more than 2 minutes shorter than the album one.

"Now go out and get yourself/Some thick black frames/With the glass so dark/They won't even know your name/And the choice is up to you/'Cause they come in two classes/Rhinestone shades/And cheap sunglasses/Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah."

The song only went to #89 on the Billboard Hot 100 but it got plenty of FM radio play and the album hit #24 and went platinum. While in Europe on the Deguello tour, ZZ Top played the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test, where they shared time with electronic act Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark; Gibbons was a fan and started adding synthesizers to ZZ's sound starting with the next album El Loco. The electronic influence really came through on 1983's Eliminator, which was a monster hit thanks to singles "Gimme All Your Lovin'" and "Legs" and their accompanying videos. Engineer Linden Hudson worked closely with Gibbons, using drum machines and synths to replace much of Hill and Beard's work. Hudson didn't receive credit for his co-writing work and ended up suing after the band used his song "Thug" without permission; ZZ Top ended up paying him $600,000 after he proved he had the copyright.

Still, the band became big stars thanks to the videos, which featured them in cheap sunglasses, trench coats and the long beards (except for Frank Beard, of course). Their 1985 album Afterburner was also a smash, with four top 40 hits. By 1990's Recycler, the band cut down on the synths and went back to a guitar-based blues sound, but it didn't have the same success as the previous two albums (although it did go platinum). The next 30 years found ZZ Top still touring regularly and releasing the occasional album. 

In July 2021, Hill had to leave the tour with a hip injury and was replaced by his guitar tech Elwood Francis. Five days later, the band announced Hill had died at home at the age of 72. The band cited Hill's wish for them to continue on with Francis on bass. And they're still touring, cheap sunglasses and all.

Got Me Under Pressure

This originally ran in Cold as Ice, the hockey column I co-write for Popblerd.
Hockey is a team sport, but more often than not, a team’s fortunes rest on the last line of defense: The goalie. You need more than just a good goalie to win, but things get much tougher for your team if your goalie can’t stop the puck.
As the NHL season moves into its stretch run and teams battle for playoff spots, every game is crucial and immense pressure is placed on goalies. Several goalies have had outstanding seasons and for the most part, that has resulted in strong seasons for their teams: Henrik Lundqvist (NY Rangers), Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask (Boston), Pekka Rinne (Nashville), Jimmy Howard (Detroit), Roberto Luongo (Vancouver), Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott (St. Louis) and Marc-Andre Fleury (Pittsburgh). Others—such as Craig Anderson (Ottawa), Miikka Kiprusoff (Calgary), Martin Brodeur (NJ) and Mike Smith (Phoenix)—have kept their teams in the playoff hunt. And then there are goalies like Jonathan Quick of Los Angeles, who is having an excellent year but the Kings are still struggling.

And then there are the goalies who have underperformed this year, including Ilya Bryzgalov of Philadelphia, Ryan Miller of Buffalo and Corey Crawford of Chicago, as well as the goalies for the Toronto Maple Leafs, James Reimer and Jonas Gustavsson. The Leafs’ goalie woes have been particularly difficult to witness for this Leafs fan.

Reimer came out of nowhere last year to provide the Leafs with strong goaltending in the second half of the season and give them hope going into this season that they would make the playoffs for the first time since 2004. But after suffering a concussion early in the season, Reimer missed 18 games and Gustavsson stepped in to win some big games in January (after some initial struggles). Reimer returned and seemed to get his mojo back with a couple of shutouts in early February. But lately, both goalies have been leaky and the Leafs have found their grip on a playoff spot slipping away.

Things really came to a head Tuesday night again in New Jersey. Gustavsson gave up two weak goals through the five-hole during regulation, but the Leafs battled back and tied the game in the final minute to send it to overtime. To his credit, Gustavsson made some big saves in the third to keep the Leafs in the game. Toronto came out strong in the OT, with Jake Gardiner ringing a blast off the post and John-Michael Liles whiffing on the rebound in front of a wide-open net. At the other end, New Jersey’s Mark Fayne took a weak shot from the point that appeared to be going wide before bouncing off Gustavsson and dribbling into the net for the game-winner. It was about the most dispiriting way possible to lose a game.

Yesterday, in the wake of the loss and with his team in a 1-5-1 tailspin, Leafs GM Brian Burke finally acknowledged that he may need to acquire a new goalie at the trade deadline (which is next Monday, Feb. 27 at 3 p.m. Eastern). The rest of the team is far from perfect, but now they’re at the point where any weak shot thrown at the net has the potential to go in. Doesn’t exactly instill teammates with confidence. On the other hand, a strong goalie can keep a team in games against far better teams.

The goalie has the toughest job in team sports. Even more than a pitcher or a quarterback, the goalie must throw his body (however well-protected) in front of 220-pound players storming the net and 110 mph slap shots. Every mistake a goalie makes is magnified exponentially, especially at this time of year. Don’t think Jonas Gustavsson isn’t beating himself up over those horrible goals he gave up Tuesday night. Unfortunately for the man nicknamed Monster, that may be his last NHL game for a long time. Just as a great performance in net can bring glory, a poor outing can prove that life in the NHL is awfully unforgiving for a goalie.

Thank You

Thanksgiving is my favorite of the holidays. Eating, drinking, lounging...how does it get any better? Sure, there's some family angst, but that stuff has dissipated over the years. This year, I'll miss running in the local 5-mile race, but there's nothing I can do about that. For me, it's gorging until I'm about to burst and watching football until I pass out. Bring it on.

Check My Brain

Ah, Thanksgiving. I think it's my favorite holiday. Lots of eating, drinking and relaxing. What's wrong with that?

Had kind of a crazy T-giving Eve. Matt, Trish and the boys showed up for the weekend. Then I went to hockey for the first time in five weeks. We had 4-on-4 with no subs. Just brutal. Got out, had a few brews in the parking lot and then left. I decided to hit a nearby gas station because the Explorer was nearly out of gas. Filled up and then the vehicle wouldn't start. Engine wouldn't even turn over. After trying everything I could think of for 10 minutes, I made the difficult decision to call and wake up Deb. In her sleep-addled haze, she smartly suggested I call AAA. I did and they had a tow truck out to me within 5 minutes. The guy quickly deduced that I needed a new starter, but he also showed me how to start the Explorer using a wrench touching two bolts.

So I didn't get to bed until after 1 a.m. Had to get up at 6:30 to run the Wild Turkey 5-Miler in Salem with Deb, Matt and Trish. I had low expectations for the race, given I had skated for 80 minutes and only had five hours of sleep. The weather was great (40s and cloudy) and I was hoping to run it in about 40 minutes. But I felt good and kept my pace up. The last two miles I still felt strong and kicked it up a notch and I ended up finishing in 36:27 by my watch (36:33 official), a PR by about 40 seconds. Didn't expect that. Deb, Matt and Trish all ran strong races.

We went up to my mom's in Hampton for Turkey meal #1 then came back down here for meal #2. Lots of food. Good times. The womenfolk got up early to do the Black Friday thing, as did Matt briefly. I caught up on sleep and had a pretty lazy day. As it should be.