Song is from forthcoming Raw album
ZZ Top has released “Tube Snake Boogie,” from its forthcoming Raw album, due July 22nd by Shelter Records/BMG. Like the other 11 selections on the project, 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 of Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard and the late 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. Hill had characterized it as the ultimate “party song” while Gibbons credits drummer Beard for getting it up and running.
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 Raw tracks 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. Gibbons served as producer with engineering by Jake Mann and Gary 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.”
The release of the Raw album will be supported by ZZ Top’s forthcoming Raw Whisky Tour. The tour, starting on May 27th in San Diego, CA, will see the band on stage in 100 dates across North America. 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.
