Velcro Fly
Encyclopedia
"Velcro Fly" is the fifth single off ZZ Top
's 1985 album Afterburner
. The song peaked at #15 on the Billboard
Mainstream Rock chart, and #35 on the Billboard Hot 100
in 1986.
A 12" version is featured on the box set Chrome, Smoke & BBQ
.
for "Velcro Fly" features Egyptian hieroglyphics (possibly a reference to other songs from the album such as "Sleeping Bag") and female dancers, a common theme in almost every ZZ Top music video. The video also has dance moves choreographed by pop singer Paula Abdul
.
The video was released on the DVD Greatest Hits: The Video Collection, along with other videos from the band's albums Eliminator and Recycler.
's novel, The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands, where in the series's post-apocalyptic alternate reality of Mid-World
, the song's looped percussion intro, played via a large PA system in the decaying city of Lud
, is referred to as "the God Drums".
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
's 1985 album Afterburner
Afterburner (album)
Afterburner is the ninth studio album by American blues rock band ZZ Top, released in 1985 . Afterburner was a financial success, going several times platinum and launching several hit singles. The most successful single released from this album was "Sleeping Bag", which peaked at No. 1 on the...
. The song peaked at #15 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Mainstream Rock chart, and #35 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in 1986.
A 12" version is featured on the box set Chrome, Smoke & BBQ
Chrome, Smoke & BBQ
Chrome, Smoke & BBQ is a box set by American blues-rock band ZZ Top, released in 2003. This box set is notable for using the original mixes for all of the tracks from the band's first 5 albums for the first time on the CD format...
.
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Velcro Fly" features Egyptian hieroglyphics (possibly a reference to other songs from the album such as "Sleeping Bag") and female dancers, a common theme in almost every ZZ Top music video. The video also has dance moves choreographed by pop singer Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...
.
The video was released on the DVD Greatest Hits: The Video Collection, along with other videos from the band's albums Eliminator and Recycler.
In popular culture
The song appears in Stephen KingStephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's novel, The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands, where in the series's post-apocalyptic alternate reality of Mid-World
All-World
All-World is a fictional location in Stephen King's The Dark Tower series of novels. All-World is the world known to contain the "Keystone Tower" in the Dark Tower series. It is the only world that contains the Dark Tower in its physical form; all others contain a representative of the Tower, such...
, the song's looped percussion intro, played via a large PA system in the decaying city of Lud
Lud (city)
Lud is a fictional city in Stephen King's Dark Tower series and is briefly mentioned in Rose Madder. In The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands, the book's protagonists, led by the gunslinger Roland, travel from Lud to an alternate reality version of Topeka, Kansas via a supersonic monorail called...
, is referred to as "the God Drums".
Charts
| Chart (1986) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
54 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
35 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs... |
43 |
| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock Tracks Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue... |
15 |
Personnel
- Billy GibbonsBilly GibbonsWilliam Frederick "Billy" Gibbons is an American musician, actor and car customizer, best known as the guitarist of the Texas blues-rock band ZZ Top. He is also the lead singer and composer for many of the band's songs. Gibbons is known for playing his Gretsch Billy Bo guitar and his famous 1959...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals - Dusty HillDusty HillJoseph Michael "Dusty" Hill is the bassist and vocalist with the American rock group ZZ Top.-History:Hill was in Dallas, Texas and grew up in the Lakewood neighborhood of East Dallas...
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Frank BeardFrank Beard (musician)Frank Lee Beard is the drummer in the rock band ZZ Top. Beard was formerly with the bands The Cellar Dwellars, who originally were a three-piece band, The Hustlers, The Warlocks, and American Blues before starting to play and record with Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill as ZZ Top.Beard was born in...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....