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ZZ Top -- Sharp Dressed Man... (Original Post) ultralite001 13 hrs ago OP
Great Story About This Song ProfessorGAC 9 hrs ago #1
What a great story... ultralite001 2 hrs ago #2

ProfessorGAC

(74,889 posts)
1. Great Story About This Song
Tue Oct 21, 2025, 06:19 PM
9 hrs ago

Back in the mid 80s, I was in a band that played well over 100 times a year. (Full crew, so all I had to do was show up, play, the leave.)
My wife didn't go to that many gigs because we had a 100 mile radius.
But, she & a couple friends would go to a rock club very close (less than a mile) from our house.
She saw this band from NW Indiana and kept telling me they were really good & fun.
One night we got a lucrative short gig opening for a hot property doing a recording company showcase.
So, by 8 pm we were done. We stayed for the headliner who was a piano player, really good singer with movie star looks.
But, after about 40 minutes my wife said we should drive home because that band was playing the club by our house and this was my chance to see them.
So, I'm still wearing nice clothes with red linen shoes.
We get there, take a seat, and after a couple songs, the guitar player says they're dedicating the next song to the guy with the red shoes. They did Sharp Dressed man.
Fast forward a few minutes & I took a Saturday off to go to my wife's friend's wedding.
Sure enough, they had hired that same band for their outdoor reception.
I sat in a few songs with those guys & we hung out with them during breaks.
We became fast friends for more than the next 20 years.
My subsequent band played some shared bill gigs sponsored by a local rock magazine 8 to 10 times, too.
So, this song brings back a fond memory.

ultralite001

(2,147 posts)
2. What a great story...
Wed Oct 22, 2025, 01:23 AM
2 hrs ago

What kind of music were you playing??? What are you doing now???

Music of many flavors has been a centerpoint in my life... While I started out as a horn
player ('cuz mom would not let me play drums), I was a much better vocalist; however,
it turns out I was a much better sound board operator... I had to laugh when you mentioned
the 100 mile radius... It's been a fact of life for my son + grandsons for too many years now...
You can only be so many places in a limited number of miles + hours (unless you travel by tardis)...
but I head out to hear them as often as I am able (occasionally they play in the same town).

Thank you so much for sharing... You are right... This song brings back sooo many fond memories...

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