"Got Me Under Pressure" is a song by

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound ...

from their 1983 album '' Eliminator''.

Overview

The song was produced by band manager

Bill Ham Billy Mack Ham (February 4, 1937 – June 20, 2016) was an American music impresario, best known as the manager, producer, and image-maker for the blues-rock band ZZ Top. Ham also gained prominence in the country music world by discovering and man ...

, and recorded and mixed by

Terry Manning Terry Manning is an American photographer, composer, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, audio engineer, and visual artist. In a career spanning more than 50 years, he has worked with Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Bryan Adams, ...

. David Blayney (ZZ Top's stage manager of 15 years), in his book ''Sharp Dressed Men'', described how the song was pre-produced:

Billy Gibbons William Frederick Gibbons (born December 16, 1949) is an American musician who is the guitarist and lead singer of the rock band ZZ Top. He began his career in the band the Moving Sidewalks, which recorded a full-length album entitled, ''Flas ...

and Linden Hudson (Houston engineer and songwriter) wrote the whole song and created a recorded demo all in one afternoon without either bassist

Dusty Hill Joe Michael "Dusty" Hill (May 19, 1949 – July 28, 2021) was an American musician who was the bassist of the rock band ZZ Top for more than 50 years. He also sang lead and backing vocals and played keyboards. Hill was born in Dallas, Texas, an ...

or drummer Frank Beard's knowledge. Linden created the bass on a synthesizer, created drums on a drum machine and helped Gibbons write the lyrics; Gibbons performed the guitars and vocals. In live performances of the song, Gibbons and Hill exchanged vocals with each alternate phrase.

Album appearances

Besides ''Eliminator'', "Got Me Under Pressure" also appears on the following compilations. * ''

Rancho Texicano ''Rancho Texicano: The Very Best of ZZ Top'' is a greatest hits album by the rock band ZZ Top. It was released in 2004 on Rhino Entertainment. The title is a portmanteau of "texan" and "mexicano", meaning "Tex-mex Ranch". The 2-CD compilation is ...

'' * '' Chrome, Smoke & BBQ'' * ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' * ''ZZ Top Summer Holiday (EP)''

Charts

Uses in other media

In 2008, it was used in a

TV commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

for

Pennzoil Pennzoil is an American motor oil brand currently owned by Shell plc. The former Pennzoil Company had been established in 1913 in Pennsylvania, being active in business as an independent firm until it was acquired by Shell in 2002, becoming a bra ...

Personnel

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

- bass * Frank Beard -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

*Linden Hudson - Preproduction Engineer

References

Bibliography

* * {{authority control ZZ Top songs Songs written by Billy Gibbons 1983 songs Song recordings produced by Bill Ham