"Sleeping Bag" is a song performed by the band
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 1985 album ''
Afterburner
An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and comba ...
''.
Reception
''
Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' said that the song is a "high tech workout which makes good use of
drum machines and Fairlight effects as well as the 'lil ole band from Texas' innate soul."
The song was released as a single in 1985 and became their most successful single, reaching #8 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States, equaling the peak of their previous single "
Legs
A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element ...
". However, unlike "Legs", it also reached No. 1 on the U.S.
Mainstream Rock Tracks
Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...
chart, a first for the band.
The song was featured in the 2017 film ''
I, Tonya
''I, Tonya'' is a 2017 American biographical film directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Steven Rogers. It follows the life and career of the American figure skater Tonya Harding and her connection with the 1994 attack on her rival Nancy ...
'' during an ice skating routine. The real-life
Tonya Harding
Tonya Maxene Price (née Harding; born November 12, 1970) is an American former figure skater, retired boxer and a reality television personality. Born in Portland, Oregon, Harding was raised primarily by her mother, who enrolled her in ice ska ...
previously used the song in some of her actual routines.
Track listing
7" single
# "Sleeping Bag" - 4:02
# "Party on the Patio" - 2:48
12" maxi-single
# "Sleeping Bag (Extended Mix)" - 6:12
# "Party on the Patio" - 2:48
Music video
A music video directed by
Steve Barron
Steven Barron (born 4 May 1956) is an Irish-British filmmaker. He is best known for directing the music videos for the songs "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, "Summer of '69" and " Run to You" by Bryan Adams, " Money for Nothing" by Dire Stra ...
was made to promote the song. In the form of a story narrative, two thieves break into a house to recover a sack of money, but are thwarted by a young woman living in the house who runs off with the sack, meeting a young man who accompanies her on the run. After being assisted in their escape by the band members, the ZZ Top video girls and the ''Eliminator'' vehicle, the thieves are eventually arrested.
The video marks the end of the ''Eliminator'' vehicle featured in the videos from the ''
Eliminator'' album (although its supposed destruction happens off-screen) and introduces the ''Afterburner'' space shuttle.
Actors
Heather Langenkamp
Heather Elizabeth Langenkamp (born July 17, 1964) is an American actress. She is considered an influential figure in horror films and in popular culture, noted for her acting in several works of the genre and her behind-the-scenes work coordinat ...
(''
A Nightmare on Elm Street
''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' is a 1984 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Robert Shaye. It is the first installment in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' franchise and stars Heather Langenkamp ...
'') and
John Dye
John Carroll Dye (January 31, 1963 – January 10, 2011) was an American film and television actor known for his role as Andrew in the spiritual television drama series ''Touched by an Angel''.
Early life
Dye was born in Amory, Mississippi, one ...
(''
Touched by an Angel
''Touched by an Angel'' is an American fantasy drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced b ...
'') appear as the female and male leads.
Kymberly Herrin
__NOTOC__
The following is a list of Playboy Playmates of 1981. ''Playboy'' magazine names their Playboy Playmate, Playmate of the Month each month throughout the year.
January
Karen Elaina Price (born July 17, 1960) is an American model, stun ...
who appeared in ZZ Top's
Legs
A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element ...
music video was cast again as one of the ZZ girls.
Charts
Year-end charts
Personnel
*
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 ...
-
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 ...
*
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 ...
-
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
,
keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
*
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 ...
References
{{ZZ Top
1985 singles
ZZ Top songs
Music videos directed by Steve Barron
Songs written by Frank Beard (musician)
Songs written by Dusty Hill
Songs written by Billy Gibbons
1985 songs
Warner Records singles
Song recordings produced by Bill Ham